New York, NY

Our family loves a good vacation. God has really blessed us through the years and we've been able to take some really great trips. This past week was no exception. My daughter Robin chose New York City as the destination for her graduation trip. Since the selection was made, my wife Donna - who we lovingly refer to as the Vacation Nazi - has been planning every minute of the six day trip to the Big Apple. God gave us favor throughout the entire trip! First of all, we get to New Orleans to fly out and they put us on a direct flight to New York instead of our original itinerary which had us flying through Memphis with a lay over. This put us in New York much earlier than we planned so we got to go down to Time Square and have a look around. When we got ready to leave on Friday, our Taxi service was upgraded to a limo ride to the airport for no extra charge!

Sunday morning, we visited China Town and Little Italy, we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and visited Trinity Church. That afternoon we had tickets to the Yankee's game and watched the Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 5-2. We had excellent seats along the third base line and had a blast observing New Yorkers heckle the Rangers' left fielder, David Murphy. Our favorite line of the day was, "Hey Murphy did you bat yet? Do they let you bat, Murphy? No, Murphy barely made the team!" After the game we checked out Trump Tower, The Plaza Hotel, Tiffany's, Prada and Rockefeller Center. Man! Did my feet hurt by the time we got back to the hotel! (I was feeling the effect of visiting New York with the Vacation Nazi right away!)

Day two began at The American Museum of Natural History, from which one of our favorite family movies, Night At The Museum, got its inspiration for most of its characters. It was so cool seeing all that history - despite the prevailing evolution propaganda and political correctness. (Don't get me started!) One of the most fascinating things that happened was when (in a city of over nine million people) we were standing in line at the museum and heard someone call, "Hey Pastor Jeff!" (A lady from our church who is a teacher was visiting the city with her class. It truly is a small world!) After the museum we had dinner at Babbo (Iron Chef Mario Batali's restaurant.) It was an incredible experience! Then we went to The Empire State Building and looked out over the city at night - something everyone needs to do before they die.

On day three we enjoyed visiting The Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island. What an Iconic, inspirational experience! We spent most of the day there but got a quick visit to the New York Library in before heading down to Broadway and taking in the musical Wicked. I wouldn't want to live in New York, but it would be awesome to have regular access to the theater. We enjoyed it so much!

Day four began at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. From there we headed out to Central Park on an absolutely beautiful day! This is the perfect time of the year to visit the city. The weather was perfect. Springtime in New York is cool, but not cold with the trees and flowers in full bloom. (I will say, I am more allergic to something blooming there than I am anything here and the allergies were kicking in big time!) We ended the day in Greenwich Village enjoying the musical Stomp. Incredible!

We slept in on day five (thank you Vacation Nazi!) and then visited The Tribute Center at Ground Zero. It was an inspiring memorial to those who lost their lives on 09/11/01 in the terrorist attack. The memorial includes pictures of all the victims and testimonies from survivors. The events of 09/11 are indelibly imprinted on the souls of Americans and to be there was surreal if not haunting. Twenty years ago, while visiting New York City, Donna and I enjoyed a spectacular view of the city from the top of The World Trade Center. Looking at the place where those towers once stood was a reminder that there are many in this fallen world who hate freedom and everything this nation stands for!

The last thing we did was to visit The American Girl store on 5th Avenue. Robin grew up collecting American Girl dolls and our visit to this three story wonderland for little girls was very special for her. It was a fitting ending for a trip that was mostly hers but enjoyed by us all!