Life is Good

Thursday, June 4, 2015

2015.04.06 Downtown Philly

We spent Monday exploring downtown Philadelphia with Suzanne. Our first stop was to Independence Hall. It is so interesting to go inside all of these old buildings and learn about the history that was created there. At Independence Hall you go through with a tour guide, and that greatly helps the experience. One of the things that Jeff and I have learned, is that the Park Rangers are full of information that they love to share with others. It seems that most of them do these jobs because it is what they love.

From Independence Hall we headed over to see the Liberty Bell. Kind of a cool thing to see in person. Then we walked a few blocks and found a restaurant in an old house. The staff wore period costumes to enhance the experience and the dishes were very old also. It was a good experience.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around downtown, including a stop at the Betsy Ross House. Unfortunately, we were not able to get in to the US Mint, as time our time was getting limited. Our last stop of the day was at a cafe near Suzanne's where we finally got our Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. They were yummy.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

2015.04.05 Easter in Philly

When we made our plans to go out east, we didn't realize that we were going to be there for Easter. Suzanne had invited her family over to the Clubhouse for Easter Brunch and lucky for us, we were able to join them. It was quite a feast and it was really nice to meet her family that we have heard so much about through the years. She is a very lucky woman to have such a great family.

We went for a drive in the afternoon and found QVC so I had to snap some photos for Mom and let her know that I was there. I'm sure that she was really jealous and wishes that she could be there too. HA!!

2015.04.04 New York City (Day 3)

This was our final day in New York and we had booked the tour to Ellis Island since we did not get to stop there the first day and Jeff getting to see his grandparents' name on the walls was part of the reason for the trip to New York in the first place. We were on the first tour out in the morning, so it was pretty chilly, but at least the sun was shining a little bit, and it was not at all crowded. We opted not to stop at Statue Island and just head straight to Ellis Island. That was a good move on our part, as there were not many visitors there at that time of the morning and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Jeff was able to locate the names of his grandparents, but we had to search a little bit a make a phone call to his cousin. Some of the names are listed under the person that sponsored them instead of the actual immigrant. We did a little bit of searching though and found what we needed. Again, it was a great experience for us. I have never been a true history buff, but I find as I get older, that history and government has become a little bit more interesting to me.

Statue of Liberty

Jeff at Ellis Island

Receiving Room at Ellis Island

Olaf Gustav and Ida Eliasson Hagstrom

Ludwig Louis and Rosa Brenneise Spitzer

Wall of Immigrants at Ellis Island

Jeff in his Brooklyn cap. He searched a lot of vendors before he finally found this one.

2015.04.03 New York (Day 2)

Day #2 in New York made me absolutely fall in love with the city. The weather was not very cooperative and was rather gloomy, but we didn't let it stop us and had a blast anyway.We started out in the morning at the 9-11 Memorial site. What a sobering and emotional place that was. I love what they have done there to honor the victims, and the museum was very educational and interesting. I did not take any photos inside, but I did snap a few outside.

After the memorial, we headed uptown on the subway to see the Empire State Building. We purchased tickets to go all the way to the top, but I think if I were to go again, I would just stop at the observation deck on the 86th floor. That was pretty cool to be up that high and the inside of the building was absolutely gorgeous.

From the Empire State Building, we headed to Times Square and went to the Irish Pub where Ty Duma works. We had lunch there and got to visit with Ty. It's been many years since I've seen him, so it was great to do some catching up. We didn't get to meet his wife though, so will have to meet her another time.

Our next stop was to Central Park. Here we hired a driver and took a tour on a bike. I highly recommend this tour. The driver told us a lot of interesting facts about the area that we would otherwise not have known. Truthfully, I can't even say that I remember anything right now, but I know that he sure made it more fun and I would love to head back to Central Park when the weather is nice and explore some more.

When we left Central Park, we headed back to Radio City Music Hall, as we had purchased tickets for the show later in the evening. Before the show, we had a little bit of time to kill, so we explored Rockefeller Center a little bit and picked up a quick bite to eat. It's fun to see all of these places that we see on TV every day.

Next, we had tickets to see The Rockettes in the New York City Spring Spectacular. What a phenomenal show! It was so entertaining and enjoyable. I would highly recommend seeing it if you ever get a chance.

We had a full day and we were all beat by the time we got back to the room, but I loved every minute and can't wait to go again some time.