My Day in New York City

A few weeks ago I was asked to head to New Jersey for a work assignment just outside Jersey. It was a short visit; however, it is not everyday that you are this close to NYC so I extended the trip for an extra afternoon to visit the island. Julie did her usual magic to suggest a few places to visit in the short amount of time I had available. She did a marvelous job and I had a great time that afternoon.

I flew into JFK on Monday evening and stopped in Brooklyn for some pizza. I found a coal-fired pizza place about 400 feet from the Brooklyn Bridge that was excellent. I then went west to my hotel in Jersey. The Brooklyn Bridge was under construction that evening so I traveled to the island on the Manhattan Bridge and went slowly over the island on Canal Street. It was all kinds of interesting to that road at night with all the buildings and traffic. Loved it.

I worked in New Jersey the following day and had a successful business trip. I booked my return flight for wednesday evening to give me a chance to visit the city for a few hours earlier that day. My first stop was at Rockoffeler Center.

This one looks like Gotham City to me.

So clearly the roof was very touristy but still a fantastic way to see the city. Loved it. Great way to see the favorite buildings. My next stop was St. Patrick’s Cathedral that was right next door to the Rock. The cathedral was under heavy construction at the time but remained open which created an interesting experience. Check out the photos below.

Next stop was Grand Central Station and oh what a stop it was! It took me a little while to find it (weird I know). It was a sight to behold at every turn. Such a beautiful building that remains so functional to this day. What treasure indeed!

Next Stop was New York City Public Library. This also was an incredible building. A great place to stop. The photo below reminds me of the one in Ghostbusters.

After my visit at the library my time was spent and it was time to find my car again. Parking for the afternoon was a measly 45 dollars (Ouch). I made my way to the airport and came home to me family just before a major snow storm hit the east coast. What a great trip.

Recurrent Nightmares

I woke up this morning after having a bad dream. It was similar to a bad dream I've had many times before. I tend to have recurring dreams. They aren't necessarily nightmares, but scary nonetheless. I thought it'd be interesting to write these down. I was able to think of 5 off the top of my head that I've had over and over over the years.

1) Being chased by a Tyrannosaurus Rex
When I was little I had this a handful of times. I'd be running away and hiding under a table or in someones old house and the super scary dinosaur would follow after me, slowly peering around corners and under things in order to find and eat me. A few times one of my siblings purposely gave my hiding spot away and he found me. Thankfully I would wake up right after that. This dream took place long before I saw Jurassic Park.

2) Getting left somewhere by my mom
I was really little for this dream, too. I'd be out shopping or something with my mom and she would leave me. Sometimes accidentally, sometimes on purpose.

3) Running in slow motion
I will be working so hard to run away from or to someone and my legs are dreadfully heavy. I'm moving in slow motion. I try and try for a long time without much success. It's exhausting.

4) Endless stairs and elevators
I've had this dream many times over the last few years. I'm always trying to get to the right floor of my office building but I can never seem to get there. I take multiple stair cases and elevators but it's an endless maze.

5) Best friends only
In this dream Rob and I are best friends and have been for years but he never wants to commit to marriage. We have a lot of fun and are absolutely perfect for each other but when I broach the subject and wait for a positive response, he always breaks it off. He wants to date other people and see if he can find someone better than me. In real life, Rob hates it when I have this dream and always reassures me that he's so happy he married me :)



I don't really want to go into possible interpretations of these dreams. I don't necessarily believe that all dreams have deep meanings. I'm sure some of them do, but who am I to say which ones do and which ones don't? I think they are mostly just telling me that I needlessly think and worry too much sometimes. And even though I hate having bad dreams, I love that after I wake up and lay my head on Rob's chest, he'll put his arm around me and I feel so much comfort and safety from him that it makes me fall peacefully back to sleep.

