The Big Apple

On Sunday, May 2nd, Ryan and I hopped on an airplane and settled in for a 5 hour flight to JFK airport in New York. We spent the first day in Long Island visiting Ryan's Aunt Peg who lives in an adorable city called Massapequa.

After the Monday morning rain subsided, we headed out for a stroll to explore the charming houses in the neighborhood.

Just a block away is a beautiful preserve complete with pathways that surround Massapequa Lake.

After lunch at a local diner, we headed over to Jones Beach.

It was a chilly introduction to the Atlantic Ocean. But still mesmerizing to watch the waves roll in one after the other.

The next morning, we hopped on the Long Island Rail Road and headed to Manhattan. I wasn't very excited to plunge below the East River, but when we emerged from Penn Station in midtown Manhattan I was blown away at the immense craziness that is Time Square. We quickly dropped our bags at our hotel and then hopped on the subway to downtown where we arrived just in time to hop on a sailboat to scope out the sights from the sea.

This part of the trip was divine. I love, love, LOVE sailing. So fun and relaxing.

Of course the views of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty added to the experience. Totally surreal and fascinating to see these historic gems up close.

The weather was perfect and I literally laid back and kicked up my feet and relished in the (kid-free) atmosphere.

On our way back to the harbor, we spotted the iconic Brooklyn Bridge and were blown away by the lower Manhattan skyline. Stunning.

Some of you may not know that Ryan has a hidden love for the financial markets. So, it was fun to go and check out where the action takes place. Even though this was as close as we could get. There were about 20 armed guards and a metal detector between us and the action on the floor of the stock exchange.

Another subway brought us to Grand Central (which is truly stunningly beautiful). After lunch we headed over to the Empire State Building.

There was a thunderstorm headed toward us (we had a great view from the observation deck) and so we only had time to capture a couple of shots before we were hustled inside.

After that, we walked a lot exploring 5th Avenue and midtown. We arrived completely exhausted at our lovely hotel and took a quick power nap so that we could get dressed up to go see Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre.

Seeing a show on Broadway has been on my short list of things I would like to do before I die. It was fun to cross that one off my bucket list. And it was spectacular.

After the show, we went to see the view of Manhattan from the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) and then strolled through Time Square on our way back to our bed.

By Wednesday morning, we were a little tired. So, we headed to the Upper West side and enjoyed a relaxing stroll up Central Park west and across Central Park.

The relaxed beauty of Central Park was exactly what we needed after a bustling day in the heart of the city.

We emerged on the other side of Central Park at the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art) and popped inside to see a new exhibit of Picasso art.

We learned that the architecture of the buildings almost competes with the masterpieces hung on the walls.

After taking in some culture, we continued down 5th Avenue to connect with the subway to pick up our bags and head to our hotel near the airport for our early morning flight.