Once in awhile-now and again-this is us

there are seven buildings in different stages of construction that we can see from our 35th floor of the doubletree.

we’ve been watching them build the water tower on this one. it’s a source of water for the floors above the 7th.  the city will only pump water that high. water towers are everywhere in the city. this is another interesting story to google. after watching a few you tube videos we no longer drink the water. i’m sure hotels take care of their water towers though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i have a few more pictures for only in new york

stay tuned

 

 

 

 

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we met swatch coming out of the elevator on our way up the elevator. jerry thought the real swatch had died and they replaced him. he was happy to know this is still the real swatch. yes, jerry  watches project runway  with  me.

 

martha finally made it to the mood in new york.

 

and instantly found what she wanted. (you’ll see what she bought later). but she didn’t stop there. she found a few more items.

 

it took me a while but i found a nifty pair of scissors.

 

some pictures i took outside mood.

 

 

karl and sandy met us at mood, and from there we went to one of there favorite diners. ‘ellen’s stardust diner’. the owner hires broadway hopefuls and lets them work between interviews, acting school, jobs, etc. a high percentage of them go on to be broadway regulars.  each one of them between serving, gets up on stage and sings a popular broadway song. i took a video of our waitress.  it can’t be put on my blog without getting an upgrade so i don’t have a picture. she sang ”memories’. we had hot diggity dogs for lunch.

i did get this picture taken…….

 

 

what’s next? i don’t know

but stay tuned, jilly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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we took a cab on wednesday. we wanted to have at least one ride in a new york taxi.

he took us to the front door of st. patricks cathedral.

 

mass was going on so we couldn’t sit in the pews, but we could walk around the perimeter.

 

these murals, which are on all the walls, are all made out of mosaics.

 

this is for you mom.  since i was a child i saw this picture in your wallet. i have it in my wallet now.

i lit a candle for you mom,  praying you are in peace. we left a small donation as i know you would have.

 

we took another taxi to mood.

stay tuned, jilly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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we got up early today to ride the ferry to the statue of liberty. karl treated us to this fabulous trip to one of the most iconic statues in the world. he has also been providing uber cars everywhere we go. and know what? they have been cadillac escalades 99% of the time. talk abut luxury. thank you karl.

we caught the ferry at battery park. i believe they helped create this park with the dirt and rock that was taken from the area where the original twin towers were constructed. there is interesting history about the city of battery and the park, google it.

we got on the 10 o’clock ferry. it’s a very short ride to the statue. since martha is driving her scooter they want her on and off the boat first. we got special treatment everywhere we went. we left the city behind and headed off to our destination.

 

 

 

you see the back of her as you get off the boat. which is actually good, because you get this dramatic entrance to her splendor as you walk around to the front.

karl goes to great extremes to get a good shot. i’m afraid i couldn’t get up if i did that. he took some great pictures. i hope he sends me the one he took of us. hint hint.

 

i looked down as we were walking back and saw all these bricks that have been washed ashore around the base of the island. how old could these bricks be? where did they come from? how can i get one without being caught?  NO, i don’t take anything from national parks or monuments. i was just kidding. haha

we had a great time. me seeing martha and ray see this for the first time is a thrill. i remember the first time i saw it. and i know that’s what they are feeling. we said good-bye to lady liberty and headed for ellis island.

stay tuned, jilly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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we took the elevator to the 102nd floor to the one world observatory. it went very quickly i might add.

there is a very dramatic opening of  the view you will ultimately see as you wait to enter the area with the 360 degree views (i didn’t get that picture). this is one of the first pictures i took as i walked in.  it  was a little overcast for my camera, but being there – was incredible. the hudson river is on the left and the east river is on the right.

 

as you walk around that floor, the breathtaking views are…….well, breathtaking.

 

 this picture is looking towards new jersey.

i’ve asked martha and ray, you to if you want to karl, to send me some of their pictures. they have apple iphones which take beautiful pictures. i’ll post those later since mine aren’t so good.

we went to dinner at the one world restaurant around 5pm. kassandra joined us. she’s a hoot, just like her father and grandfather. we had more gorgeous views from here as we ate, the lights were coming on in the city. i was having so much fun, i didn’t even take any pictures. except this one.

 

our entree was crispy skin salmon that melted in your mouth. jerry had coconut creme brule for desert. and i had two -yes two- espresso martinis. thank you karl and sandy for a great day in new york. it was wonderful. “happy birthday sandy”

not sure what’s next, but stay tuned. jilly

ps. i want to give credit where credit is due. karl sent me the picture of martha’s crashed cart the other day. remember when ray just had to touch the yellow lever on martha’s cart. i was in looking in the window of a bakery and missed the moment.

 karl’s caption to the picture was “curiosity killed the cart”!

 

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we had a great buffet breakfast to start the day. a very nice, friendly and funny waiter served us. It started the day off right.

Karl met us at the hotel and we walked (again) to the nearest subway station. Martha had her heart set on it so Karl got us to one with an elevator. It seems so wrong but so right to be on those. didn’t get a picture but you’ve all seen plenty of movies, and that’s what they look like.

