New York!

I went to NYC the week of Thanksgiving with my friend, Dena and her kids. Dena's daughter was chosen to perform in the Macy's Day Parade. I have always wanted to see the Macy's parade - and was so thankful to be able to go along.

David and the boys stayed home. I was there for 7 days (November 21-27) and got to see much of NYC. It was a great experience.

Here's a photo of me, Ashlyn and Dena on the plane before take-off ..... (not a good angle for me - makes my head look gigantic!); and then Dena and I with our matching shirts we had made for the trip. Anytime we do something together - we make a shirt : )

This was my 4th trip to NYC so I didn't take part in a lot of the touristy things (Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, etc.). I have seen all of that at least once, so I wanted to spend more time enjoying the city.

I started out the first few days hanging with Dena and her kids. We walked around and saw alot. One of the highlights of my trip was when we were in Times Square and went into the Hershey's Store just to look around. I turned a corner and there was Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis on General Hospital). I couldn't believe it! She was so awesome and really super nice! She chatted with me a moment and allowed me to take a photo with her. Although not a good shot of me - here it is.

Another place we went into was Toys r Us - which is the biggest in the world (i think). It has a HUGE ferris wheel right in the center. Totally cool! Here is Ashlyn, Dena, Rylan and I standing in front of it.

As I was walking around the store I came across Barbie's House (Yes - Barbies House!) - it was HUGE. Of course I had to go in. They had this huge case of old barbies on display and sure enough they had a barbie in the case that I had and played with as a kid and actually still have. Don't play with it anymore - saving it for my grand-daughter one day : )

More exploring - Here I am in the M&M store. My favorite FAVORITE candy! Yum! Although didn't buy any. Too expensive : )

After a few days, I separated from the others and really started exploring. I was able to stay in 3 different hotels - which was great. I love experiencing different parts of NY. I rode the Tour bus all over the city. It was awesome! I did the night tour as well. It was beautiful - but cold and rainy. Here are some photos taken on the tour!

Radio City Music Hall - My friends and I were able to see the Rockettes and sat on the front row (it was awesome!);

a vendor on the street : )

This photo was from a staircase that is heated and has a great view - it's in the middle of Times Square;

a hot dog vendor in Central Park : )

 

Central Park (closest I got to it - it was so cold outside);

The Ball that drops on NYE;

and Macy's decked out for Christmas

I love this first photo .... read the sign in red "Don't Honk $350 penalty" ... seriously?

How do they enforce that in NYC; WALL STREET : )

Wall Street :)

a very congested area (don't you love it?) ... it's fantastic!;

the Flat-Iron building. Pretty cool, huh?

I got tickets ahead of time for Good Morning America and was able to be a part of the audience

- which was totally cool!

Here I am before the show - in the wee hours of the morning, waiting outside to go in.

I was so early I was 2nd in line : )

Still early - but the line was starting to get long. I made friends, so was able to step away

to go to Starbucks, snap a picture and still get back in line : )

Here I am with Robin holding the awesome sign David made me. It even got on TV for

a split second. Robin was so nice and I couldn't believe how tall and skinny she was.

The main reason I went to NY was for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - which was a dream come true for me. My whole life I have wanted to go to NYC for the parade and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to go and experience the parade and New York at Thanksgiving. It was beautiful!

Here's the the start of the parade - taking down street signs and lights to make way for the HUGE balloons; the marching band; and the Statue of Liberty balloon

Two of my favorites ... Cydni Lauper and the Pillsbury Dough Boy : ) I loved Cyndi Lauper as a child and I still love the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Something about him - he's so cute : )

I tried a NY deli sandwich for the first time - and lets just say ..... I have been missing out my whole life. Fantastic! If you ever go to NY - you must have a deli sandwich. I don't know what it is - but they are phenominal! You have to look past the dirt and grime in NY. If I walked into a restuarant here that looked the way the restuarants do there - I would turn around and walk out. But it's NY and everything is dirty! It's fantastic!

Here's a photo of the skyline of NY as I was leaving in the cab headed to the airport to go home. So beautiful!

What can I say? I LOVE NEW YORK!

Here are my hotel reviews:
The first hotel I stayed in was NY Hilton and Towers on 6th avenue. (http://www.newyorkhiltonhotel.com/). I stayed there from Saturday - Tuesday. It was close to Times Square and definitely walking distance to all the touristy things. Rooms were pricey, hotel amenities were great (4 restuarants, bar, Starbucks, convenient store, salon...) . It had crazy amenities. It's like it's on city. However - the rooms were just ok. It definitely was not worth the rate. However - I did get to see the International Emmy Awards Party. That was pretty cool to see lots of famous people come off the red carpet - even though I didn't know who they were : )

Only photo I got of the Hilton....

Second hotel was the Radisson on Lexington Ave (http://www.lexingtonhotelnyc.com/?gclid=CNGi5vvZh6ACFRohnAodNUbWrQ). I stayed I stayed there Tuesday - Thursday. It was alittle ways away from Times Square but was close to the 5th Avenue shopping. It was an older hotel, reasonable rate, the room was remodeled but the bathroom was old and alittle smelly. There was a restuarant in the lobby as well as a Bar and Starbucks. I would definitely stay there again.

Third hotel was the Belvedere Hotel (http://www.belvederehotelnyc.com/?mcid=gc40k2). I stayed there Thursday - Friday. It's on 48th street and it is close to Times Square - walking distance, but the opposite direction of NY Hilton. It is an older hotel that's been remodeled. It had a restuarant in it as well. This hotel was my favorite. The hallways to the rooms were very narrow (very NYish), but the room was awesome. Very modern decor, bathroom looked like that in a model home. It was beautiful. There was a huge closet, and a little area with sink, microwave, coffee maker, refrigerator. It was very reasonable. I will definitely stay there again! It was fantastic!

Florida!

For the past 5 years, I have been going to Orlando Florida in November for Super Soap Weekend. Last year (2008) ABC canceled SSW. It's very sad for me. Not because I love watching Soap Stars walk around MGM Studios - but because Disney is such an easy vacation for me. Disney makes it easy with the transportation to/from the airport and to/from the parks. It's great. Not to mention - it's Disney .... who doesn't love Disney, right?

Last year my girlfriend, Nikki, and I met there together and went to Discovery Cove. Which was phenonminal! So b/c David and I do separate vacations because we don't have anyone to take care of the boys so we can do something together - I decided I would go back to Disney and go to Discovery Cove. Yes..... it was THAT cool!

I went November 5 - 8, a short trip. Main focus - Discovery Cove. This year was a little different for me. The four years prior my girlfriend, Nikki, and I had met in FL for SSW. But this year - she's on her way to being engaged and traveling across country every month to be with her guy, Sam (whom I love for her). So I was flying solo. And the second change - it would be a shorter trip and I wouldn't go to Disney's Parks. Just hang out in downtown Disney, go to Discovery Cove and mill around the hotel and relax.

For some reason - I only took photos at Discovery Cove. Here are some of me in the Aviary with all the birds. They are so use to people that as soon as you get one of the white cups of food in your hand - birds come and sit on you ... anywhere they can. They were freaking me out a bit - but I managed to feed a few.

We were able to go behind the scenes and watch them try and train baby sharks to hand feed. It was pretty crazy to watch. One of the trainers was finally able to get the shark to come up in his lap to feed. He was really pleased with himself. I would of been running for the exit.

I met this really cool girl, Lexi, from London. We had a great day hanging out and exploring the park. Here we are in the coral reef swimming around and playing with the birds.

One of the things I was really excited about was using my underwater case for my Canon G9. Lexi snapped this photo of me. I went down a little to far, b/c when I went under I got a mouth and nose full of salt water. I am not exactly expert at the snorkel thing. But it looks cool, huh? Nice stingray next to me : )

Here I am getting a little dolphin love : )

Towards the end of the day, on our last swim through the coral reef .... I ran into some rocks. Yes - rocks! The coral reef goes deep to shallow pretty quick and I was talking, not paying attention and ran into some pretty big rocks. And ... well, here's the result ....

I banged up my toe pretty bad. It was so painful. And of course, I did this on my 2nd day there - so it was a little difficult to walk around with a fat, bruised toe.

I had a great time - so glad I got to experience Discovery Cove (and meet a new friend) and so very thankful for my sweet husband for taking care of the kids so I could go. However - I do believe, this was my last trip to Disney. Well ..... until we take the kids or ABC brings back SSW.