Favorite Vacation Destination

Today, for Show Us Your Life Friday, I am supposed to tell where our favorite vacation destination has been. I decided to stick with inside the U.S. (since we went on an AMAZING trip to Israel, but I don't have the pictures on this computer...) and tell you about our trip to New York City last December. Landon and I went to New York for the first time in November 2007 with Pastor Johnny on a trip, but we were only in the city one day. We saw as much as we could in that one day but decided to go back the next December (when Christmas decorations would be up) to celebrate our 5th anniversary (even though our anniversary was in July). We had a great trip!! It was crazy cold - and rainy - but with no snow! This was a wonderful trip, but definitely not relaxing....here are pictures...

Times Square
(did anyone else think it was just "Time" Square...Landon proved me wrong on that before leaving on our trip last December)

Wicked...our favorite Broadway musical of ALL TIME!!! We saw Wicked for the first time at The Fox, here in Atlanta, and were a little unsure whether or not we would see it again in NY, but I'm so glad we did! It was amazing - we love those songs (and know them all by heart)!! We also went to a really awesome behind the scenes Wicked thing where several of the cast members (uh, I think for us it was the Professor and maybe Fiero - but I can't remember) come in and show you around and you get to look up close at the costumes and stage, etc. There was not a bad seat in the entire theater. It was fabulous!! I think, overall, the theater (uh, the shopping runs a close, very close 2nd) was my favorite part of NY.

We also got to see the Lion King. Landon did not like this one as much...but I thought it was AMAZING. I'll tell you why he didn't like it. Because it was real people and they were these mask things - but instead of being over their faces, the masks were above their faces - so it was like...what are you supposed to look at? Their real face? The mask above their face? But, the music was amazing...and when they had all that music and all the animals came in at the beginning...that was my very first Broadway production I had seen (before we went to see Wicked that night - this was a matinee), and I was in total awe. As much as I love music and theater...it was the greatest thing ever. I thought it was crazy awesome. And, in that theater, too, I thought you could see so well from any seat.

Okay, it was EXTREMELY COLD. This was a classic picture...waiting for the subway while drinking a Starbucks. Landon, nor I, are huge coffee fans, but it definitely got us through some hard times while we were there, freezing our Florida born tails off! We did ride the Subway EVERYWHERE. It worked out great for us...except when I bought fake (or stolen) purses and we had to try to put them under our coats at midnight on the subway on the way back to the hotel because we were afraid someone would attack us for them. I always had my mace in my pocket with my hand on it :)

400/New+York+030.jpg"> We took Grayline tours while we were there. Tours are my favorite thing ever, so I'm going to be a perfect senior citizen to go on the church trips. It was very cold though, but we knew we'd get the best view from up top....yeah...here's a picture of the bus. You can see that no one else wanted to brave the cold...and wind...and sometimes rain...

ork+140.jpg"> Here we are at a restaurant, PJ Clarke's. We ate great while we were there...but it was sure expensive. Did you know that you only get a small glass of coke and then you have to pay for refills??

I think my other favorite (besides theater and shopping) was when we went to Brooklyn Tabernacle Sunday morning. Just the Subway ride there was an experience. It's like 7am, no one else on the Subway, but us....So, we get off at the correct stop and it's dark down there and looks like it's under construction. So, Landon starts singing "For Thou, Oh Lord are a shield to me..." which is fitting since that's Brooklyn Tab....but it was also fitting since we needed Him to be a shield in a scary and unfamiliar place. We come out after climbing up the Subway steps, and we have no clue where we are or where the church is. We walk for a few minutes...and then....wait for it...we see someone with a Bible. Well, duh, he has to be going there...so we follow him. He was! I thought Brooklyn Tab was so much like heaven will be. It was really red, yellow, black, and white, and they just sang and sang and sang - it was so great. We sat right up in the front. Have I mentioned that I really love church?

Alright...those are the highlights! We're saving money this year...so we're not taking a big trip! I hope Landon doesn't read this post, because he'll have us back on a plane to NYC after this reminder of what a great time we had together there!