Kevin and Kay move to Boise

This morning Kevin and Kay were ready to go by 8:00 a.m.  The U-Haul truck was packed, which we had completed yesterday.  It was a little hard to say good-bye.  I know they are excited about moving to Boise, but we will miss having them close by.  Kaleb will be staying with us until the end of May to finish his Freshman year at Century.  They are moving into a nice three bedroom, two bath home in the Capital High School district where they hope Kaleb will get to play football this coming fall.  Their new address is 6063 N. Hampstead Ave. Boise, ID 83714.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Our last day in New York was a full day, and one that I had planned several months ago.  We were up early and ready to leave the hotel by 7:30 a.m.  We checked out of our room and left our luggage with the bellman in the downstairs lobby.  We called for a Lyft ride who showed up within two minutes, and he drove us to Battery Park which took about 30 minutes.  We stopped at a nearby Starbucks for hot chocolate and a breakfast sandwich.  We went to the line for the Liberty Island ferry, and we were directed to a building where we could pick up our tickets and wristbands.  I had booked these tickets several months ago, and at first I thought we were going to miss it, but then I realized that the tickets were good all day long.  The wristbands were going to allow us to climb to the crown of the Statue of Liberty.  We also got to stand in a shorter line for the security checkpoint which was nice because there was already a large crowd trying to board the ferry.  After arriving at Liberty Island we took advantage of the self-guided tour recordings which gave us a lot of information.  Eventually we arrived at the pedestal where we went through another security checkpoint.  We took the elevator to the top of the pedestal, and then Jeffrey and I climbed the stairs to the crown.  This was a spiral staircase that was steep and narrow.  At the crown were two park rangers who shared a lot of information with us.  We had a clear view, and we stayed at the crown for about 10 minutes.  After visiting the Statue of Liberty we ate lunch at a nearby cafe.  I didn't realize how fast the time was going by.  We stood in line to get on a ferry to Ellis Island, and it was a large crowd.  We had to wait for another ferry because I declined to move up the line where Jeffrey was holding a place for us.  By the time we got to Ellis Island I was concerned that we might take too long to get back for our shuttle to the airport.  Wendy stayed by the ferry while Jeffrey and I ran to see our ancestors names on the Immigration Wall.  We took some pictures and ran back to the ferry before it left for Battery Park.  We had a little time left so we walked to the NYC Ferry.  The boat took us under the Brooklyn Bridge and then to a stop near 35th Street.  We transferred to a bus which took us to 8th Street and then transferred to another bus to our hotel.  We picked up our luggage and took a shuttle to the airport.  The traffic was awful, and the ride through Queens took almost two hours.  We eventually got through security and boarded our flight to SLC.  The flight was almost five and a half hours, and we arrived in SLC at 11:40 p.m.  I took the shuttle to the Parking Spot, got the car, and returned to the airport to pick up Wendy and Jeffrey.  We stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break and finally arrived home about 3:00 a.m.  I slept like a rock until 10:00 a.m. 

A Sunny Sunday

This morning when we woke up we looked out our hotel room window overlooking Broadway and the sky was clear and bright.  The sidewalks were nearly empty, and it almost seemed peaceful.  After eating our small breakfast in our room we walked to a bus stop on 7th Street to wait for a bus arriving at 10:00 a.m.  The air was crisp and cold and we were ready to board the bus when it arrived about 10 minutes late.  There were only a few other people on the bus which we rode all the way to the World Trade Center.  It took about 30 minutes to get there.  We bought tickets to the observatory at One World Trade for noon, and we spent the next hour exploring the Oculus shopping center and the 911 Memorial.  We returned to One World Trade and rode the elevator to the top.  I was impressed with how large the observatory was and the views were awesome.  We could see for miles because the air was so clean.  It was definitely crowded, but there was a lot of room for people to spread out.  We spent about an hour at the observatory, and then we returned to the Oculus to eat lunch.  We had Korean corn dogs and fries.  We decided that taking a bus back to Times Square might take too long so we took the subway instead.  The subway station at the Oculus is very clean, new, and staffed with security, so we felt pretty good about it, until we got off the subway at Times Square.  There, the subway station was old, filthy, dark, and smelled pretty bad.  We couldn't get out of there quickly enough.  We walked to the Walter Kerr Theater to watch Hadestown.  Orpheus was played by Jordan Fisher and Hades was played by Phillip Boykin.  I really didn't know what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I especially liked the song, Wait For Me.  Afterwards we returned to our hotel, and we were pretty tired.  Wendy ordered a pizza from Famous Original Ray's, and Jeffrey and I went to go get it.  We went to the wrong location at first, but then we found the right place and returned to the hotel with pizza.  We stayed in for the rest of the night.

