NYC/Anthem of the Seas Vacation Part 2

 On our last day in Manhattan, we started our day by stopping at Zibetto's Espresso Bar. 

NYC/Anthem of the Seas Vacation Part 1

We just got back from SUCH a fun vacation!!

We cruised back to Bermuda, this time with my Dad and Kendall, and because we were sailing out of New Jersey, we decided to spend a few days in NYC before our sail date.

We flew out of Charlotte to Newark, NJ on July 10th. It was an adventure getting from Newark to Manhattan. We took their train system and connected to Grand Central Station. We made a pit stop to grab some lunch. Then, from there we caught a subway up to our hotel near Carnegie Hall. 

Let's just say by the time we got to our hotel, we were wishing we had packed lighter! Ha ha

After dropping off our luggage, we decided to go to the Empire State Building first. I had been once before in high school, but Andy had never been. It's so interesting to read about how the Empire State building was built and I usually end up feeling a little light headed looking at all the pictures of the men hanging from the construction so high up!

We walked through Times Square making a stop in the Hershey's store and then on to Rockefeller Center to go in FAO Schwarz before making our way back to the hotel to rest and freshen up for dinner.

We ate at Angelo's (one of our faves from past trips) across from our hotel and then went back down to Times Square at night, because why not? ;-)

I loved seeing this big HOPE art on our walk back to our hotel. I have a feeling it will be super meaningful to us over the next year so we took our pictures with it.

Since we've stayed at our hotel before, we continued the little routine we made on our last trip the next morning by walking over to Morton Williams and Starbucks for breakfast before we headed out for the day.

We decided to take the subway down to the Brooklyn Bridge and walk across it. This is something neither Andy or I had done before. It was so HOT while we were in NYC, but it was still a beautiful day.

After crossing the bridge we walked over to Dumbo/Brooklyn Bridge Park. It was such a neat area with many cute sidewalk cafes. The views were gorgeous all around.

We stopped at Ample Hills creamery for some ice cream to hold us over until lunch :-)

My Dad and Kendall had read many good reviews about Grimaldi's pizza so we decided to go there for lunch. It did not disappoint!! We had to wait in a line that moved pretty quickly and at one point I glanced over to see my dad lounging in this funky chair Ha ha

Yum!

Finding our way back over to Manhattan via subway was quite the adventure. It took us forever to find the subway station we needed. Then, when we finally found it, I couldn't believe how far underground we walked to get on!! It was wild.

I wanted to stop in at the ModCloth store when we made our way back uptown. I've ordered many things from them online. The store was so much smaller than I thought it would be!

A sweaty subway selfie. Did I mention how HOT it was!? We went back to our hotel to cool off and rest mid-afternoon.

A big rain storm blew up while we were resting that evening. We decided not to venture out other than grabbing dinner. We stopped in at 3 different places that were too busy and/or closed before choosing a random diner place. It was pouring rain so we got desperate. I don't think we'll forget this place though because one of the menu items was "spaghetti and wings." Andy ordered it. The food was mediocre at best but at least we were fed. Ha ha

Stay tuned for part 2 of our trip!

June Fun!

 June is one of my favorite months and this month didn't disappoint! 

The first weekend in June, we got to go to Boone for Katlyn and Steven's wedding! We got in town in time to eat with them at their rehearsal dinner at the Dan'l Boone Inn. On Saturday, we drove over towards Grandfather mountain for their wedding! It was an absolutely beautiful night!

Check out these amazing views at our house!!

We could NOT get over the double rainbows we saw in front of our house!

We had our first monthly Sunday School get together and it was so fun!

We spent Father's Day at Andy's parents and we got to see our nephew Harrison for the first time in a while!

We had a super fun week at VBS,

Luci continued her obedience classes,

and we spent some fun time with Ethan and Abby while Becky and Andrew got some things done :-)

We FINALLY floated the entire stretch of river between Caldwell and Ronceverte with Andrew, Becky, and the kids. Even though Ethan was skeptical, it was really fun :-)

The rest of the month was spent by the pool, 

picking blueberries on our annual trip to White Oak Farm, 

reading on the porch,

having treats by the pool, 

and lounging by the pool ha ha! Ethan laid on this picnic table and it cracked me up. Swimming must have worn him out.

Luci graduated her obedience class! :-)

& then we got to celebrate with a puppy play date with our friends Matt and Hannah and their dog Lucy!

It was a wonderful month and I can't wait for our adventures in July!!