Sean called about 2pm on Monday and asked if I wanted to be in a plane for the better part of 2 days, go to work with him, and get to site see (in the dark) for only 4 hours. I said I'd love to but I couldn't because I babysit 2 little ones, Lili had preschool, and what would I do with them for the majority of the day? I felt guilty thinking about it, putting at least 4 families out just so I could go have fun. I didn't even tell Quique about it until Sean stopped by on his way home from work. So then I was in trouble. Quique told Sean I was going and then I had to call the 2 families that I babysit for, have them get new sitters for the next 2 days and figure out my own kids. So once it was all figured out (Quique went in late after kids went to school, Erika had Lili and Mateo. Then Gaby and Isabel home alone for about 40 minutes til Mark got home then pick up the little ones from Erika and have them all til Quique got home), I was jumping up and down, SUPER excited to go. I've always wanted to go to New York City.
So we left my house at 6:00am and got to New Wark, NJ around 7:15pm. Got the rental car and went straight to Carlos Bakery, which closed 10 minutes after arriving. Carlos Bakery has a tv series called "Cake Boss" on Netflix and our family loves to watch it. So that was super important to go to it. I got a box of delicious pastries and a mug all for the low price of $32...hahaha...
Then we went to NYC to fit in as much as possible. We did a ton for the little time we had. It was amazing. We went to see the Statue of Liberty from the Jersey side. It was beautiful. Bitterly cold being out in the open next to the sea but beautiful!
We went to see ground zero from where the World Trade Centers stood. It was all under construction making a massive area full of new buildings and memorials. It was amazing being there, walking down those streets that were once so full of chaos and debris. Remembering watching on a tv on my mission and the feelings it all brought back. All those people who lost their lives and how many signs and plaques there were to honor them. It truly was a humbling couple of hours. Sean just kept wanting to go but I just wanted to stay there and feel of the spirit of that place. As horrible that 9/11 day was, and being there feeling the honor that it has turned into, it was just a real privilege.
Sean really wanted to eat at Nathans, in Conney Island. A hot dog place that hold the hot dog eating contests. So we went there and ate. I really don't like hot dogs and got sick instantly. Conney Island itself was still pretty tattered from hurricane Sandy. But you could still see all the amusement park rides and booths and it seemed pretty neat.
Then we drove around seeing different buildings around NYC. We got out at Time Square and walked around. It was better than the movies. It was amazing! It was as bright as noon day at midnight. Those billboards are just massive and gigantic. I got a chill that went straight to my bones and my back was spassing for quite some time but despite how bitterly cold it was it was just such a wonderful experience. We quickly got back to the car because between 12:20-12:30, too many drunks were everywhere and seemed like too many wanted to be confrontational.
Next we went to Central Park and drove through part of it. I jumped out and could see the zoo and where part of it looks like the Madagascar movie. Then we drove past the temple and then we were too tired and still had about an hour drive to the hotel. So off we went. We got there about 2:30am.
We were dead asleep until the alarm went off. We got up, got ready and then off to Sean's work sites. We he finished, there was about 3 hours til we had to be at the airport. We wanted to take the fairy to the statue of liberty but it would have been too close on time so we decided to go to O.C.C.(Orange County Choppers).
We got to O.C.C. and took some photos. We went in and looked at all their motorcycles they have all displayed throughout their store. Then we decided to eat lunch in their cafe. I was very hesitant but we did. It ended up being horrible. Our meal took 45 minutes to be served and my meat was bloody and raw. So I got a new one and it was cooked it was just disgusting. I only ate about 1/4 of my meal. We had to leave anyway so we did. We were there for way too long and barely had time to get to the airport.
We got to the airport, took the car back, got to our gate, went through the first security line and by passed about 50 people then came to the next security line. It was long and not moving. They opened a new line and we got it in but same thing, long and not moving. We jumped into the handicapped line and barely made the plane, about 15 people left to board. Man oh man! We got home about midnight.
What a trip! It was awesome, fun, and surreal. Thank you so much Sean! It was wonderful!!!!
