If it's called the World Series, why is it always played in the Bronx?

New York! Oh. My. Goodness. That place is insane. Here's our story.

We left on Saturday morning bright and early. I was really excited to tell everyone at the airport where I was going. The greeter, the ticket agent, anyone willing to listen...

This picture was taken right before we boarded the plane. I was excited. Not 100% sure what Blake was feeling.

My first picture in New York. I should have just worn a big "I'm A Tourist" tee.

The Big Apple at LaGuardia.

It was a sea of yellow from Blake's view. We stayed at the Milford Plaza which was on about 8th Ave and 44th street if you're familiar with the city. It was not the best hotel in the world but the location was perfect. We were a block away from Times Square and we were able to walk just about everywhere we went. We laughed when we walked into Blake's room which was smaller than my bedroom at home. Then I walked into my room which was even smaller! Welcome to NYC!

We spent our first few hours in the city wandering around Times Square. Within just a couple minutes, we realized we were in one of the craziest cities in the world. There were half naked, guitar playing, cross-dressing entertainers filling the streets.

We were starving so even though we were in New York, a city full of food goodness, we caved and went to McDonald's. We were in Times Square. It's kind of a big deal right?

We stopped at the M&M store, the Hershey store, and Toys 'R Us. We pretty much loved them. Blake stocked up on Pez dispensers at Toys 'R Us and I just stood back and laughed at him. It was great.

All of the TV billboards were insane. It was kind of like being in an outdoor movie theater.

Just a few of the shows to choose from.

We continued walking up and down 7th and 8th Ave until we had to get ready to see Phantom of the Opera. We absolutely LOVED the show! There were times that Blake and I would look at each other in awe of what just happened on stage. The singing, acting, dancing, stage, effects, etc. were all brilliantly done. Seeing a show on Broadway was better than I thought it would be (and I had pretty high expectations). Afterwards we decided to go see Times Square at night with all the lights. I couldn't believe that it was more crowded at night than it had been during the day!

I trusted a stranger with my camera to take a picture for us. Luckily I got it back. :) After that, we walked over to a grocery store to get some food for Sunday. (We just wanted to keep it low-key and pack some pb&j.) Had I not been with Blake, I would have been raped and/or murdered down that street. As I was clinging on to Blake for dear life, he just kept telling me not to make eye contact. I am a little over dramatic but I definitely caught a couple of glares.

I don't know why but I kind of love pigeons.

Walking home from church on Sunday, Blake observed the trends on the streets of New York and tried to imitate it. He looks like he belongs there, no?

Cash Cab! Okay, not really but I really wish we could have gotten in it. Too bad we only took cabs to and from the airport.

We walked all the way to and through Central Park. There were several different performers throughout the park and each was interesting to listen to. If I lived there, I could see myself spending lots of time in the park reading, sleeping, people watching, or anything. It is a fascinating place.

This is a view from a giant boulder in the park. Just to my right were three men canoodling all over each other. There were people tanning, kids playing, and all sorts of activities going on. If you look really closely, this picture pretty much captures everything going on in the park.

We continued walking to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (By the way, that is a LONG walk.) What I love most about museums is seeing the art that I have studied in school. I wish I could have had some of my art teachers with me as I walked through but my poor memory got me through okay My favorite part of the museum was the modern art section. These photos are some of my favorites. The piece above is by Jackson Pollack. I remember seeing something about him on TV once while I was at my grandma's house and ever since, his work has popped up randomly in my life.

All sorts of art!

When we walked out of the museum, we sat on the steps for awhile and just watched the crowd. There was a family singing for money at the foot of the steps. I'm glad my parents never made me do that. We wouldn't have made much money anyway.

We walked back through Central Park a different way than we had come. This one-man band was fun. The little boy in the picture wanted to play with him. The man showed the boy how to use the accordion. I thought it was so cute.

At night there seemed to be a lot more going on. There were performers everywhere! We stopped and watched a few. I got a lot of laughs out of all of these people.

On Monday, we started our day by taking a trip up to the Empire State Building. This place completely trumped the Sears Tower. It was exhilarating to be outside looking at the amazing sights. Blake did a wonderful job pointing out the big sights. It's a good thing too because there are no maps once you get out there. Sadly the only thing I could have confidently pointed out was the Statue of Liberty.

