Day Twelve

So we started off the day in the wrong direction, meaning we totally walked away from NYC and the transit to get us there for at least 30 minutes, in the rain, before we figured it out. Nevertheless, today was a day of firsts for me. My first ride on a public bus came via the NJ Transit and only cost me $3.20. Then I hopped on the Subway which cost another $8 and change for an all day unlimited pass. Pictures below:

I mentioned it was raining, but I failed to mention that it rained all day long. Here are some photos we snapped of each other walking around. Deb looked hunchbacked due to her back pack and I either looked pregnant as pictured below, or like I had an abnormal stomach with one side bigger than the next. Deb was told she looked fetching in her rain poncho.

It took 2 hours to get from our hotel to our first stop and to be honest by then I was cold, wet, tired and hungry so we had breakfast at the European Cafe. I had a quiche and Deb had a breakfast burrito. It was pretty good.

When we finished eating we headed next door to try to catch our 11 am session at the Manhattan Temple. It was so nice to leave the rain and noise of the city behind even if only briefly.

When we were done there we walked around Chinatown a bit and then headed over to Little Italy where we ordered the Mixed Family Pasta. They weren't kidding when they called it mixed it was a trio of pasta dishes, but they were all on the same plate and it was quite easy to get the flavors of one coming through on the other. The food was ok, but I think I have made better. The total cost for lunch for two was right at about $22 with tip.

Next we took Jac up on her recommendation of Ferrara's. We couldn't decide what to order so we decided to each order something and get some gelato to share. I took Jac up on her recommendation of the Pasticiollo Ricotta. Imagine if you will a mini pie crust with a cheesecake like filling. It was pretty good the menu said something about fruit, but sadly mine did not have any in it. We also decided to get some gelato since there was a display case and it looked fabulous. We chose Strawberry, Chocolate, and Pistachio. It was not as good as it looked. There was only one piece of strawberry in all of the strawberry portion, no nuts to speak of in the pistachio, and the chocolate tasted a little funny so we pretty much didn't eat it. Deb's Chocolate Mousse cake left us wishing we had gone to IKEA. The total for our visit was $26 with tip. Kinda pricey for just dessert.

At some point in the day we did get to see the Empire State Building or at least most of it. There was a lot of rain which made a fog. We tried to go to Top of the Rock as a coworker of mine suggested, but the rain and fog made visibility dim at best and I didn't wanna pay $21 to not see anything. So now I have an excuse to come back.

Many of those that know me know I am a huge Project Runway fan. So what trip to New York would be complete without a trip to Mood. Unfortunately I am not yet a New Yorker. I thought that the D train went to Penn Station so we hopped on it only to discover we wanted the 1 train. Of course we didn't realize this until we got off at Fashion Ave. So we got back on the one train and took it up one more stop to Columbus Circle where we were able to transfer to the 1 train.

Of course by this time it was 5 pm and the trains were getting full we had to wait because the first train that came by was so full we could not both get on. Below is a pic of Deb pointing at where we wanted to go.

Mood was awesome. Two floors of fabric, what could be better. It took me back to when I was a girl and my Mom would take us to Fabric King in the Palatka Mall. Sadly they did not have a button bin for me to run my hands through, but they did have a wall of buttons. Which was pretty cool. I felt like a kid in a candy store. I just wish we had more time. We arrived about an hour before closing and let me tell you I could have spent all day there. I feel like maybe I got to look at 10% of what was there. I have no idea how the designers on Project Runway can decide what to buy in only 30 minutes. We snapped some photos for those at home.

After saying thank you Mood. Yes they had t-shirts that said that for $17, we went back out into the rain and back to Times Square where we found the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. It was a blast looking around the store.

Here is a video that Deb shot of Times Square enjoy.

Check back tomorrow for more of the Adventure.

Day Five

So we started out the day with breakfast in Alexandria Bay at the North Star Restaurant. Deb had a kind of Eggs Benedict with cheese sauce instead of Hollandaise juice and extra bacon and I had 2 eggs with hash. The prices were reasonable and the portions a good size. All in all it was a great start to our day. Up next we boarded a ferry ($7.50 pp) to Hart Island to tour Boldt Castle.

Below is a picture of Deb and Me in front of our transportation to the Island.

These pictures were taken on the ferry:

Once we arrived on the island we paid $7 pp to see the castle. Apparently the man that built the castle never lived there. His wife died unexpectedly and he never stepped foot on the island again. Construction started in 1900 and it cost 2.5 million to build. Can you imagine what the equivalent of that today is? Staggering.

There are a lot of rooms that are unfinished, but there are many rooms that are furnished and finished and they are spectacular. Here is a picture of me on the grand stairwell. It leads from the 1st floor to the 2nd. Deb misunderstood when I said I wanted to take a picture of the stairs before taking the elevator. She thought that I said I wanted to take the stairs and so she left without me. The elevator is really cool too. It has a glass window in it so when you are taking it you can see through to the gardens and surrounding islands.

They are working on restoring the castle and the admission fees are funneled into that. If you are ever in the 1,000 Islands area of New York or Canada it is definitely not to be missed. After leaving Hart island we had lunch at Brass Tacks before leaving the US for Canada.

Can I just say this time driving in Canada was a whole new world. Ontario was nice all the signs were in both English and French, but when we crossed into Quebec the English translations went away and the signs are completely in French. We got lucky though we made it to the temple with plenty of time for our session which luckily was in English. Below are some pictures of the temple.

Once we left the temple, around 10pm we then had the task of finding a hotel. We drove around a bit and everyone seemed to be full. I don't know how, but there was no vacancy. So we decided to head towards Quebec City, tomorrow's destination. About 10 miles down the road we found a hotel and settled in for the night.

Check back tomorrow for more of the adventure.

Day Two

Well the day started early, cold, rainy and with two unexpected surprises. The first came when I went to get ice and forgot the key card in the room. Which to many would not be that big of a deal especially since I am traveling with my best friend. Except my best friend was in the shower and happens to be hearing impaired. So not only was I stuck outside in the cold, literally, she couldn't hear my attempts to get back in. I took a deep breath and then sat down and called my Dad. I know you are thinking, how did she manage to grab her cell phone, but not the room key? The answer is no clue? Eventually she did hear me though and I was able to get back into the room, but Deb still ended up packing the cooler while I got ready since I wasted all that time locked out of the room.


The second surprise came after breakfast when we hit the interstate. I noticed that my driver's side view mirror was shaky, so I inspected the one on the other side to see if there was something wrong with the tires. Much to my dismay I discovered that sometime in the night or early that morning someone must have hit my mirror, knocking it loose. See picture below:

The Good news is that it only shakes if going more than 55 miles an hour and I do not think it is in danger of falling off. We drove about 300 miles today. Through Pennsylvania and to New York. Here are some pictures that Deb took from the car, trust me the view was much better in person, but hey that is the best I can do since you didn't get to come along.

We made it to the Palmyra temple about 5 minutes before the time that we needed to be there so most of our pictures were taken after our session here are a few pictures of the temple, cameras are not allowed inside.

Here is a picture that deb found online of the stained glass mural inside the temple. Click on the link for the story behind it all. http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=40428c6a47e0c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD