How It All Began...........

Well, it had to start somewhere...right?  My first trip to NYC in 2007 was not a planned trip.  It just so happened that my mom and I flew in to Philly and drove to Atlantic City to a concert (Earth, Wind & Fire!!!!  my favorite band EVER!) and had an extra day we had originally planned to spend sightseeing in Philly.  But......the thought of NYC had popped into my head and we tossed it around a bit and hadn't really decided to go until the next morning.  With a cell phone, a GPS and keys to a rental car we took the first step and  decided to call the Statue of Liberty info line and found that if we left right away we could get there in time to take a ferry out to the statue.  We punched it in the GPS and away we went!!!!!  As we got closer we could not believe we were really going to be in New York City?!?!?!  Could it really be happening???  We drove for several hours and the GPS kept saying we were getting closer and closer but we could not see the BIG city!  And then as I came around a bend.......there it was........the Statue of Liberty!!!!!!!!!!  It was AMAZING!!!!!!  You really can't describe the feeling of seeing it!  And then to see the gorgeous skyline of NYC......... Such a stunning sight!  We got ferry tickets right away and off we went!  We had a very limited time as it was later in the day so we made the most of it!  The weather was cool and rainy but we didn't care !!!!!  It was so amazing to be on Liberty Island looking at the Statue of Liberty and also looking out and seeing the NYC skyline. I could not believe I was really there!  Knowing we were running out of time we picked up a few souvenirs and headed back on the ferry.  The whole time I felt like I needed someone to pinch me!  I am in New York City?!?!?!?!?!

Isn't the skyline amazing!

 From there I decided since we were really here and didn't know when we would ever make it back I just had to see the Empire State Building........so we programmed the GPS and off we went!  That where the real adventure began.  Here I was....... Nebraska girl.....driving a rental car.......in New York City traffic......at rush hour.  Yep!  It's true.  That's where the adrenaline kicked in and took over.  It kept me from going into a panic mode.  There is NOTHING like driving in NYC!  Complete insanity! Around here they think Minnesota drivers are the crazy ones.  I will never think that again for sure!  We did drive by the Empire State Building and it was gorgeous!  Even through the rain.

Horrible picture of me - but an awesome reminder that I drove in NYC rush hour traffic with crazy taxis and survived!

Empire State Building

At that point I really wished I had an "I LOVE NY" tshirt.  You all know the ones =)  Mom spots a shop on the corner that has them for sale and jumps out and I tell her I'll drive "around the block" and pick her up!  Well I now know that I turned onto Broadway which runs diagonally and I got completely lost and that a block in NYC is not the same as a block anywhere else. I was starting to panic when I saw something so beautiful.........the Flat Iron Building.  I couldn't believe it was right there in front of my eyes.  But I snapped back to reality and knew I had to get back to find my mom!!!!!  I called her on her cell and using the Empire State Building as guide I found my way back but couldn't spot her even though I knew we were on the very same block. Then just like a scene from the movies......she came running across what seemed like 50 lanes of traffic, dodging taxis and everything else and hopped in the car!!!!!!  I was so relieved!  She scored us some tshirts and off we went.

And lastly, I could NOT be in NYC and NOT see Times Square!!!!!!!!  I punched the Virgin music mega store into the GPS and we were off!!!  It was the most amazing place I've ever seen.  It was pouring rain, but there was traffic everywhere and there were lights everywhere and it was so colorful!  Seeing it on tv was nothing like being in the middle of it all.  We drove though twice.  It took forever but we did not care one bit!!!!

Lots of rain in Times Square

This was a day I will never, ever forget!!!!!