NYC with my girls...

Day 1 of our trip began with a 4:30 wake up time for Marci and me. I spent the night at her house in Long Beach so that we could be closer to LAX for our 6:45am flight to NYC. We had some trouble with Expedia giving us the wrong airline, but luckily we made it onto the plane just in time. We arrive in NY in the afternoon and found Dana and Cheryl at the airport so we could take a taxi together into the city. Paige was already there as she rode the train up from Washington DC. We met her at our apartment to check in! It was a grand reunion for all of us! We hung out in our amazing apartment for a while and this is the view that eventually came...

We decided on TAO for dinner our first night. I had been before with my family and knew it was a YUMMY place. It was very close to our place so we walked!

We were there to celebrate our 30th birthdays! This was the best dessert that any of us have ever had!

Day 2... a walk on 5th Avenue for some shopping!

Paige, Cheryl and I stopped at Burger Heaven for lunch while Dana and Marci headed to the Empire State Building.

We met back up with them at the NY Public Library which was beautiful! Just behind the library is Bryant Park.

Then... we went to meet Todd, Sean's brother who works at NBC. He took us on a tour of the SNL set, the Conan O'Brien show, the News room. It was really amazing. We also caught a glimpse of Cameron Diaz as she was arriving there for her appearance on SNL. I had to take a picture in my mind of that one. Dana, couldn't control herself and screamed as the doors of the elevator were closing. Todd was very embarrassed! It was awesome.

After the tour we got a drink and hung out with Todd at a place right next to the NBC building. It was right in the Rockefeller center where the ice skating rink goes during Christmas time. We had a good time getting to know him.

That night Todd recommended that we go to Little Italy for dinner. When we arrived we found that there was actually a festival going on and it was CRAZY there, but really fun. We had dinner at a little Italian place. Sadly, we couldn't find the place that Todd recommended.

We took the subway there and back!

The 3rd day was Central Park day! The park was only a few blocks from our place.

Paige started talking about the hot dog that she wanted to eat in Central Park days before we even went. So from the moment we actually stepped foot into the park she was talking about and looking for hot dog stands. It was borderline obsessive, but cute as she always is. She tried to be patient and keep her comments to a minimum, but they slipped out every few minutes when she would see any kind of stand... "Do you think that's a hot dog stand?" "Excuse me sir, do you know where they are selling hot dogs around here?" Even though it was early, she bought a hot dog at the first place we came to and PROUDLY ate it all by herself. She was so happy to have her prized possession!

See below for a video of the "Oh I'm so happy I had a hot dog" dance with Cheryl!

This area is called "The Mall." And it was beautiful. See below for a video of Paige enjoying it!

In the middle of the park was Bethesda Fountain, also beautiful. We stopped there for lunch!

.. and dessert - crepes with nutella!!

On our way out we got sucked into a show by the AFROBATS! Again, see below for a short video!

Cheryl and I decided to head back after lunch, on our way we ran into "the great lawn." It was Saturday and the weather was awesome, many were enjoying.

My feet were hurting so bad that Cheryl and I decided to hire this nice man to bike us back to the edge of the park! He took us around to some different sites first, then to the corner nearest our apartment. It was awesome!

Dana, Paige, and Marci continued on and saw this beautiful reservoir!

That night we decided to see a show! But first we found this little restaurant on "Restaurant Row." It was yummy!

This was the ceiling in the playhouse. I was chastised harshly for snapping this photo so I had to post it. "A Tale of Two Cities" was great!

This is what our mornings looked like... cereal and watching the city from the huge windows!! We could see all the way to the river where we saw cruise ships docked on several different days.

Day 4 - the Brooklyn Bridge!

Dana navigating our travels!

We stopped at Ground Zero... I was so surprised at how much progress has been made since the last time I was here. They are really building something there!

We walked from Manhattan over the Brooklyn which took about and hour. It was fun and beautiful. Bridges are so cool.

Looking back at Manhattan...

We were told by several people that there was a GREAT pizza place just on the other side of the bridge. And we found it, Grimaldi's. It was a total hole in the wall but had awesome pizza. And we were starving after waiting OVER AN HOUR in line outside the restaurant!

And just down the street from there was an old fashioned ice cream parlor. YUM! Dana and I waited 45 mins in line there.

We took a taxi back across the bridge and Dana and Marci went on the Staten Island Ferry. Cheryl, Paige and I took the subway home.

For our last night in New York we went to SUSHI SAMBA in Greenwich Village and it did not disappoint. Mmmmmmmm! Marci was lookin' HOT with her red shoes.

One of the best items we had was LOBSTER! I was so proud of myself that I even tried it and surprisingly, I LOVED IT! Well, at least I loved the sauce they had on top!

It was a great way to end our trip. The next morning we had some time to pray over one another and then we all had to get to the airport to go home. Marci and I had LOTS more drama trying to get home. We finally made it to LAX hours after we were supposed to... but we did make it! Thanks for a wonderful trip ladies. I love you!

The Happy Hot Dog dance ..................................... Paige expressing her joy at "the Mall"

The Afrobats