To think it might be hit by Hurricane Irene!

My drive and ambition to blog on a more frequent basis is severely lacking.  It isn't a chore but is sure has felt like one that I keep putting off......this week has been incredibly busy with meetings for everything from soccer, to boy scouts to cub scouts, curriculum nights at 2 schools, PTA meetings, and a band concert also.  Every night......next week starts soccer practice, girl scouts, boy scouts and cub scouts.  And yet, I am glad the new normal has arrived after our crazy summer!

As the East Coast evacuates and readies itself for Hurricane Irene, it is strange to think about it,  knowing that we visited nearly every state the storm is supposed to impact.  To think of NYC and the subways at a stand still is just mind boggling...under water...no ferries running...cannot even imagine living there and having to figure out how to get around when ALL mass transit has come to a grinding halt.  We pray that the evacuations spare lives and that the storm takes an alternate path.....the scope and amount of clean up that might be necessary is awful to think about!

A fitting time to get on with another vacation blog post I think.....

Day 37
Friday July 1st

Of all the ironic twists along the way, one of our friends (whom we would see again in Virginia on the 6th) who lives in Albuquerque, was visiting NYC for just ONE day with her sister in law and niece.  They rode a bus up from Fredricksburg, Virginia and we made plans to 'meet up' to say hi.  We weren't exactly sure how the day would line up or where we'd meet, but it worked out nearly perfect...they got off the subway at the same time we did in the same area of the city.  It wouldn't happen that way again even if we tried to plan it!  We met her at the church right by Ground Zero and shared a hug and plans for the day-we had to go to the church a second time in hopes of finding Eric's hat that he had taken off and set down the day before.....no luck.

Although we were headed in opposite directions with totally opposite plans, we happened to see her once more in different part of the city as she and her family waited in line to put their names into a lottery for tickets to Wicked.  She had her name pulled...amazing...and got to see Wicked on Broadway in the front row!  Lucky girl!

Our plans for the day had us touring around the aircraft carrier Intrepid.  And I came face to face with what I pretty much already knew and would have to face a whole lot more in the weeks to come.  I don't like museums all that much.  I mean, don't get me wrong, there are so many cool, amazing and awe inspiring historical facts that can be learned from museums, but I'm the kind of girl that can see it all in oh, 2 hours tops, whereas that man I'm married to....father of my children.....he likes to read EVERYTHING and take LOTS of pictures of LOTS of inanimate objects.  Painful......really.  However, since he had the camera, I did end up in a few pictures for the day!!

First up, a tour of a nuclear submarine. I didn't mind touring the sub.  It had a definitive starting place and ending place and really no place in between to stop. Perfect!  My kind of tour-the one where the phrase 'keep moving' might be heard if you move too slowly!

 Once we finished we headed to the flight deck.  Luke and Laurel had a blast running from airplane to airplane, claiming each one as their new favorite.  Take a picture of us mom, oh take another one of this plane mom.  If only they knew how much taking pictures of 50 different planes felt to me!  Nah, I didn't want to rain on their parade so I dutifully took many...many pictures.

 We went up to the 'tower' where the captain would sit and the kids all took turns.  Gregory felt it important to give a more real vision.....the captain deep in thought-

On the hanger deck we came across this large replica of the Intrepid......built completely out of Legos!!  This brought oohs and aahs from all of us, but most audibly from Jacob, our resident Lego junky.

 We stepped outside to the back of the ship and found some gigantic rope lines......well of course I thought it would make for a fun photo op!  Well, we never did get a photo of all 5 kids......I think they spent 5 minutes arguing over who was going to hold the rope where, Laurel was determined that she could lift the rope herself and the it was just ridiculous.  I called off the effort after several failed attempts....

Docked right next to the Intrepid were 2 cruise ships-a Carnival cruise ship and the Queen Mary 2.  While we probably could have been long gone by late afternoon, we stuck around....and stuck around...and stuck around some more to watch the carnival cruise ship pull out.  It was entertaining to watch.  Better than looking at all those darn planes, that's for sure!

 We ended our day with more sights and sounds of Times Square.  Times Square is an incredible mix of anything you could possibly imagine......people of every size, shape and color

vibrant, brilliant, eye catching and attention grabbing advertisements

 and this intense overload to the senses-smells, sounds, and visual tapestries that are nearly impossible to adequately describe.  It strikes me that no matter who you are, what you look like, what you wear, what you smell like, who you're walking with or who you're talking to, you'll fit in.  Not one person will bat an eyelash at you.  The extreme differences are the similarities, as strange as that sounds!  New York City is truly a place you have to experience in person to totally understand the culture.