Going to Arkansas . . .

I am headed to Arkansas in the morning to spend a few days with PapaJohn and Bonnie! It has been over a year since I've been there - and it is time to go for a visit. One of my favorite things about going to visit them is eating at the Old Feedhouse! Man, I love that place! We will be eating there on Wednesday night. He told me he had another great place to eat that he wanted to show me - so we will be doing that place on Thursday night. It will be great spending some quality time with my grandfather for a couple of days!

World Trade Center Memorial

I remember seeing this sculpture in the World Trade Center Plaza in December 1995 on my first trip to NYC. I toured the World Trade Center - and even went to the outdoor observation floor to take pictures. It was such an amazing experience! This sculpture survived the horrible attacks on 9/11. It was moved to Battery Park to serve as a memorial. It was a moving experience actually being at Ground Zero and then seeing this piece of art.

New York City 2008!

Lion King on Broadway!
"Imagine" in Central Park at Strawberry Fields dedicated to John Lennon.
Strawberry Fields in Central Park
Beautiful Central Park!


On the NYC subway!
The Naked Cowgirl in Times Square!
Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge - NYC in the background.
Memorial/Eternal Flame - dedicated to those who parished on 9/11 at the World Trade Center.
Lion King

Times Square & the M&M store!

Jason in Rockefeller Center

I did not have Internet connection while in NYC - so I was unable to add to my blog. This is my attempt to catch up on what I missed!

Day #1 (7-22-08/Tuesday)

1. Chelsea Street Piers

2. Times Square shopping

3. Rockefeller Center, NBC Studios, Radio City Music Hall

4. Macy's Department Store

5. Met Ron on the top floor (48 floors) of the Marriot Hotel in Times Square in the revolving bar!

Day #2 (7-23-08/Wednesday)

1. Took the subway to Brooklyn and then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge!

2. Fulton Fish Market

3. Ground Zero - World Trade Center area

4. Wall Street

5. Battery Park - and picture of Stature of Liberty in the background

6. Lion King on Broadway -- amazing!!!!

Day #3 (7-24-08/Thursday)

1. Coney Island (subway ride took 55 minutes)

2. China Town

3. Little Italy - and dinner!

Day #4 (7-25-08/Friday)

1. The Today Show - Miley Cyrus in the summer concert series - Rockefeller Center

2. Central Park

3. Times Square for lunch

4. Greenwich Village area for pizza

Day #5 (7-26-08/Saturday)

1. Flew back to DFW

Day 3 -- on the way to NYC!

Boston Harbor Cruise

We rented a car and left Boston at about 9:30 AM. We had a great time in Boston - and would go back again anytime!



Our first stop was in Quincy, Massachusetts to the site where John Adams and John Quincy Adams are buried. They are buried at United First Parish Church. It was a great stop - one I'll always remember!

We drove to Providence, Rhode Island - my first time in Rhode Island! We just ran around the city to check it out. I thought the capital building was beautiful. We went to the mall - ate lunch - and then headed back down I93/95. We took a little detour in Connecticut to the Mohegan Sun Indian reservation to do a little gambling. It was a really beautiful building. I played my favorite game - "Frog Prince" - lost $20 - and I was done!

Our stop tonight has ended in New Haven, Connecticut. We drove around the city a little bit tonight looking for someplace to eat and to do a little bit of shopping. We saw most of Yale University. We ended up getting back on I95 and going to West Haven - to eat at Chick's restaurant right on the coast. It was great!

Off to NYC tomorrow!

Day 2 in Boston . . .

Had another great day today!

1. We jumped on the trolley at the beginning or the day and reroad through all of the stops we hit yesterday. I figured the review and seeing the sites again would be good!
2. We did get off at Granary Burying Ground - the third oldest cemetery in Boston. This site was significant because it is the site of five victims of the Boston Massacre (one being the only African American Crispus Attucks). It has three of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (Samual Adams, John Hancock, and Robert Treat Paine. Paul Revere is another significant grave. James Otis is there too and he was an important American Revolution advocate. Phylis Wheatly is also buried here. Finally, I saw the burial of Ben Franklin's parents.
3. I checked out the stop of the Boston Tea Party - even though it was closed. When I got there - I noticed it was closed because it has burned down at some point (will be searching the Internet to find out when and why). It is sitting on the water by a bridge . . . just sitting there all destroyed. It looks horrible.
4. We also upgraded our Trolley passes to get a 45 minute Boston Harbor Cruise. Wow, was this worth it! It was great to see the city from the water. It began raining really hard at about the midpoint of the cruise. We had to go from the upper deck to the middle deck. Great cruise!
5. Dinner was on the warf at Joe's American Bar & Grill.

We will be pulling out of the Boston tomorrow headed for Quincy (to see the tomb of John Adams). From there - we will drive through Rhode Island and end up in New Haven, Connecticut! I can't wait to see the countryside!

Day 1 in Boston . . .

Great day today checking out the city! Some of the stops and sights:

1. USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) - oldest warship still afloat in the world! I was VERY into this ship - thought it was amazing that it was still around - after 210 years!

2. Bunker Hill Monument

3. King's Chapel & burial ground (very old cemetery - an original in Boston)

4. Boston Common - the oldest park in the US.

5. Old State House - and site of the Boston Massacre

6. Went to dinner in Little Italy - waited for about an hour in a line outside the restaurant - but it was GREAT!!!! It was a small little place - and very popular. Walked around after eating in Little Italy and it was hoppin' for a Saturday night! People were everywhere and they seemed to be shopping at the many pastry shops, so I had to get a chocolate cupcake! So good!

