***WARNING! PICTURE OVERLOAD!***

Pops and Lela have been here for a week and so far it has been wonderful. It took the Boogie about thirty minutes to warm up to both of them. Now she adores them and can't get enough of them. She is a bit confused as to who is who, however. They are interchangeably Pops and/or Lela which we all think is very funny.

They arrived late Friday night and we spent Saturday relaxing and Sunday at church. On Monday we kidnapped FIL and all went to New York City (the Boogie stayed with aunties.)

Waiting for the train

It was a nice ride although toward the end the train was delayed and we had to transfer to another one.

Our first stop was the Winter Gardens to look over Ground Zero.

We saw the September 11 memorial ...

... then made our way down to Wall Street ...

... where we had our picture taken with George Washington.

Then we got hungry so we found a little hole-in-the-wall pizza place where we all enjoyed calzones ...

... and heros. Everything was delicious and plentiful!

Our next stop was the Brooklyn Bridge. We made sure to walk in the pedestrian path because if you stray into the bike lane the cyclists will ring their bells and yell at you!

After that we went underground to the subway.

It was Pops and Lela's first ride on the subway.

We went to Battery Park -- see the Statue of Liberty in the background?

Back on the subway ...

... to Columbus Circle. Columbus doesn't look very happy, does he?

Don't they look like tursts?

On our way into Central Park we discovered this guy and his menagerie.

We got lost in Central Park and the men climbed up to see which way we should go. As you can see they had differing opinions.

This was Pops's favorite place in the park.

We saw a bridal couple having their pictures taken!

After Central Park we saw Atlas and Saint Patrick's church (cathedral?). We were all starting to drag so we found a Barnes and Noble with a Starbucks in it. After the coffee break we went to the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) which was amazing.

Central Park

Empire State Building (don't mind our perplexed faces, we were trying to get everything into this self-portrait.)

Then we went to Times Square!

Right in Times Square there was an area cordoned off with lawn chairs, etc., in it. We thought it was something exciting like a silent protest but it turned out to be a place for people to sit and relax. There were lots of people doing just that and there were some other nifty-looking seats, too, like this one ...

... and this one!

We went into the M&M store and wandered around Times Square a bit before going to Junior's for dinner. They had amazing battered onion rings and fabulous burgers and sandwiches. On the menu we saw egg creams. If you've read Harriet the Spy you know that she loved egg creams. Mom and I were very curious as to what it was so we ordered one. Mom thought it would be kind of like a custard or pudding and I thought it would be like a milkshake. But this is what it was. We were all so full after dinner that we couldn't order any famous cheesecake. Next time we'll just have a side order so that we can try dessert!

We made our way to Grand Central Station and then caught our train home at Pennsylvania Station. We were all exhausted ...

... except for our tour guide!

NYC was so much fun but so tiring that we had to spend Tuesday recovering. :) The Boogie enjoyed the down time.

On Wednesday MIL/FIL took us to Ocean City where we ate at The Crab Trap (YUM!) and then walked up and down the boardwalk. The Boogie loved to see the ocean!

It was a cool, breezy day so the boardwalk wasn't too busy which was nice. Not all of the shops were open but we didn't mind. MIL bought us some cotton candy (my favorite) and some famous caramel popcorn.

On all of our excursions anywhere we were all constantly on the lookout for bathrooms because between all of us it seemed like we needed one every thirty minutes!

Time to go home!

Thursday was some errand running and Chick-fil-a for lunch, church in the evening with an hour spent afterwards at BIL/SIL1's apartment for brownies and ice cream. Today we are being laaaazy. The weather is cool and rainy which is perfect for staying around home. Pops and My Man went over to 52 to spend some time with FIL and our friend DiDi is here for lunch with us girls! It has been a wonderful week so far!