Day 4: NYC

10:17 AM

The morning of the 26th of April, we were off to a bit later start, as our busy schedule was starting to take it's toll. Our desire to see the city eventually surpassed our desire for more sleep, and we continued on our way. As this trip was a bit spontaneous, I looked up that morning what broadway plays were showing before we left the hotel and bought tickets to see Les Miserables for that evening. I also came across CityPasses - a more economical way to see the city sights, and bought us a couple of those.

The City Pass allowed us to do more than I had originally planned, because of it's savings. We were able to not only go to the top of the Rockefeller Center, but the Empire State building as well. In addition, it go us entry into the American Museum of Natural History, 9/11 memorial, and a cruise around the Statue of Liberty. There was so much to do and see, that we had to stay an extra day to finish everything we wanted.

Our hotel was in New Jersey, and we managed to take a NJ Transit bus in to NYC and take the subway to get around from there. Luckily we had been in the city once before on the way back from our honeymoon, so we were somewhat familiar with the subway system. That didn't stop me from getting confused near the end of the day (my brain was fried at this point), and thinking we got on a bus going the wrong direction (which we didn't, but I was so tired that I made us get off and go the other way, only to realize we had been in the right originally). On one of the busses, a lady with earbuds blessed us with a passionate solo - it was quite entertaining.

We heard accents from all over as we made our way to Time Square from the bus stop. Our hotel did not have breakfast, so we ducked in to a little cafe for a bite to take with us. The amount of skyscrapers was mind-numbing.

From Time Square we walked to and took the elevator up to Top of the Rock, and were impressed at being above it all. We got to see the expanse of Central Park as well as limitless skyscrapers. It was a bit foggy, and by the time we went to Empire State later in the day even more so, but that view was even higher.

We got to visit the museum that comes alive at night and see Dum Dum the statue and other exhibits. From there we bought Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches off a street vendor (because we neglected to get some in Philly and wanted to try them), and took a stroll around Central Park. We got to "feed the birds" the falling crumbs from our sandwiches, while sitting on one of the 9,000+ benches in the park.

I longed to see the bridge that Prince Edward jumps off in Enchanted, and asked the man at the information center where it was. Pulling out a large binder of bridge pictures, he informed us that there are nearly 40 bridges in Central Park, and asked if I knew what it looked like. Taken aback, I told him I didn't, thanked him, and that we'd be content with the ones in the area.

We did take pictures of one of the more well-known bridges (Bow Bridge). This makes an appearance in Enchanted, where singers dance across. It is also where Mary Jane breaks up with Peter Parker in Spiderman 3.

While in the park, it started raining on us, but luckily we had planned ahead and brought an umbrella, so we were not to be deterred. We continued on to Bethesda Fountain and Terrace, where we have since realized makes appearances in films as well.

Next stop (because we were delayed with subway confusion trying to see 9/11 memorial) was to see Les Miserables. We got stuck in a human traffic jam going down one block. It was a bit frightening. People were pushing us from all angles, trying to get ahead. It took quite some time to get through. They were getting quite cranky. It solidified our belief that we could never live as sardines in such a place.

This was the actual day of our second anniversary, and seeing the Broadway show was the perfect ending to the celebratory day. It might have been my favorite part of the day- it was great! I got a little watery eyed by the end, and the music was to die for.

How thankful am I to have been blessed with such a perfect husband. Each year I love him only more. This conjoined life has been the greatest of adventures. He is the walking stick to my hike, the humor to my worry, the companion to my travel, the hero to my struggles, and the husband of my dreams. Here's to many a year more.