Arrival in Boston!

I made it to Boston!!! My flight landed about 12:45 PM - and I jumped on the subway trying to get to my hotel. I realize now that it would have been easier and faster to take a cab from the airport. Jason and I lugged our bags ALL over the place - and it was difficult. It took too long - many times we got off the subway to get on the other line to get off and then to get on different line - Ugh! Anyway, arrived at the hotel - dropped our stuff off - grabbed a bite to eat around the corner and then headed to the Faneuil Hall & Marketplace. From just the little research on the Internet - I knew that this was a place with LOTS of shops and things. Wow, there were TONS of places to shop and some neat eating stops. We spent several hours there. This is also the place where we will board the trolley tomorrow for our tour of the city. Boston is a neat city . . . .

New York/Statue of Liberty

New York City . . . . on my way! I'm still trying to book the Statue of Liberty tour and I'm not having much luck. I'm getting nervous that I'm not going to be able to make this work. I think I'm too late in trying to get the monument pass which lets you go up into the pedestal and see up into the statue - and that is what I REALLY wanted to do. I'm now just trying to get onto the island - at least -- and then onto Ellis Island. Hope I make it in . . . . we'll see!

Boston Trolley!

Boston is just like a day and half away! Can't wait! I plan to see the city on Saturday and Sunday by way of the trolley! I booked the two day Old Town Trolley Tour because I got nervous about trying to see Boston in one day. There are 17 stops - and just not sure I can make it all in one day. So, two fun days of checking it ALL out! I am worried that I will like some stops a lot and want to hang out there for a while. We'll see how it goes!

Boston here I come . . . .

BB10

Again . . . . for the tenth time . . . I'm hooked! Not sure exactly what it is about that show that pulls me in - but I love it! Tonight was the second show -- and already a mess! My DVR is set for the series recording. When it ends . . . . I'll be in school already . . . . :oI

Concert Video Clips

Two short video clips using my cell phone at the concert. His encore was three more songs - he did "A Different Corner" - then "Careless Whisper" - and then ended the show with "Freedom!" Of course these two clips don't do the concert justice - but I just thought it would be cool to video some of the concert to see if I could post it! Check it out!

George Michael in Concert

WOW . . . not sure what else to say??? George Michael in concert was GREAT - even better than I expected! It was soooooooo neat hearing him sing some of those songs from way back when . . . . "Careless Whisper" -- "Freedom" -- etc. So good!!! I took these pictures with my cell phone camera tonight during intermission. We had a great time!

George Michael . . . in concert!

I just got tickets tonight on eBay for the George Michael concert in Dallas tomorrow night! I got four of them for only $60 each - cheap! I'll be going with Jason, Jason, and Nicola! It should be fun! It will be cool to see him in concert as he will be singing some of his songs from when I was growing up in high school and college. I think he is singing a lot of his old stuff! I remember his first song with Wham! - "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (is that the correct title??). My brother had the whole Wham dance thing down! He was good - it is funny looking back on it now!

Old Friends

I just reconnected with an old friend from college today! Lisa Stewart found me on LinkedIn by searching ENMU students! I have thought about her MANY times over the years and even tried to search for her on Google - but never found her. I thought I saw her pass me in a car that I was in about six years ago over by the Irving Mall. Well, it was probably her - because she lives and works in that area! We talked on the phone for a little bit to catch up on a few other people we ran around with - it was great! I think she and I are going to lunch on Monday -- and she is bringing pictures from way back when. I can't wait to see some of those! It is always neat reconnecting with people from the past -- I love how it makes me reflect on the days gone by. Wow, some great memories of my years at ENMU!

New Mexico Wind

Wanda inspired this blog entry. She sent me this photo today of a sand storm that was closing in on Causey. I can say that that is one thing I do not miss about living in New Mexico - those horrible sand storms. At a distance you can see the sky is coated with sand.

I was also touched by this photo as it took me right back to Uncle Hank and Aunt Marcel's house in Causey. This picture is taken from their house looking a the barn. I remember many times hanging out at that barn where Uncle Hank had many horses. I also remember that huge water tank -- and the goldfish were gigantic (as I remember them being as a kid). I remember the little path to their house in the pasture from Grandma Merrick's house. I remember Uncle Hank's old red pick-up - and even taking a ride way out in the pasture to see his horses. Fun times! This photo has taken me back in time -- to some great memories of spending time in Causey, New Mexico when I was growing up.

Motivation

I've noticed I have a slight lack of motivation this summer to complete my "To Do" list. I started the summer with several items . . . . and at this point - I have very few checked off. I am wondering what is preventing me from eagerly tackling that list? I'm not sure . . . . My DC trip was a good excuse for a while . . . and now my Boston/NYC trip that I will take soon is my new excuse . . . I need to find that motivation soon! Where is it??

DC Trip . . . . HUGE success!!!!

Just returned from my DC trip last night (Saturday). It was a great trip - one of my best! I love it when everything goes smoothly and there are no major problems!

This photo was taken on July 4th on our way to the Mall area to get a spot for the fireworks. This picture is of all of the students on the trip from both schools. We had a great time - and the kids were super!