NYC - DAY 3

Started the day off with a Starbuck's breakfast bread and coffee (complementary from our hotel).
We headed first to the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art).

I thought it was funny that so many people posed in front of the paintings. She almost looked like she could have been in the painting!

Afterwards, we stopped for a hot dog at one of the stands on the street. Can't beat a NYC hot dog!

We walked down Broadway and bought tickets to "Mamma Mia" for tonight's show. Can't wait!

We passed David Letterman's theatre and walked around the corner to the Hello Deli. Sure enough, Rupert was there!

Doorman at the Trump Tower.

The very cool Apple store across from the Plaza Hotel.

Carriage rides in Central Park. The horses smile on cue!

Central Park. A nice getaway from the hussle and bussle of the city.

..........and someone is going to be very mad when they're finished shopping!

NYC - DAY 2

This is a view from Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center), 67 stories high looking downtown towards the Empire State Building and the financial district.
Rockefeller Center ice skating rink turns into a restaurant during the summer months.
Lights at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
We saw so many cute little girls squealing and jumping up and down in front of the American Girl Doll store that we had to go in and see for ourselves. It was cute and I snapped a photo of these little girls holding their dolls.
Hot pretzels! One of the thousands of kiosks selling hot pretzels on the corners of NYC. Can you smell them?
After Rockefeller Center, we decided to walk down to Times Square. On the way we passed the New York Public Library. The outside of the building was having extensive renovation and repairs but I managed to snap a photo of one of the lions out front.
Times Square with it's colors, patterns, vibrancy and excitement of the city.

Ground Zero. As we walked passed Ground Zero we came upon Ladder House 10 where so many of the brave firefighters died on 9/11. This truck was pulling back in to the station. You can see the flag on front and the names of the men who died painted on the side. I didn't realize it at the time, but this Ladder House is directly across from Ground Zero.....about 25 feet away. I can just imagine all of the first responders just running across the street to help!
One of the cranes at Ground Zero building the new memorial to 9/11.
This is one of the pews in St. John's, the church directly behind Ground Zero where so many rescuers took their breaks. There are many reminders from 9/11 like this fireman's suit that still remain in the chapel including scuffs on the pews from their boots that they decided not to repair.
This is the interior of St. John's with a sign still hanging from the people of Oklahoma offering encouragement.

This is a collection of beautifully colored origami cranes made by school children in Japan to cheer the people of NYC. There were thousands of these cranes hanging! It was a very solemn and awesome site!

NYC - DAY 1

Our flight started out great. We arrived at the airport at 10:00 am, on time, the plane was on time, we were sitting in first class, things were looking good. I took a quick shot of the blue skies out of the window. But by the time we reached NYC the storms had rolled in and we were circling New Jersey for an hour. In fact we needed to refuel and were diverted to Philadelphia. No gates were open so we sat on the tarmac for several hours in the lightning and pouring rain. Some people wanted to leave and catch the train up to New York. We decided to wait it out. When a gate opened the pilot decided to let us all take a break in the Philly airport. They fed us pizza and Cokes. We were all a little worried since Delta was feeding us for free and wondered what they knew that we didn't. We made some friends from the plane in the Philly airport like Martin who was flying up to see his son the actor. And, another mom flying up to see her daughter, interning in NYC. Her other daughter is a junior at Auburn, so we had a lot to talk about. Finally got the call to board again. It's about 10:00 p.m. by now. All of the airports on the eastern seaboard had been closed for many hours due to the storm. We finally made it and landed at La Guardia! We decided to share a cab with our new friend, Martin, who is also a DAWG. I took a photo of our cabbie, Mr. Muhammad Islam! Could there be a worse name to associate with flying into NYC? Yikes! We arrived at the Hilton on 6th Avenue and were so glad to find a beautiful dry room! This morning the skies are blue and were ready for our first day of adventures!

BIRTHDAY PARTY - 3 year old style!

A Princess birthday party, swimming, giggling, pinatas, eating the face from the Strawberry Shortcake cake, best friends, gift bags, Barbies = the perfect 3 year old birthday party!

THE BIG CHICKEN

If you're from Atlanta you know the Big Chicken. It is used for directions, "Turn left at the Big Chicken", "Go past the Big Chicken and hang a right", "If you go past the Big Chicken you've gone too far" etc. It's a huge structure that identifies Marietta, Ga. and has eyes that roll around and a beak that opens and closes. It's one of THE landmarks of Atlanta! I saw a copy of "My Trip to the Big Chicken" at our library and realized that one of our patrons actually wrote the book. It is very cute and tells the story of a little girl and her first trip to the Big Chicken. Well, my great-niece turns 3 tomorrow and I bought the book for her along with a cute chicken Webkinz. Her grandmother is from Marietta and her great grandfather was the mayor of Marietta many years ago. In fact, there is a bridge named after him off of Atlanta St. named the Dick Hunter bridge. If you get a chance check out the book at your local library or pick up a copy of your own. The author is Sherry L Lewis.

ALLATOONA SUNSET

It was a lovely sunset on Lake Allatoona this evening. I was taking photos around the Marina and then across the street at Little River Restaurant. It was Biker Night with about 30 bikes out front and music out back. Kids feeding the ducks, guitars playing and boats passing by. It was a little over a year and a half ago that there was only a trickle of water in the lake. The drought was so severe the lake had almost dried up! Now it looks so vibrant and full of life. It was good to see everyone enjoying our lake again!

New 70-200 Canon lens

Here is one of my first shots from my new telephoto lens. This is Daisy and she will soon be 16 years old. She looks pretty good for almost 112 yrs old! Hopefully I'll get some good shots on my upcoming trip to New York City!

THAI BASIL CHICKEN FRIED RICE

I made Basil Chicken Fried Rice tonight using fresh basil from my Thai Basil plant. Need I say "Yummmmm"? Click this link to watch the YouTube video showing how to cook this recipe. The video suggests using day old rice. I made mine fresh tonight and it was a little sticky. I think the day old rice would absorb the liquid better and not stick as much. It still tasted great!

BEEHIVE CO-OP

Kelly and I visited the Beehive Co-op on Friday. She is thinking about joining and adding some of her own handcrafted items. It is located on Peachtree near Collier Road. It is such a refreshing space with beautifully handcrafted items by artisans from the Atlanta and nearby areas. You can find everything from handprinted T shirts, organic baby food, handmade soaps and lotions, jewelry, new fashions from upcoming designers, handbags and ceramics. I saw many things made from Anna Maria Horner fabrics, lots of embroidery, and fun funky hair ornaments. I did break down and buy a wonderful little vase from Cara Gilbert. See above. If you are looking for a unique handcrafted item try one of these new emerging designers!