We LOVE New York! (NYC Part 4)

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."

At this point in the trip, we were very tired and felt like a huddled mass.  How appropriate!

It was totally awesome to see the Statue of Liberty on our nation's birthday...

See how much fun it was?

I love the fact that Pawpaw is holding a baggie of Fruit Loops that he pilfered from the hotel breakfast in this picture.  Land of the free, indeed...

We opted not to get off of the ferry, since this was the line to get back on.  Guess we'll just have to go back to New York...

Cille was...

ALL smiles...

For her pictures with Mawmaw...

But ran out when it was my turn...

Pawpaw's baby...

Checking out the blimps...

Cille was super thirsty...

This is St. Paul's Chapel near Ground Zero.  Read more about it in the next picture...

Please visit this website for more information on the memorial...

When we went back to Times Square for Toys 'R Us take two, Elmo was there...

So were Mickey...

And Minnie...

These characters really creeped me out because they were obviously oogie street performers with musty costumes making a quick buck off of tourists, but to Stella, they were the real deal, so Pawpaw shelled out his singles so she could pose with them...

One more post!

Let's Hear It for New York, New York, New York (NYC Part 3)

Back in Times Square, more scenery shots...

I felt just like Giselle when she comes out of the manhole...

We visited Toys 'R Us in Times Square not once but twice.  The first night we rode the ferris wheel and told Stella we would take her to visit the Barbie house upstairs.  Unfortunately, when Stella made it to the doors of the Barbie house, they closed them in her face because it was closing time!  Since we had already promised her a visit, we took her back the next day to see what was inside that house!  On day one we did manage to take a picture with a dinosaur...

And she spent a day in Central Park with Captain Jack Sparrow...

We managed to get a little rest that night at the hotel, but the next morning we were up and at 'em, ready for more exploring.  Cille had heard that New York was a fashion mecca and she decided to try out a new hairstyle while she was there...

Stella also styled some jewelry for herself using a piece of string from a blanket.  Or maybe this was supposed to be floss...

We took a carriage ride around Central Park and saw many of the sights from Enchanted, which is one of our favorite movies of all time.  "How does she know you love her?"

As it turned out, the carriage could only hold 4 passengers and Cille was taking her turn napping in the stroller anyway, so Damon volunteered to jog her through the park while we rode in the carriage...

While I'm sure Damon was a little fatigued after his jog, riding in the carriage was pretty hard work, too. Obviously...

Our horse's name was Scooby Doo.  Later that day I saw a PETA ad featuring Lea Michele encouraging people to boycott carriage rides in the city so that horse slavery could be put out to pasture.  Oops.  Our bad...

Scooby didn't seem too miserable to me...

I LOVE this picture!  This pretty much sums up Cille's personality...

Stella fed the birds, tuppence a bag...(actually it was some free snacks that I had in the backpack)

She even sang to them just like Giselle!

After our visit to Central Park, we caught the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  If you think airport security is tight, you should visit the security tent that checks out people visiting the Statue of Liberty!  Geez...

The skyline as the ferry pulled away from shore...

Lady Liberty herself...

Stella was pointing her out...

Empire State of Mind (NYC Part 2)

Continuing our story, when I left you yesterday we were at the Top of the Rock. In today's post, we still are...

Stella was starting to get a little tired and her mood was deteriorating...

But it was nothing that a few tickles...

And some time upside down couldn't cure...

See?  All smiles again...

Photography by Damon and his orangutan arms...

There was a strange room on one of the observation decks with an interactive light display.  The idea was for you to move around the room and the lights would react to your movements.  Stella loved this idea.  Pawpaw liked it too...

Even Cille enjoyed those magical lights...

Rockefeller Center was all decked out for the Fourth...

We saw Saks 5th Avenue!  Unfortunately, it was closed, so we couldn't go on a shopping spree...

This is St. Patrick's Cathedral...

Atlas with the weight of the world on his shoulders...

I am holding up the number 5 because we are on 5th Avenue.  Get it?

Inside the cathedral...

Remember I said earlier that the stroller would be very important?  We stayed on the go while we were on this trip, so naturally the schedule was a little taxing for a three year old and a one year old.  The girls took turns napping in the stroller.  This time it was Stella's turn...

She was knocked out.  We carried her up and down flights of stairs and pushed her through crowded streets with blaring horns and sirens.  She never even flinched...

Speaking of crowded streets, Times Square, everyone...

See the ball up top?

FDNY!

So much to see...

And two posts left to do it! (Actually three, but the last one's a surprise!)