New England Trip- Day 5 Connecticut

Day 5- Monday, Aug 23

Jared & Leah caught a flight out of NYC on Monday morning, so Shane & I headed to Grand Central Station for our train ride to Connecticut! I was really excited for this portion of the trip... visiting our old stomping ground! Shane hadn't been back since we moved over 8 years ago, but I have been back more frequently to visit friends. After picking up our rental car, we stopped by our old apartment complex- it really hadn't changed that much! Next we visited one of our favorite places... Lyman Orchards! Since the cool weather had continued (upper 60s), we opted to just eat lunch at the store rather than pick any fruit. It was so yummy... especially the apple pie!!

A little chilly when we stepped off the train


The old apartment- 2nd floor


Eating lunch


Eating apple pie


We used to come here every Saturday!


Trees... oh how I've missed you!!!


After settling into our hotel, we met our good friends for dinner! We met Robert & Holly when we first moved to CT, and quickly became great friends. We have so much in common with these two & really enjoy spending time together. It was great catching up with them! We had a fabulous dinner, a quick stop for gelato, and then back to their house to visit!

Me & Holly


Robert & Shane


All 4 of us at dinner


The Lumpkins


The Kleins- we miss 'em!!


The trip was entirely to short, so I'm looking forward to our next visit!

New England Trip- Day 4 NYC

Day 4- Sunday, Aug 22

It was an early start to day 4, so we decided we needed a sugar high from Juniors- muffins, donuts, & pastries galore :) We ate our healthy breakfast on the subway as we headed down to battery park to catch the ferry. Before catching the ferry, we stopped to take a few pictures in front of the sculpture that originally stood in the plaza of the World Trade Center, but was moved to battery park after 9/11 as a temporary memorial. Looking at the sculpture brought up a lot of emotion in me- it was our first time to be in NYC since 9/11 (we visited the July before & then moved back to Texas the February after.)

Picking out our goodies


Looking super excited


Waiting for the sugar to kick in


The memorial






After going through security, we boarded the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Thankfully the rain held off until we got off the ferry and into line for security at the statue- it's so sad to me that all of that is necessary. Anyway, we spent a while going through the museum (which was really interesting.)

Waiting for the ferry to leave


And we're off


Ferry


New York City as the rain approaches




Us


Self portrait


Passing Ellis Island


Statue of Liberty




Close up


The original torch




Museum




Next we climbed up what seemed like 500 stairs to the viewing pedestal. We had wanted to go up into the torch, but evidently you have to get tickets WAY in advance, not just a month or two. Even though it was raining, it was neat to go up inside the statue & be able to look around inside.

Climbing to the pedestal


Looking up into the statue


After a rough ride back on the ferry (due to the weather), we headed to lunch at a place called Cafeteria. I forgot to take pics, but it was really yummy! Shane & I had breakfast... AMAZING. We then headed up to the American Museum of Natural Science! The guys were very excited about this part of the trip, and I soon realized we could have spent days in this museum. Unfortunately we only had 3 hours, so it was a bit rushed. We picked out our "must see" exhibits & hit them first. My favorite part was the dinosaurs, so I ended up getting Austin some stickers and tattoos from there- he loves 'em!

A quaint street on our walk to the American Museum of Natural Science


We could get used to this...


The museum


Leah the dinosaur


More dinosaurs




Other exhibits








Why are museums so cold??


Catching the subway back to the hotel- I thought the museum subway station was fun~


Thankfully we had a little time to rest before dinner! Our final dinner was at Keens Steakhouse- again, we were NOT disappointed. There's nothing like a great steak to end your vacation!

Jared & Leah


Shane & I


All 4 of us at Keens


We finished dinner around 9pm & headed back to the hotel to change clothes- we wanted to spend a little more time walking around the city! Right as we were walking back outside, it started pouring rain... so we hung out in the hotel lobby until the storm passed.

Me


Leah


The crew


Of course I had to take a picture of this.. HOOK EM HORNS!


Enjoying our last night in NYC




We had such a fun time with Jared & Leah, and can't wait for our next trip together! It's nice to have friends that you truly enjoy traveling with... no matter where you go! I'd love to do New England again, but maybe next time opt for the relaxing route- Vermont during October at a bed & breakfast...