NYC 1

Early Saturday morning, we were docked in NY harbor next to the Intrepid.  We had a leisurely breakfast and then got off the boat.  I somehow convinced my parents we should avoid the long lines of people waiting and just take the subway to my friend Lindsay's house in Brooklyn.  It seemed like a great idea, so we consulted the map and headed to the closest stations that reported having an elevator.  Only, it didn't really have a working elevator, and Dad didn't want to lug his two suitcases down stairs, so we walked three blocks to the next station.  Only that one had an elevator, but on the wrong line.  So, we dragged all of our suitcases down the stairs and finally settled in for the ride.  You'd think people with a lot of luggage would stand out on the subway, but no one really stands out on the subway.  I think we did stand out on the streets of Brooklyn, though. 

about a block or two away from Lindsay's home--we walked past this on our way to and from the subway

I felt really bad that my friend was sick when we got back from our cruise.  But, she was generous as ever and still let us stay.  We did miss her joining us on our adventures.  I have no doubt we would have been much more efficient with her, not to mention that she is just really great company.  And those boys of hers are adorable and so funny.  Anyway...

We headed out to make the trek across the Brooklyn Bridge.  It was a beautiful day for a walk.  You can see that a lot of other people thought so, too.  We saw all kinds of people on the bridge, including a model having a photo shoot with the Manhattan skyline in the background.

this is not the model, this is me  (bwah-hah-hah!)

a view of the Manhattan bridge from a top the Brooklyn Bridge

the skyline from the bridge

we even saw our boat, the Carnival Glory, heading back out to sea

We walked through City Hall Park, and over to St. Paul's Church.  We got there just as the groundskeeper was locking the gates.  Bummer.  Behind the church is the 9/11 site.  We snapped a few pictures of the new building, and wished we could have gone into the new memorial that opened on September 11, 2011.  We didn't think about reserving tickets until it was too late.

I just love these tables in the city parks

the mounted police, directing someone to the church.  they were all over the place.

Because we were in New York, and wanted some authentic food, we got some Papa John's bread sticks for dinner (?!) and then headed back to Lindsay's.  (Actually, we were in the financial district and didn't really find much of anything open, so we settled for something quick.  We stopped at Cold Stone once we were in Brooklyn, though, because bread sticks weren't quite healthy enough.)