First we drove to Pittsburgh, where my wonderful cousin, Jennifer, and her sweet hubby Mike live. Jen and I hadn't seen each other since we were young teens, and we have only recently reconnected on Facebook. She is such a kindred spirit. One of those friends in which it doesn't matter how much time passes...you can always pick right up where you left off. Our time together was too short, but it was so good. I hope we can get them to come West next year for shenanigans!
This pic of our families together makes me laugh. Check out the laser beam eyes! Ha!
They showed us Pittsburgh at night, and it was absolutely beautiful! We rode an incline car up to the tippy top of the city, and stood on the platform where they got married a few years ago. Breathtaking. Can't wait to spend more time with these sweet souls.
The next day we drove on to Downington, PA, where auntie and unkie live now that Unkie has retired. Pennsylvania is GORGEOUS. So green, and lush, and rolling hills....and the houses are OLD and well loved. Lovin Man and I adore old houses....so we really enjoyed walking around checking out the scenery. We were not far from Brandywine Creek. Beautiful countryside.
This is a pic of Marsh Creek Lake, which we paddled all the way across, while Little Man kayaked across. (we should have kayaked instead of paddled, but it was a good work out!) Felt so good to be out on the water. Gorgeous place.
A delicious hearty breakfast at the Downington Diner....where the movie, The Blob, was filmed.
The waitresses here were sweet and sassy. Just the way we like them.
The girls stole away for some beauty maintenance.....pedis and manis, in preparation for our big city debut! What is it that is SO WONDERFUL about getting your nails done? LOVE IT.
In New York, we stayed not far off of Times Square, which seemed like a different planet in and of itself. It's crazy BUSY there. Talk about over stimulation......but it was cool.....we stayed cool. :-)
Strange characters with matted fur costumes wanted us to take their picture with them for a tip. We indulged them only once, and then dodged them the rest of the time.
We were treated to a wonderful harbor cruise the first evening we were there. This was so lovely. Learned a lot about the history of the city, and got some beautiful shots of the new WTC, which was very moving to see.
And of course.....our lady.....we loved seeing her.......
We visited the 9/11 memorial, which was awe inspiring and moving. It is so beautifully done. The site has been turned into a beautiful park, so peaceful and serene. This is a shot of the "Survivor Tree"....the only tree on the site to survive and grow back. Amazing.
A big highlight for Lily and I was seeing Mood Fabrics (of Project Runway fame) in person!
This place is a crazy (yet organized) maze of every fabric, trim, notion, bauble you can think of for design. It was so cool to see. We sort of wandered around with a glazed over look in our eye. I'm sure the employees there are used to it. You could definitely tell who were the local designers there to conduct business, and who the gawkers (us) were. Tee hee.
Other highlights included eating salads at Rockefeller Center, treats from Magnolia Bakery, visiting MOMA with Auntie and Unkie (where we spotted Owen Wilson, which was soooo cool!), an early morning run in Central Park, a carriage ride in Central Park, and we girls wearing our zebra print bathrobes provided by the hotel, and watching Project Runway while the boys in the next room played poker with Legos.
Good times. But always happy to be home again, home again, jiggity jog.
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