 

We got off a block from the memorial and one world observatory.  this was our first look at it.

we’re going up there? on the 102nd floor to see the city and have dinner? yahoo!

 

we walked by st paul’s chapel, the church that stood, and went in. my pictures didn’t turn out. we sat for awhile.

there is a mall before you get to the memorial. the architecture is amazing.

 

 

 

we saw one of the memorial pools next. they are very heartfelt and inspiring as to what can be done to honor people of such a historic tragedy. roses are put on the names of the victims on their birthdays every year.

next we went in the memorial building. i didn’t take any pictures. it seemed like we have seen too many images of the that day. just being there was an honor.

then we went to the observatory.

 

stay tuned for some of those pictures. jilly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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it was a long but welcome walk to the park. it wasn’t the best time of day to take pictures but i did my best to capture the small part we saw. so here is a short walk through central park.

 

 

 

this is some very expensive real estate across the street from the park.

 

after walking to the park then walking through the park we were pooped. karl got us an uber to take us back to the hotel. thank you karl, for everything. then he and sandy walked back to their apt. and we had a delicious dinner at the hotel.

tomorrow we go to the world trade center memorial.

stay tuned, jilly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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karl and sandy only live a couple of blocks from the hotel. so sunday morning after their walk with ray we all went to a diner they like for breakfast. they said it was only a short distance away. well, since they have been walking the streets of new york for 6 years now, my short distance is different than theirs. but it felt good to be out and getting some exercise after 3 1/2 days on the train.

martha and ray started this thing on the train. while sitting at the tables they would kiss every once in a while. so jerry and i started kissing after they did saying “we can do that too”. so now it’s this thing, some one starts its and everybody joins in. here are karl and sandy joing in. uhoh, karl can i use this image of you. sorry i didn’t have you sign that release form yet. will i have to pay a royalty fee?  i don’t think people will know who you are though. haha.

martha was getting complimented on her purple hair walking back to the hotel.

she did a fantastic job of walking that far that day with her walker. ray ordered this scooter for her for the rest of the trip, so sunday she used that. or course jerry and ray had to try it first.

 

 

martha got on it and away we went to central park. another short distance they said.

martha got a lot of attention because we were all taking pictures and everyone wondered who she was.  but she just kept rolling along leaving us all in the dust.

 

it was all going so well until ray decided to see what a yellow lever on the back did. well it lost it’s power when he touched it. oh no, did he break it? jerry got down with ray and started checking things out. this is the first time martha has used one of these. but you know men, they love to get their hands dirty. jerry does anyway.

 

so they got it fixed pretty easily. there were some tense moments, but it turned out well. martha got back in the drivers seat and started rolling along again.

 

stay tuned for central park

love, jilly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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we have a very nice hotel, two blocks from times square. the staff is super nice. and……. all doubletrees give you warm chocolate chip cookies on arrival. yum.

here’s the view from our window on the 35th floor..

that triangle sticking out from this building looks kind of creepy from far away so i wanted show a close-up. we have a few guess’s what it might be, but don’t know.

 

we went to the matinee of the play ‘kinky boots’ on saturday. ray and martha’s grandaughter went with us. she has been in new york for 6 years now. she has become a true new yorker as karl and his wife sandy have too. they know the city like the back of their hand. here she is hailing the urber driver.

ray got us great seats. we were this close to the stage. we were in the second row. wow.

the play was absolutely wonderful. fantastic. entertaining on all levels. such a good story line along with the best music and singing. both of the lead actors were great. we were a little late and didn’t get a playbill, so we kept wondering who one of them was. he looked so familiar, but we couldn’t place him. he was such a good dancer with an incredible voice.

 

it turned out to be mark ballas of dancing with the stars. he made the play for me. martha posed in the photo spot outside.

 

 

karl bought us dinner at ‘juniors’, a restaurant famous for new york cheesecake. had such a good day today.

stay tuned for more great days

love, jilly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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ray got a lot of his work caught up while we waited. people in the sleeper cars get a vip lounge with free snacks and drinks. even a espresso machine. it’s hard to type on a computer on the train while the table is bouncing. one reason i didn’t do a blog post.

 

here’s something at the chicago station i’ve never seen before.

 

we got on the train to new york around nine pm. this train didn’t ride as smooth as the first one. i’m glad we only had one night on it. the room was nice though.

we got all our meals served in a box. breakfast there was no choice, but lunch and dinner had several choices.

 

a lot of our landscapes were very similar, but different, if you know what i mean. most of these small towns have these three things along the tracks. these are my best shots of them.

a round tower, a cylinder shaped tower, and abandoned brick buildings. what’s going to happen to the thousands of these that are probably ready to fall down.

 

along with all the beauty and charm..

 

 

we had a three hour delay here because of a broken down train in front of us.

we made it to penn station around ten thirty. we had the best redcaps that helped us beyond the call of duty. they got all our luggage (remember tony’s car in the first picture) from the train. then waited for our checked luggage, even went in behind the closed gates and got it. then walked us out the back way to the street to a waiting car that karl had arranged for us. he miraculously got us through new york traffic to our hotel.

we are here. so stay tuned for NEW YORK CITY!

love, jilly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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