NYC - Day 1: Planes, trains, and airport shuttles

So, our flight ended up leaving about 3 hours earlier than we had previously anticipated, as mentioned previously... So I left a little early from work to pack and get out by 5pm to run some quick errands and make our 8pm flight. It was a little close, with security and everything, but we made it. Our seats had already been assigned. We were not sitting together and it could not be changed ( the flight was only 90 mins). As I took my middle seat between 2 women, the girl sitting by the window looked at me with a big smile and said "Hi!". The pilot then announced that we would be arriving in Phoenix in about 90 minutes and she says, "I'm 90 minutes from home! Where is home for you?" I said "Here" and the flood gates opened. In about a minute I knew her whole life story.

Our first flight to Phoenix was about 30 minutes late. We only had 45 minutes between flights, so had our gates not been relatively close, we would have missed our next flight! So we walked off one plane and right onto another for a 5 hour flight to JFK.

We arrived at JFK at 5am and , between getting luggage and shuttle to the hotel, we arrived at the hotel about 7:30am. The shuttle to the hotel was about an hour and a half, with 4 other groups being shuttled to various hotels, and of course we were last to be dropped off. At first I was a little bugged, but it was dawn and we got a beautiful little tour of the city! Our check in was not supposed to be until about 4pm but our room was available so they let us check in early (thank heavens! We were so tired...). We napped until 11am then headed out to adventure!

We first found a hot dog stand because I have been seriously craving a NY hotdog for WEEKS. It was good. On the next block we stopped at Lisa's Pizza and each grabbed a delicious slice of crispy thin crust pizza. (*Rodd is blogging in detail about our food and restaurant encounters, so visit his blog for more info about the food.) We continued up Fulton Street until we reached St. Paul's Chapel and the World Trade Center Site. There was a beautiful musical tribute at St. Paul's. It was great and very humbling to see the support that that support that they offered to those working and volunteering at the World Trade Centers. We realized that you must first obtain tickets to be able to see the actual site so we walked a block down to the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site (basically a miniature museum) and found out that they would not give out tickets again until later that day. We decided not to stick around but plan to go back tomorrow to get tickets to see it.

We then decided to head down to the Staten Island Ferry as I heard that it was a free, good view of the Statue of Liberty and city. We purchased a 7-day public transportation pass and took the subway to the pier. We love to use the local public transportation when we travel. It's always so much cheaper than renting a car and we love to get a taste of how the locals live. It usually takes a day or two to get familiar with the system, but it's so fun! We got some hot cocoa and took the ferry to Staten Island and back. It did provide a great view of Lady Liberty, but Rodd wants to look into actually going to the island. That is likely to end up on our agenda again as well.

Rodd chose an Indian restaurant across town for dinner (big surprise, he LOVES Indian food!). It was good, but was left loving our local favorite: India Palace! We made it an early night and headed back to the hotel early to plan tomorrow and get caught up on some sleep. Between figuring out the subway and losing our map somewhere along the way... (before the ferry, we think) it was quite an adventure! Thank heavens for smart phones and GPS! :)

Just blocks away from our hotel a blind man with a seeing-eye dog approached us asking, "Is Frankfort Avenue close by?" I told him yes and he asked if there was a bus stop there. I told him,"Yes, we'll walk with you because I can't tell if it's the one you're looking for. I don't have very good eyes, I can't see that far..." I realize that what I said was a little ironic. He laughed and said, "Well, neither do I". I read the bus route numbers to him and he confirmed that was the one he was looking for and asked where the actual bus stop was. Rodd then pointed to the stop and said, "Over there". He pauses for a second and says, "over there to the right or the left?". Haha! We realized we must have seemed very naive and dysfunctional and could not stop laughing the rest of the way to the hotel.

Another hot cocoa before bed to help us thaw and planning our day for tomorrow! It is cold here, which I expected, but I will need to dress much warmer tomorrow. Watching the news tonight the 9/11 memorial reached 1 million visitors today... We tried to go today but did not want to wait and waste a part of our day standing around. Rodd was bummed we weren't there to be interviewed for the news (he's cute).

Great day, so glad to be here. :)

Trip to NY - The adventure begins...

So... We were hoping to make this trip as inexpensive as possible... (I know, good luck). We figured we could swing it because I have about a week of vacation time saved up at work, hotel rewards earned from all of Rodd's recent work travel, and a sister that works at Jet Blue and so graciously offered us Buddy Passes. Even with all of this it will not be a cheap trip, but we will be saving a ton... or so we hoped.

24 hours from departure: I get a text from my sister-in-law. Upon check in she realizes that we are likely not going to make it on our flight, and probably not for the next few days. So here I am up in the middle of the night looking for one way tickets to NYC... check.