A Most Wonderful Day

During Spring Break I took the kids to Temple Square for the day. The weather was perfect, the flowers were in bloom, and we had so much fun seeing the sights. In many ways I miss being there every day like I used to but I have to say that spending the day touring around there with my children sure beats working at my desk.

First we walked through the Joseph Smith Memorial Building passing through an empty, fancy ballroom while singing, "Why have a ballroom with no ball?" :)

As soon as we walked out the doors Cara looked up and excitedly yelled, "The temple!"

 

As we rounded the corner to the back side of the temple I stopped my kids and told them all about Rob's proposal to me on those very steps. Now look what my "yeeees!" has turned into! So amazing.

We had a scavenger hunt to complete and visited the South Visitor's Center, Assembly Hall, Tabernacle, and North Visitor's Center to see the Christus statue.

After a snack in the shade we went to the Church History Museum and visited my dad's ship before playing in the children's exhibit.

We walked to the Conference Center waterfall and took a peek inside the huge auditorium. This was just a couple of days after we had watched General Conference on tv so the kids immediately recognized it.

Then we got a drink at Brigham Young's home and enjoyed being surrounded by lovely flowers.

Next we went up, up, up to the top of my old place of employment. I haven't been back in years and it brought back all sorts of memories, mostly fond :), of my years there. We had fun looking at the city and our old apartment from above. Then we had ice cream in the Nauvoo Cafe before heading home.

Many things in the city have changed since I lived there but the one thing that hasn't changed in the slightest is the beautiful spirit that is felt on Temple Square. I know the temple is the Holy House of my Lord. I know that he loves me. I know that my children are His children and I know they felt that during our visit. This day I  spent with them in this special place will always have a wonderful place in my heart because I felt really, truly happy and really, truly grateful to my Father in Heaven for all He has done for us.  

Big Surrrrrrr - Bixby Bridge & Coastal Drive

This morning we headed south. It's an hour drive from Monterey to our destination of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park which is as far south as we were driving for this trip. With photo stops it took us a little more than 2 hours to get there.

We thought the green pastures running cliffside were gorgeous.

We stopped at a smaller bridge (can't remember the name) and then at Bixby Bridge.

We drove slightly up the Old Highway One in order to get this vantage point.

We stopped a couple more times and watched a group (pack? herd?) of wild sea lions (or were they seals?) swimming and playing far, far below. We tried to see whales but weren't successful.

The weather was finally sunny and we were really enjoying the blue sky above and the blue ocean below.

Big Surrrrrrr - Point Lobos

Point Lobos Points Lobos Point Lobos! Can I just say this place was amazing! I was blown away once again at the amazing beauty of this area of the coast. It was made state park for very good reason. We didn’t visit the entire park due to time limitations. The areas we visited include China Cove, Bird Island, Gibson Beach, and Allan Memorial Grove. Check out the map below.

Our first stop was China Cove. The water was so calm and blue in the lagoon and then the water out beyond had much more turmoil. It was an interesting contrast. The cliffs surrounding the area were astounding and inspiring. Truly beautiful. The stairs down to the beach were closed because they had been damaged. We spent a lot of time in awe around the top of the cove.

We then took the short walk around to view Bird Island.

We did get to walk down the stairs to Gibson Beach. It was so lovely with the fog gently rolling over the trees and gorgeous cliffside residences. Hope you enjoy the gif of me running away from a wave like a scared little kid. Haha. That wave snuck up on me. Just glad Julie had the camera ready for that one. :)

Then we took the Cypress Grove Trail loop. These trees were something. I think there is only one other grove of these trees in California. They kind of remind me of something from Lord of the Rings. Maybe one of the Ents was a cypress?

And last of all we walked back along the coast trail and enjoyed the setting scene in the very last moments of the day. Wonderful. If you are ever in the area, I’d suggest stoping here.

After sunset we did a FaceTime call with the kids to say good night and then drove to Carmel by the Sea for dinner and a snack. A wonderful end to a marvelous day 2! Thanks for planning this trip Julie!