A view straight down. There were lounge areas on some of the rooftops. Wouldn't that be so cool to have your own place up there?!

Blake was really excited to go to Grand Central Station. This is where all the movies are made! Can you see him in the crowd eating a banana? This is actually part 2 of a 3 part series. Blake has some deep philosophical meaning behind the photos but I'll leave the explaining to him.

We took the train on down to Canal Street. We ate some yummy Chinese food in a little hidden restaurant in Chinatown. Then I got the guts to approach one of the little Asian ladies that are on the streets muttering "handbag? Gucci, Prada, Chanel." It actually sounds like they are saying "hambeg" but they have brochures to show you that they are indeed selling handbags. So I follow this girl and I am freaking out. Blake is a good ten feet behind me so I yell at him to get up there with me. He assures me he has my back and stays away. Then the lady drops me off to this Asian guy. They got on their walkie-talkies (insert Brian Regan reference here) to make sure the coast is clear and lead me down the street some more. I'm convinced we're going to have to walk a few blocks but before I know it, we've turned a corner and he gets into a dark, tinted van. I'm about to pee my pants and Blake is behind me cracking up. I look at him as if to say "save me" and he again assures me that he's got my back. He wanted to make sure he could slash the tires in case they drove away with me. Well I was in the van and I panicked. I didn't know what I wanted but I did know that I didn't want to pay as much as they wanted. I looked around for a bit and decided that none of them really floated my boat so I said no thanks. He got back on his walkie talkie, said something in Chinese (I'm assuming) to make sure the coast was clear, and then opened the door to let me out. He walked away as if he'd never seen me and continued on his way. I got a good laugh and Blake was disappointed that after all that, I didn't get anything. I got the experience and didn't get arrested. That's all I need.

From Canal Street we walked over to the financial district. This monument was near where the World Trade Center towers were. It seemed really quiet and somber in that part of New York. It could have been that it was a holiday and workers weren't around but it was definitely a sobering experience.

This monument was to honor the survivors. We're not exactly sure why it's a balloon animal but it was kind of cool anyway. We sat there for a while to rest and thought about what happened that day. History becomes so much more real when you visit the sights where it took place.

As a side note, there were pigeons everywhere and Blake decided to take off his shoes and socks and go play in the pigeon poopy water. Fun.

We jumped back on the train to head up to the Bronx for the Yankee game. I tuckered this poor kid out.

The new Yankee Stadium from the train.

It was a double header that day so when we go there, we still had to wait to get inside. The crowd was huge! I tried to take some pictures but I kind of got sick of it so this is all I got for the outside.

The inside. My friend Mike told me who all these guys were but I don't remember. If you really care, I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you.

3 of 3 in the banana series. This one is actually much more difficult than the first.

The field!

We had awesome seats! I've never sat so far away before! It's all good though because it was easier for us to see the balls when they hit home runs (and there were several). Yankees win 11 to 1. Nice!

The last day we rushed over to the Statue of Liberty. It was the 4ooth anniversary of Henry Hudson going down the Hudson river so we got to watch a naval procession. Mostly I was trying not to puke on the rocking ship so Blake got this photo for me.

There she is! I was really REALLY excited to see her and she did not disappoint. We were the first group there in the morning so we got to walk around her while it wasn't too crowded. I got way too many pictures to post them all but I pretty much got one from every possible angle if you are ever in need of one.

This one was taken after we climbed up the stairs to the observatory. It was amazing. The view was incredible and I loved looking at the detail. The museum inside was very interesting and showed the stages of her creation. So much work has gone into her since she was put here. I had no idea! I'm glad they've been able to keep her standing for me to see!

This was Blake's first time using one of these telescopes. It was great except it only went up to Lady Liberty's hip. He decided to turn it around and look at the shore line instead.

I love the detail of her foot.

This line was so long we probably could have swam back to Manhattan faster. I almost decided to go to Jersey instead because there was absolutely no line.

In order to entertain ourselves (and our line neighbors) while in line...

One of our last photos together. I can see the exhaustion in both of our eyes but it was all very worth it.

This is how many people were jammed on one of the later boats. Isn't that nuts?!

Ellis Island! We didn't have enough time to go to the island but it looked pretty cool.

That's pretty much our trip. It was unforgettable and I am so happy I was able to finally make it. I definitely want to go back some day but I'm still recovering so it will probably be a couple years before I make it.