Traveling

While having a conversation with a friend the question was posed; where is your favorite place you've visited? That was a hard question for me to answer because each trip was different so it would be hard to choose. I've been to Hawaii and loved it. Very beautiful with flowers everywhere. Just driving down the road you would see people's mailboxes covered with climbing orchids. At first the colors were overwhelming. When I got home, it looked so drab comparably. While the only other country I've been to is Canada, visiting 5 provinces, I've visited 13 states in the union. I gave it more thought when I went to bed and decided if someone said you can return to a place you've been to, right now it would be New York City. There is so much history there.We've been twice. I have always wanted to go there but felt somewhat intimidated by it. It's expensive, big, not safe, unfriendly, you know its rep. After 9/11 I knew I had to go there. It took a while but got there for the first time in Dec.04 for our wedding anniversary.


It was wonderful. Yes, it was exspensive and big but I never felt unsafe and found that the natives were very friendly and helpful. It was the other tourists that were rude. We went again in the following spring on a Boy Scout trip and my sister came with me. We had a blast except for one scary bus ride. The Chrysler Building is top left.






If you are a Saturday Night Live watcher you may recognize this
chandelier. While this one is in Grand Central Terminal they have
a replica of one on the set during the opening monolog.
Jackie Kennedy Onasis headed a campaign to restore the terminal
to its former splender and she succeeded. It's beautiful.


Below is Cartier (a jewelry store) dressed up for the holidays.
Notice the tiara over the entrance.

This is the Hershey's candy store in Times Square.



The Staten Island Ferry,
one of several free things in NYC

Below is Rockefeller Center,
down in front of the tree is the skating rink.

The Empire State Building

The Statue of Liberty. She is HUGE!

Time Square. This area has been cleaned up considerably. No more strip joints and adult book stores. There is a Toys R Us store here that has a ferris wheel in it and a full size Wookie made

completely of Legos. Some say that Times Square has been "Disney-fied" I don't know but it is more family friendly. I enjoyed it.

I suppose if you live or work in NYC it looses it's glam pretty fast when you don't see it through a tourist's eye. Of course there are parts that I didn't see, the poor sections and crime riddled areas but what I saw I just loved.