Our adventure began when we stepped on the plane and Jordyn peeked her head into the cockpit. The flight attendant asked her if she wanted to step inside and she got a big grin on her face and said of course! Once inside the cockpit the pilots were more than accommodating and they welcomed her inside. They invited her to sit in the seat with a captains hat and mentioned that this would be a great photo opportunity for me. As I ruffled through my purse to find my camera they sad her down, scooted the seat up so that she could reach everything and had her turn on the seat belt sign and other things while I hurried to put new batteries in the camera. When I finally got myself put together (while people are stumbling past my big bent over behind and my carry on luggage) I looked in to see this . . .
Jordyn sitting comfortably in the drivers seat of the airplane. I was amazed at how nice the pilots were and they invited me into the cockpit as well. "Sit here mom and we'll take your picture together!" the co-pilot said and they took not one but 4 different shots of Jordyn and I together in the seats. (Those of me didn't make the cut for the blog). Next Jordyn asked for a shot with the pilots . . . and they were happy to oblige. I still am in shock. What a fun way to start our trip!
We got to Philadelphia (after having a delay in Denver) at about 1am and went right to bed. My Heritage Makers friend and consultant in the business opened up her home at the Daylesford Abby in PA and we slept in one of the old buildings on the sacred grounds of the church. Imagine for a moment the movie The Sound of Music . . . not too far is the building where the Priests stay and the grounds surrounding the chapel are beautiful. It's peaceful, quite and sacred and was very special to experience. No time to spare meant we had to get up really early in the morning and get to work on the Heritage Makers business showcase and consultant training I was doing with the team. But we couldn't help but dream about what the rest of the weekend had in store for us. After all of the business was over we headed for New Jersey where we could catch the train to New York City.
Being on the train was a great experience. It was a double decker and much like an Amtrak or other huge train. It made a lot of stops like a regular metro would but the ride was smooth and comfortable. The trains have a train conductor who totally looked the part and was excited to have his photo taken with Jordyn. Everyone else on the train thought we were nuts but we didn't give it a second thought.
Upon arriving in New York City, I had no idea what we would be experiencing next. I mean I see the city on television but it just doesn't do it justice. It's so much bigger, louder, busy as can be and you just can't capture that on camera. Jordyn was excited to hail a cab (and couldn't believe how aggresive you had to get to get one!) and ride through the city. Our little cab driver didn't speak English and was not the best driver in the world. We were literally 6 inches from the cars next to us and the lines in the road meant nothing to him. As I looked around, it seemed that this behavior was typical for all the drivers on the road. I was a little tense, but Jordyn just laughed and made it all better.
It was cold and rainy and the sky was dark. The clouds covered the tops of the buildings, which I couldn't believe because they were SO tall. Skyscraper has a totally different meaning to me now. The streets were jam packed with people and as we went towards Central Park we drove past so many things I had never seen before. It was like a completely different world.
We went to Central Park and took a carriage ride through the park. Our tour guide gave us some history on New York and it was so cool to just relax and take it all in. I couldn't believe we were actually there. After our ride, we walked up 5th Avenue and saw all the windows getting dressed up and ready for the Christmas holiday. Apparently, Christmas in New York is a bigger deal than anywhere else. (Now I get why Erica is soooooo into the Christmas holidays - New Yorkers really know how to do it big!) Christmas trees are going up on all the big buildings and it was beautiful. As we walked past Trump Tower it finally hit me that this was real, we were really here. It's not every day you get to see stores like Louis Vuiton - the big spendy stores that only the incredibly wealthy people get to see. Jackie asked if we wanted to go inside of any of them and I felt so unworthy. We stayed outside.
One of the neatest places we did go inside was the famous St. Marks cathedral that stood so majestically and just called us in. Every time I go on vacation I love to find the old cathedrals and chapels that have been around for centuries. This one had to be one of the most incredible I've ever been in. And it was Jordyn's first experience. It was overwhelming really and Jackie (a former Lutheran Pastor) was able to explain some of the symbolic and sacred nature of the things in the cathedral. One moment I will always treasure is when Jordyn was introduced to the lighting of the candles and what that meant. I won't go into detail about what it meant for us that day, but Jordyn lit a candle for her brother and it was truly a special moment.
Before leaving for the trip I had lined up tickets to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. They name it "Spectacular" because it truly IS! I have always wanted to see the Rockettes at Radio City and at one point tears were streaming down my face. I don't know if it was because it was such a beautiful show and I was impressed by the organization and perfection of the entire production or because I was seeing one of my childhood dreams being fulfilled. Either way I can't wait to go back!
New York will be an experience that I won't soon forget and I have plans to return as soon asI can! The next day brought another "first" for us as we drove South to the Jersey Shore and visited beautiful Cape May for a few photos and beach time. It was much to chilly to get in the water but the beach on the Eastern shore is absolutely beautiful. It was high tide and we had such fun taking pictures and playing in the sand. Cape May is quite a tourist destination but catching it off season was a special treat. It felt like we were the only people on earth.
Catching the view of the beach and the lighthouse right at sunset added to the beauty of it all. The smell in the air, the perfect time of night (twilight I think ;) and the chance to spend it with my beautiful daughter is a blessing I will cherish for the rest of my days.
2 comments:
If you go on that trip again will you take me next time. Mikey
What a cool experience and awesome memories!
xoxo
chell
PS - I think you'll have to take me and not Mikey if you go again
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