Another area we had to figure out before we left on our big trip was how we were going to get 8 people from NYC to Boston. It’s about a 5 hour drive, so we thought we would just get a rental car and drive there ourselves. It sounded like a great plan, ha! No place had a big enough car to fit all of us. So, I looked into other ways and found they had an Amtrak station. It would get all of us there in 4 hours!
Well the day of departure was cold and windy. We went over to 5th avenue for one last outing in NYC. Penn Station (where we were catching the train) was only about a mile up the road, but with our load of luggage we decided to get a taxi. Like I mentioned before Taxi drivers are the rudest there. We had several say they would take us, but then they saw all our luggage and people they just shut their door and got back in their car. Apparently only driving up the road a mile and making about 10 bucks wasn’t worth it to them. So, instead they will drive around looking for someone else. (There are a lot of empty taxis in NYC). We finally got two taxis to take us and our load. We got separated from the other taxi and were dropped off at two different entrances of Penn Station (with three kids and lots of luggage, and no elevator) which made for a very frustrating start. There was no way we were going to make our train. By God’s Grace we were reunited and had help from a Red Cap (someone who works in the station to help people with lots of luggage) and our train was running late, because of the weather. We waited around for a while and then our Red Cap (aka: Angel) helped us load our luggage on the train and got us awesome seats! So, now we could relax and Thank the Lord! The train ride was an experience, and we all really enjoyed it! We found out that you can take an Amtrak to almost anywhere, and the price is cheaper than driving yourself (thanks to the gas prices) or air transportation. As long as you don’t have a lot of luggage I highly recommend it!
We arrived in Boston, MA in the evening and got to our hotel. My grandmother (My mom’s mom from Idaho) was flying in the same day.
We spent the next day sleeping in, traveling really exhausts you, plus the girls were definitely out of their comfort zone which made their sleep schedule totally off! I learned what it was like to be my sister at night with twins. They woke up at least 3-4 times a night, and when one cried it woke the other one up, so you can’t let them really “cry it out.” Of course I wasn’t going to let my sister deal with it on her own, and thankfully the girls do take bottles (not just BF) So, I felt like I could help some by waking up with one of them and feeding them a bottle until they went back asleep. I have a new sense of respect for my sister and what it was like to be a mom at night. Hopefully when I have my own and think how tired I am I will reflect back to those nights and realize how great I really have it, Haha! Seriously though, it didn’t bother me it all. I was tired more, but It wasn’t so bad waking up with them and cuddling them in the wee of hours of the night (yes, even when it was the 3rd or 4th time that night) and these are not even my kids, so it makes me excited for when I have my own. My sister is really awesome!
Sunday, was the big Marathon expo where my mom had to pick up her number. Big runs always have a big expo where stores and companies come and promote their merchandise and or products. This includes a lot of free samples. You better believe we were all supped on Protein and energy drinks and bars, haha! Then we headed to a big Pasta dinner the marathon threw for the runners. The next morning was Race day! It was a very long day, and sooo many people, so I won’t go into detail. I am so proud of my mom. This is one of the biggest races in America. It’s a hard course, but so rewarding. The people are so supporting of each other and they come from all over the world, including Kenya and Olympian runners. The same night they race threw an after party which included lots of dancing!
We had two days before we had to head back to the south, unfortunately it rained, but that didn’t stop us. Tuesday we went to some malls in Boston (to be inside) and then Thursday the rain was not so bad so we went site seeing some and shopped Quincy Market, etc!! Boston is a really beautiful place, much more relaxed compared to NYC, but still big. We met a lot more natives and their dialects were awesome! We were taught some native Boston Slang, which include: Wicked Pissa (awesome) , and Chowdah Head( someone who is being stupid)! Bosto also rarely prounouce their R’s. For instance Chowder, is pronounced Chowda’ and the list goes on and on! I love it!
Thursday, came way to fast and way too early. We made it safely to the airport, and back into Jacksonville. We all agreed we were really sad to be home. Normally, everyone is somewhat ready to get back, but we all agreed we would stay longer if we would of.
The trip was definitely unforgettable, and I definitely plan on going back! I love every time I get to spend with my family. I’m so blessed to been able to go and thank my Mom and Grandmother for the expense free vacation!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
City Life!
I just got home from one of the best trips ever!!!
My mom was qualified to run the Boston Marathon in Boston, MA last year. This is one of the biggest Marathons in the USA! Every runner dreams about going and every big runner runs in it; including a lot of Olympian runners. So, we started planning our trip in the fall of last year. It took a lot of planning: should we drive or fly, finding good deals for hotels, finding shuttles from airports to hotels, the list goes on and on.
