The Big Apple

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New York, New York

March 11th to 16th, 2008

(Amber)

After a long travel day, we arrived in NY at about 3am on Tuesday. The purpose of coming home mid-trip is simple....My best friend since childhood welcomed her first child on January 2nd, the day that we were on a plane to Ecuador, and I couldn't wait until the end of August to meet him. When we decided to make a stop in NY, our moms, my sister, and my nephews, decided to join us! We had a perfect and rejuvenating weekend together.

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Before Matt and I left for this trip, I had not gone without seeing my sister and nephews for more than a few days at a stretch since Ang and I can remember and definitely since the boys were born. Even when Matt and I were in Houston, we saw them every couple of weeks. So as we pulled into the city, I had 3 things on my mind...and they were all under the age of 6!

The first thing I noticed when we pulled into the relatively empty middle of the night city streets was how clean they were. I've been to NY many times, including a couple of trips just last year, and I've never been struck by how squeaky clean it all seemed. After 10 weeks in South America, where I didn't consciously notice any different, this immediately struck me.

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I also never got tired of flushing paper down the toilet, getting a great cup of coffee any time of day, or sleeping in the most luxurious and clean beds you can imagine. It was a great rest.

On Wednesday morning, just a few hours after arriving, I got to meet Charlie, Kathleen's precious new baby. He is not only beautiful, as you can see in the photos, he is so calm and sweet. He's really the easiest baby I have ever seen. And I have to say, he really loves me. The three of us went for a haircut, which was a huge treat for me, and then went back to the hotel to wait for my family.

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Mom and Ang called from the taxi, and Matt and I ran down to meet them. I can't tell you how awesome it was to see them and have all of the most important people in my world in one place again. And the boys lit up when they saw us, and I'm proud to report, hugged and snuggled pretty much nonstop for the next four days.

Later that day, Linda arrived, and the whole gang went to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. I didn't go to the show and instead hung out with Kathleen, Will, and Charlie and ate sushi that was to die for. Of course, Charlie was a cool little cucumber...as usual.

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At about 11pm, I walked back toward the hotel and met the Mary Poppins gang for a late dinner. They all raved about the show and our boys, who were the youngest there and perfectly behaved throughout the almost three hour musical.

During our time in NY, we made tracks. Here's a list of just some of what we did in four short days!

We went to Times Square.....saw a Broadway show....went up the Empire State Building....went to Central Park twice.....explored the huge Toys R Us in Times Square, where we rode an indoor Ferris Wheel....spent half a day at the American Museum of Natural History....rode the Staten Island Ferry....walked down Wall Street....went to Chinatown.....and ate in several truly NY haunts - highlights included wonderful bagels, sushi, Korean, greasy spoon breakfast, and of course hot dog and pizza stands. Matt, Jake, and I also treated ourselves to Starbucks at least once a day.

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Not bad for a caravan that included two raggedy travelers trying to recover from a myriad of health issues, two moms, one sis, two friends, and 3 kids!....to be fair, Charlie had to duck out on some of the sightseeing fun, but he definitely did the NY eatery scene.

The boys were amazing. With the exception of a couple of...we're tired, we have walked 100 miles, and you people don't feed us regularly....moments, they were pros. They both rode the subway the whole time. It was a sleeping pill for Ace, who wanted Uncle Matt's soft shoulder the whole time. And Jake, even on subways that were too packed to breathe, stood like a little man holding the pole with the NYC I'm bored on the subway look in his eyes. It was awesome. And I think they really, really loved it. I know I am partial, but I just can't tell you how sweet and smart they are and how much Matt and I totally adore them.

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It was sad to leave everyone, but we're excited about the next leg of our adventure, and even with the sadness at leaving on Sunday morning.....I definitely wouldn't have traded seeing them for the world.

After 24 hours of traveling, we arrived last night in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I'm now writing from Stone Town in Zanzibar. I hope to add some photos and stories from here tomorrow. It is amazing and so different than any place we've seen so far. I know we will learn and experience so much here.

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Details soon.....

(Matt)

The beds in our hotel room were like sleeping on a fluffy cloud, and the Starbucks coffee tasted like it was brewed in heaven. We made a $165 dollar run to the pharmacy buying everything we had ever desired while in South America. Consequently, our bags weigh a TON!

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Otherwise, it was just great to see everyone and see some sights in Manhattan. The kids were really sweet, and it was fun to see Mary Poppins, the Museum of Natural History, and the Statue of Liberty. These are all things that we probably would not have done if the kids hadn't been there, but they were all great. New York City is always tremendous, even if you just walk around. I love it there and can always get excited to visit. Oh yea, and I got my wish to eat Korean food on Angela's birthday.

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For photos from NYC, click here: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AatmbZk0ZtFHKw