New York

Jay-Z puts it best:

In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made, ohThere's nothing you can't do, now you're in New YorkThese streets will make you feel brand newBig lights will inspire you, let's hear it for New York

 Well, I wanted to write about my short time I spent in the wonderful state of New York. It was one short week, spent half upstate, and half in the city. Here is a tale of my travels:
First I spent time with my friend Thomas, I think he lived near Ithaca/Cornwall university. This is a pic of the area (I went in the winter...SOOOO COLD) it's beautiful there.

We also took a drive up to Palmyra to see the temple and visit Joseph Smiths old house and the Sacred Grove.

The sacred Grove is usually depicted very differently in church paintings and pictures, because there was no snow on the ground when Joseph offered his prayer. When I was there, the wind was howling and blowing fresh snow into my face throughout the tour of the Smith Farm. The sister Missionaries led us to the foot of the grove of trees and left us there to wonder around. Thinking we would only be 1 minute because it was SO freezing cold outside, we decided to peek in- I hadn't come all this was for nothing! As soon as I stepped within the grove of trees, there was an automatic reverence and silence. It was like stepping inside a warm blanket. We could no longer hear the wind howling-but seriously! It was a good experience for me to see these trees in a different sense. As I walked the path, I tried to wrap my head around what went on in this sacred grove of trees, not too many years ago. The first word uttered in this dispensation was; "Joseph". If Heavenly Father knew Joseph's name, I know He knows my name, and I know that He was there.

We then took the drive to the big apple! I am definitely a city girl at heart and NYC is amazing!

(stayed in New Jersey though...much cheaper)

A few things to see: -There are ferry's to Princes island where you can see the statue of liberty. -Ground zero -FAO Schwartz (a ginormous toy store)

-Canal street shopping (affordable New York) Quick story: I went in a shop that looked like it was selling purses.. they looked exactly like designer brands, but didn't have any of the brand names on them, then this Asian lady comes up to me and says "more in back, more in back"-At this point, I am pretty sure I'm at the back of the store, as it's just a small square one with purses hanging from the walls, when I look back and to my surprise, the wall is opening like a door, revealing a whole new room of purses but WITH the designer labels sewn to them. You are welcome for your fancy coach purse mom! -Empire state building (I think it was $40 to go up, but well worth it, and I would suggest going at sunset when all the lights are turning on but the sky isn't quite dark yet)

-Of coarse go to broadway but don't pre book your tickets, find a booth on times square that says TKTS - they have same day shows that haven't fully sold out so they are at a discounted price. The seats aren't so bad- but of coarse if you have 100s of dollars to spend and want a front row seat don't do that. We saw Wicked!

-Walk through central Park -Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art (at the desk they try and trick you to paying $20 each to get in, but it's actually a suggested donation price- otherwise it is actually free!

- Guggenheim museum is great too and the MOMA (museum of Modern art) there are lots but I think those are the ones worth your time. -If you are going to get something to eat from a street vendor, I would suggest you go to one that people are buying from and they look like someone who looks like they live there or a busy one- then you'll know it's probably good. There are some really gross ones! -as you walk along the streets you can go into fancy stores and cathedrals, so you'll have lots of looking to do. -Finally, IF you're going in Winter, NY is FREEZING and has humidity so it feels extra cold- Bring coats, scarfs, gloves, hats and good walking boots!!