I heart NY!

I'm back from my whirlwind trip to visit Kate in New Jersey/New York. I really had the best time! Kate and her boyfriend, Nick, came to pick me up from the airport on Saturday morning. We headed straight into the city, where Kate showed me her school, the hotel where Heath Ledger (the actor) lived and died (it's on the same block as her school!) and then took me to the best pizza place I have ever been to! Apparently, Lombardi's is the the first pizza place in NYC, and it's definitely the best! I did feel a little dorky taking this picture, but then I saw 2 other tables of tourists, taking pictures with their pizza, too! If I'm a dork, then we all were (plus, I have one of Kate and Nick each in a similar pose)!

From there, we did a LOT of walking around, taking in the sights. Kate and Nick looked like locals while they were checking the subway maps (I guess he actually is a local since he grew up in New Jersey, and she's turning into one)! We only had one mishap on the subway, and that was due to a very disturbed, obviously drugged out guy. Luckily, we got out of there unharmed (and not spit on, although it was close) and we went on with our tour of the city.I felt giddy when I saw things that I've only seen on TV. Little things like the St. Regis hotel, Broadway, Wall Street and St. Patrick's Cathedral, and big things like the Statue of Liberty and Times Square. I admitted to Kate that every time I saw the Broadway street sign, I felt like breaking into song. She begged me not to, but I could still hear myself start humming the first few bars of New York, New York ("Start spreadin' the news. I'm leavin' today...") and On Broadway!Once we got near Rockefeller Center, there were tons of people to see the tree and hang around. Kate and I took our picture at the fountain, which had huge Christmas balls around it (right across the street from the infamous Magnolia Bakery (more on that later).More sightseeing ensued (5th Avenue, Trump Tower, Central Park and the skating rink) before we headed out for an early snack at one of Kate's favorite spots, a little outdoor burger place called The Shake Shack. Everyone must know that the food there is good, because there was a huge group of Santas that all decided to stop for a bite while we were there (there were probably 5 more NOT in this picture)! After this, we called it a day and drove back to Point Pleasant where we had a late dinner at one of Rich's favorite restaurant/bars and then bed. Sunday morning, we got up early for church and then out to breakfast. Kate showed me around Point Pleasant and took me to see the pier and the beach, some of the little shops. It's such a neat little town!

Kate and I took the bus back into the city and spent a few hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. From there, we waited in line at the Magnolia Bakery. I have heard of this place for years. It's a small cupcake shop in the middle of the city, and is a favorite of lots of celebrities. The line for cupcakes snakes out the door and down the block. Kate and I wait in line and I get excited when I hear a couple finally get in line behind us. I turn to look at them and quickly look away when I realize that it's a celebrity couple! For those with cable, it was the host of E! News, Julianna Rancik and her husband, Bill Rancik who won the reality show, The Apprentice, the first season it was on. I couldn't decide if it was okay or if it would seem stalkery to talk to them and ask for a picture. By the time I decided to go for it, they left, saying that they didn't want to wait in the line because it was so long (and it really was). When they left, I turned to Kate, thinking she would be as excited as I was at our sighting. She never even saw them! We get into a playful argument, me saying that she needed to be more observant and her saying that I should have nudged her! After a year of living there, she hasn't had a single celebrity spotting. I told her that she had probably been next to several of them, but just didn't look around enough to see them! ;-) She pouted a bit, but soon we were inside, with the heavenly aroma of cupcakes, and were back to normal!

We got our cupcakes to go and left for dinner. On our way, we passed the Rockefeller Tree again (we also saw it on our first day) and had to take pictures.

From there, we went to a fancy dinner at the Mesa Grill, which is owned by chef Bobby Flay from the Food Network. He wasn't there, but the food was delicious! From there, we caught the bus back to New Jersey and capped off our night with our cupcakes (definitely worth the wait)!

The next morning, Kate took me back to the airport, and I met up with my dear friend, Roe, to grab a cup of coffee and visit for a little while. I know it sounds like all I did while I was there was eat, and that's partly true! At least we did tons of walking to make up for it!

Part of the reason that I wanted to go on this trip so badly was to finally see where Rich lived all of these years. For the past 10 years or so, he had extended an invitation to come visit him, and he was going to show Kevin and I around town and take us to NYC. We never took him up on his invitation and now it's too late. I loved seeing the place that HE loved so much and am so thankful that Kate was there to act as my tour guide!