A Rainy Day in New York City

We woke up this morning to a very rainy day.  It was coming down in big drops that puddled on the sidewalks and flooded the streets.  We ate a small breakfast of Banana Nut Bread, oranges, and milk from the convenience store.  We had rain jackets and one umbrella as we ventured outside.  We walked past the Radio City Music Hall and to the St. Patrick Cathedral.  It was full of people who were also trying to stay out of the rain. It is a beautiful church with tall columns and stained glass windows, and we took our time walking around the pews.  We went back out into the rain as we walked to Rockefeller Plaza.  We took some quick pictures and then rode the elevator down to the shopping and eating center below.  We found seats at the Potbelly Sandwich Shop and ate sandwiches for lunch.  After lunch we walked back to Times Square and ducked into the Disney Store to escape the rain and rest a moment before continuing to the Lunt-Fontanne Theater.  We watched Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street for the next few hours.  Sweeney Todd was played by Aaron Tveit, and Mrs. Lovett was played by Sutton Foster.  They did a fantastic job, and we really enjoyed the show.  We had very good seats in the center of the orchestra section.  It was still raining when we exited the theater, so we returned to our hotel room.  After a rest we walked to Applebee's for dinner.  We decided it was too cold and wet to do anything more, although we did send Jeffrey to Krispy Kreme's to buy doughnuts for us to snack on and eat for breakfast.

Schenectady to Manhattan

We slept in again this morning and ate breakfast at our hotel.  I felt like we had plenty of time to make the drive to New York City, so we took a rural highway through the Hudson River Valley.  We stopped at Kinderhook and visited the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse and the Luykas Van Alen House.  This is where Washington Irving got his inspiration for the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  We continued on Highway 9 to Red Hook where we stopped at Annabelle's Village Bake Shop.  We bought some pastries and Banana Nut Bread.  We continued driving along this highway, but I could tell that it was taking too long, so we decided not to keep going to Tarrytown.  We found our way to the Taconic State Parkway and followed that to Yonkers, and finally onto Manhattan.  The traffic going in our direction wasn't too bad.  The traffic leaving Manhattan was backed up for miles.  We found our hotel, the M Social, near Times Square, and I dropped off Wendy and Jeffrey and our luggage.  I then drove around a few blocks to the Alamo rental location and returned our car rental.  I was honked at several times as I waited for pedestrians at different blocks.  I was relieved to be finished driving, and then I walked back to our hotel.  We checked in and rested in our room for about an hour.  We walked to Times Square and visited M&M's New York before going to Rise NY.  It was a nice attraction that showcased the best of New York City and gave us the thrill of flying around the city in a flight simulator very similar to Soarin' Over California.  We spent about and hour and a half at Rise NY, and then we stopped at a pizza place for dinner.  We were confronted by an aggressive panhandler who came into the restaurant to demand money until the owners kicked him out.  The pizza was good.  Times Square had become extremely crowded, so we decided it was time to return to the hotel.  We got a hot chocolate from the bar and went to bed.

Boston to Schenectady

We slept in a bit this morning and then ate breakfast at our hotel.  We drove back to Boston, and I was hopeful that we would be able to visit the Old North Church and Paul Revere's home, but we couldn't find a place to park within walking distance.  We drove by and took pictures.  We went to Bunker Hill and we found a place to park right next to the memorial.  We had to wait a little bit for it to open.  When it did, Jeffrey and I climbed the stairs of the obelisk to get a view of Boston.  It was a bright clear day, and we could see quite a bit.  We visited the Bunker Hill Museum before driving to Harvard University where we found lunch at a Shake Shack.  Then we drove from there to Schenectady, New York which took about three hours.  We checked into the Hampton Inn and rested for a bit before going to Proctor's Theater.  The theater was next door to our hotel so it was a quick walk.  We watched Les Misérables from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.  It was wonderful!  I really enjoyed the song, Stars, by Javert and Bring Him Home by Jean Valjean, but the entire musical was extremely well done.

Trip to Boston and New York

Today was our first full vacation day.  We left home yesterday about 6:30 p.m. and drove to the Salt Lake Airport.  We stopped at Ashley's first to return an item of theirs and then continued on to the airport.  I dropped off Wendy and Jeff along with all of our luggage, and then I took the car to the Parking Spot.  We got through security and to our gate without too much trouble.  Our flight to Boston left on time at 11:55 p.m.  I had taken a motion sickness pill that caused drowsiness, so I thought I would sleep pretty well, but I hardly slept at all for the four and a half hour flight.  We arrived in Boston about 6:30 a.m. and then took the shuttle to the car rental center.  We rented a Nissan Altima and drove to the Boston Commons parking garage.  Driving through Boston was not fun as the roads were narrow and congested.  We were one of the first vehicles to park in the garage, and all three of us fell deep asleep for about an hour.  When we woke up we were surprised to discover that the parking garage had completely filled up.  We walked to the Massachusetts State House and found the Fill-A-Buster restaurant where we ate a large breakfast.  Then we walked to the Old State House which is one of the oldest public buildings still standing in the United States.  The Boston Massacre happened in front of the building, and the Declaration of Independence was read to a large crowd from its balcony.  We were surprised to see a subway entrance in one corner of the building.  Then we walked to the Old South Meeting House and took a tour of it.  This is where the meeting was held that led to the Boston Tea Party.  Some of the pews were originally owned by John Hancock, Sam Adams, and the parents of Benjamin Franklin.  We continued our walk through the Granary Cemetery where we saw Paul Revere's tombstone, and then we returned to our car.  We drove to Salem, Massachusetts, which was about a forty minute drive, and checked into the Hampton Inn.  We were able to rest again before meeting up with our tour guide for a Witch and Hauntings Walking Tour of Salem.  We stopped at the Old Town Hall in Derby Square, the Witch House, the First Church in Salem, Ropes Mansion, Hamilton Hall, and the Joshua Ward House.  We also visited the Salem Witch Trials Memorial and the Burying Point cemetery.  It was a very interesting tour, but very cold as well.  We were happy to get back to our warm hotel room.  This evening we ate dinner at a waterfront restaurant called Longboards.  Wendy had a lobster roll while Jeffrey and I had hamburgers.  It started raining hard while we were there.

SpongeBob SquarePants

The family gathered tonight to watch Jeffrey perform in the musical, SpongeBob SquarePants, at Century High School.   Jeffrey played the part of Patrick Star.  He has worked so hard on this since the first week of January.  Not only did he have a major role with several lines to learn, but he also had to practice singing and dancing every day after school for two months.  He also did the sound design for the musical.  He did so well.  My favorites were Super Sea Star Savior and I Guess I Miss You.  Jeffrey did a nice job of getting the audience involved and clapping along.  I enjoyed seeing young children go up to him after the play to shake his hand and greet him.  It was fun having the family together.  I am probably biased, but I really think that Century has another chance to win the Best High School Musical in Idaho again this year.  Will Leavitt did a great job as SpongeBob, and the rest of the cast performed very well.  Brother Leavitt remarked how fun it was to see Jeffrey and Will bless the Sacrament together on Sundays because of their roles as SpongeBob and Patrick.