We left last Wednesday (early in the morning) for Jacksonville, FL to get to the airport in time for our non-stop flight to New York City! It was a great flight (only 2 hours) and we landed in the Big Apple! We then took a private shuttle to our hotel in Manhattan (about a 45min drive). It was an entertaining ride through Queens and then to Time Square (where our hotel was). We were able to spend 4 days in NYC, before heading to Boston. We tried to go see as much as we could: China Town, Little Italy, ground zero, and Central Park. We went to and island where you can see the Statue of Liberty from afar, and visited the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. We shopped a lot which included a three story Toys R us and F.A.O. Schwartz (The toy store with the big piano on the floor). We also saw Mary Poppins on Broadway! We had to learn how to take the Subway system, which I thought we caught on real fast (never took the wrong subway) and with three strollers and five adults it was difficult, but we got the hang of it fast! We learned a lot about New Yorkers: 1. everyone is skinny! Seriously, they all are tiny, not a single overweight person. It's because they walk so much. 2. Watch out for drivers. Why people actually try to drive in New York, I'm not sure, but they do, and they will run you over (we witnessed it from afar). 3. Everyone wears black. Yes, it was cold and a lot of people had jackets on, but even on the one warm day you had people were still in black. If you had another color on you stuck out. 4. Our shuttle driver showed us how to pointe out tourist from natives: Tourists have cameras, smile a lot and if you are looking up at the buildings you are a tourist (This cracked me up). I thought people were going to be a lot ruder than they were, but they were really nice (I think it was because we had the baby's and everyone had to talk to them). They were very helpful in getting us to where we needed and carrying strollers up and down stairs (Yeah, the subways had no elevators, another reason why I think people are so skinny). Broadway was amazing and worth every penny. I love Mary Poppins and was thrilled to be able to see it in theatre! I loved everything about NYC! I use to want to live in Atlanta, because I loved the city, but I spent a few weeks there with Josh once and decided I didn't want to live there. NY is sooo different than Atlanta. I love that you can catch a subway to anywhere you want to go for and it's a lot cheaper than gas. My sister and I talked about how we loved the sense of judgment free it was. You could just tell, there was no comparison with people there. You had no time to look at someone (because if you did you might get ran over by a car). People mind their own business unless needed.
The time in NYC went by fast, but we had to catch our Train (Amtrak) to Boston on Saturday afternoon.
Boston experience will be continued.
My mom was qualified to run the Boston Marathon in Boston, MA last year. This is one of the biggest Marathons in the USA! Every runner dreams about going and every big runner runs in it; including a lot of Olympian runners. So, we started planning our trip in the fall of last year. It took a lot of planning: should we drive or fly, finding good deals for hotels, finding shuttles from airports to hotels, the list goes on and on.
We left last Wednesday (early in the morning) for Jacksonville, FL to get to the airport in time for our non-stop flight to New York City! It was a great flight (only 2 hours) and we landed in the Big Apple! We then took a private shuttle to our hotel in Manhattan (about a 45min drive). It was an entertaining ride through Queens and then to Time Square (where our hotel was). We were able to spend 4 days in NYC, before heading to Boston. We tried to go see as much as we could: China Town, Little Italy, ground zero, and Central Park. We went to and island where you can see the Statue of Liberty from afar, and visited the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. We shopped a lot which included a three story Toys R us and F.A.O. Schwartz (The toy store with the big piano on the floor). We also saw Mary Poppins on Broadway! We had to learn how to take the Subway system, which I thought we caught on real fast (never took the wrong subway) and with three strollers and five adults it was difficult, but we got the hang of it fast! We learned a lot about New Yorkers: 1. everyone is skinny! Seriously, they all are tiny, not a single overweight person. It's because they walk so much. 2. Watch out for drivers. Why people actually try to drive in New York, I'm not sure, but they do, and they will run you over (we witnessed it from afar). 3. Everyone wears black. Yes, it was cold and a lot of people had jackets on, but even on the one warm day you had people were still in black. If you had another color on you stuck out. 4. Our shuttle driver showed us how to pointe out tourist from natives: Tourists have cameras, smile a lot and if you are looking up at the buildings you are a tourist (This cracked me up). I thought people were going to be a lot ruder than they were, but they were really nice (I think it was because we had the baby's and everyone had to talk to them). They were very helpful in getting us to where we needed and carrying strollers up and down stairs (Yeah, the subways had no elevators, another reason why I think people are so skinny). Broadway was amazing and worth every penny. I love Mary Poppins and was thrilled to be able to see it in theatre! I loved everything about NYC! I use to want to live in Atlanta, because I loved the city, but I spent a few weeks there with Josh once and decided I didn't want to live there. NY is sooo different than Atlanta. I love that you can catch a subway to anywhere you want to go for and it's a lot cheaper than gas. My sister and I talked about how we loved the sense of judgment free it was. You could just tell, there was no comparison with people there. You had no time to look at someone (because if you did you might get ran over by a car). People mind their own business unless needed.
The time in NYC went by fast, but we had to catch our Train (Amtrak) to Boston on Saturday afternoon.
Boston experience will be continued.
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