This year we met my Dad and brother Ken in New York to spend Christmas with my Dad's side of the family. We flew up Thursday night before Christmas and came home the next Friday just in time for New Years in San Diego.
I feel like every time I take a trip it's the best trip ever, but I really think this one might've been. I really love the family's lake house in Lake George and I had so much fun hanging out with my family that I only get to see every other year or so. We are definitely going to have to make it back up there very soon! Here is the overview of the trip but there were just so many great pictures that I feel like this really doesn't capture it. If you have the time, definitely take a look at the full album here.
TWO PLANES, THREE TRAINS, AND A TRUCK
Thursday night we flew out of San Diego right after work. We had a one-stop flight to JFK airport where we then had to take the airport train to the LIRR, the LIRR to Penn Station, and the Amtrak train to Fort Edward - right outside Lake George. After all was said and done we spent like 16 hours traveling!
Here is Joey at 6am at the LIRR station - waiting for train number 2. Man we were tired!
A view out the window from the Amtrak train - a four hour ride from NYC to Lake George. There were some beautiful views! I love upstate NY.
My dad waiting to pick us up at the station - with his favorite companion, Molly.
MY DAD'S BDAY
The 23rd is my dad's birthday and this year he turned 54. We had a nice celebration at the lake for him. My great Aunt Bev made him a carrot cake.
Joey and I preordered him the new Tony Stewart Nascar jacket. Unfortunately it wasn't available for shipping until Feb so I photoshopped him in the jacket instead. He loved it. ;)
CHRISTMAS WEEKEND
The next few days were a blur of hanging out around the house, going for walks, and short trips into town. Here are some of the highlights.
Christmas Eve day at the Saratoga Springs track and casino with my uncles Duane and Dean (not pictured).
A walk around the lake with Dad and Aunt Lorraine on Christmas morning.
Lorraine showing us the damage from the August hurricane. They lost a lot of trees!
Christmas dinner. My cousin Ruthie and her family arrived just in time.
Joey playing with Ruthie's son Benjamin. I was so in love.
My dad and his love Molly.
My Aunt Debbie was able to make it up from Albany for a day.
The boys playing the Wii.
Ben loved Molly too - and her doggy bed. He kept climbing in it when she walked away!
Bowling night in Glens Falls - so fun!
Lunch and babysitting baby Ben in Saratoga Springs.
Joey playing with Ben at the library. Have I mentioned how much I loved this little guy!!??
Last night at the lake - family photo.
NEW YORK CITY!
On Wednesday morning we woke up early, said goodbye to everyone, and headed to NYC! But first, one more family pic in front of the lake house.
My dad drove us into the city to our hotel in Times Square. Giant truck + Georgia driver + NYC traffic = horrible idea.
Finally we made it in the city and found a place to park my dad's monster truck and started exploring. This was my brother's first time in NYC.
My dad only stayed a couple hours since he had Molly and he couldn't stand the crowds. After he left we explored the city a little more with Ken before taking him to the airport to fly to Ohio to see my Mom.
Ken almost missed his flight because I led us onto the train in the wrong direction - Ooops. I'm usually so good at navigating in the city - I guess I was just a little rusty. No worries though, he made it!
The next morning we explored the Chelsea neighborhood and went for a walk on the High Line - one of my favorite places in the city.
We met up with Joey's Aunt Barb, Uncle Mike, and cousin Julia for lunch in Soho. So good to see them!
After resting a bit in the hotel we headed out for a fondue dinner before our big Christmas show.
The lobby of Radio City - so festively decorated!
The Rockette's Christmas Spectacular! (To be honest, it wasn't spectacular...but it was worth seeing.)
Our last day in the city we did some more walking around town. We were lucky to have some warmer weather so it wasn't as bone chilling as the first two days. Here we are in Central Park.
And doing some window shopping on the mega crowded Fifth Ave.
Finally, the time came to head to the airport. It was a great trip but I was definitely ready to go home - especially after a few days in the city. I like NYC in a lot of ways but it is just too crowded, expensive, and uncomfortable for me. It was a long flight back and we were super tired arriving home at 1 am PST (4 am EST!) but we made it safely without a hitch.
As usual, here is a slideshow of the full album. (Click to open full size)
NEW YEARS EVE
The next day was New Years Eve and our place was a disaster! Whenever we travel it always looks like our apartment blew up! We had to get to cleaning though because we were expecting people over around 5pm. Eek!
For NYE we invited our friends to hang out at our place before walking down to the Gaslamp to go out. We had a great turnout - 12 people in our tiny apartment - a new record for us!
At Double Deuce downtown.
Happy New Year!
Looks like fun!!! Would have been easier to do NY without a whole bunch of little ones, maybe someday! Just got ultrasound pics on Tuesday, baby looks healthy. Are you starting to get ready for your March trip? You guys are certainly living it up before you settle down and have kids.
ReplyDelete