Now... Our flight leaves about 3 hours earlier than planned and we are both working full days tomorrow. We have not packed, and we need to drop off our beloved felines at my mother's house who (without hesitation) has offered to watch over them while we are gone. Thanks Mom!

*sigh*

We'll get there... then have lots of happy things to write about. :)

Rodd's New Blog - Cleanzed Palate

So... as I mentioned before, Rodd has also started a blog of his own. We love to try new restaurants and he will be writing about the various places that we try. I have obtained official permission to share this with everyone. :)

His blog is:

http://cleanzedpalate.blogspot.com/

He's just getting started and is looking forward to sharing our foodie adventures with everyone. Check it out!

Happy Holidays

Christmas is just 2 days away. I finished the last of our Christmas shopping last night and am thrilled to have a somewhat quiet and low key holiday this year. Rather than spending extravagantly, we have kept Christmas rather simple:

Rather than shopping for friends, extended family, coworkers, and neighbors, we have made a significant donation to The Road Home in honor of our loved ones. The Road Home is a private non-profit social service agency that assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County and along the Wasatch Front. Their mission is to help people step out of homelessness and back into our community. Especially during the holiday season, I reflect more frequently upon our many blessings and am often grateful that we have enough (shelter, food, necessities). If you too would like to donate or would like more information about The Road Home, you can visit their website here.

We are not doing much shopping for each other this year. Rather, we have planned a trip to New York to be gone over the new year. Rodd has never been and it has been several years for me so we are very much looking forward to a get away before the semester starts up again for me and things get crazy again! This is how we prefer to do Christmas, free of 'stuff' and full of memories! I will try to post daily of our adventures and I'm sure Rodd will be posting about all of the wonderful food! We are just a little bit excited. :)

We get back from NY and I start school again within a matter of days... How time flies.

We are so grateful for all that we have been blessed with: wonderful friends and family (including our 2 ADORABLE cats: Belle and Achilles), health, safety, opportunities, education and learning, experiences, and each other.

Happy Holidays!

Recommitment

I have decided to recommit to keeping our blog updated. This is not to be confused with a 'New Year's Resolution'! There are too many stigmas associated with that. I do not need a new year to commit to being or doing better.

I have decided to take a different approach this time around, although I have not quite decided what that will be yet...

Rodd has also started a blog of his own. He has wanted to start a blog and decided this week that he will write about the places we eat at. We are always trying new places and he enjoys sharing those experience with others. I will check with him to make sure that I can share it and probably post that later this week.

I look forward to the fulfillment that writing and sharing life experiences provide. :)

Time for a Vacation??

We want to share the love.

We have a membership with a vacation club in the Caribbean. It is at the Lifestyle Holidays Resort in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. What's great about a membership is that we can use it as often as we'd like and we can let anyone use it, we just have to book the reservation. I have listed the prices that we are able to rent the following spaces for:

Stays can be any length. All-Inclusive. Inquire for any time.

Studio (sleeps 2) $ 43/Night + All Inclusive Fee 47.50/Person/Day.

1 Bedroom (sleeps 2-4) $ 54/Night + All Inclusive Fee 47.50/Person/Day.

2 Bedroom (sleeps 4-6) $ 61/Night + All Inclusive Fee 47.50/Person/Day.

*Penthouse (sleeps 4-8) $100/Night + All Inclusive Fee 57.50/Person/Day.

*Villa (sleeps 6-12) $157/Night + All Inclusive Fee 67.50/Person/Day.

*Suite-like with additional features: Personal pool/hot tub, accommodations fancier. :)

** Children 3-12 are 50% of All-Inclusive Fee. (3 and under are free)

The fee for All inclusive is mandatory. This covers all of your food for each meal. It's practically all you can eat, unlimited food/sushi/drinks on the beach (all day) and reservations at one of their seven fine restaurants each night. There are two parties you can go to during the week stay: One Sunday night, one Thursday night. These include food, entertainment, dancing, etc. Also, there are activities all day long at the resort (if lounging on the beach all day does not suit your fancy...) including entrance into Ocean World one day. I will be receiving a more comprehensive list of activities available and which are included. There is also transportation to and from the Puerto Plata Airport (POP).

The All Inclusive fee may seem a little steep but it's worth it. This resort really is amazing and the food is fabulous. Some have considered staying at another resort. If you chose to go this route you can, but to come over to Lifestyles as a guest you will be charged a guest fee of $80/person/day and will not be VIP. (Limits where you are able to go in the resort. This ends up being more than just making a reservation!)

Click here for information on food and restaurants (menus), videos and pictures, additional basic information.

Rodd and I have made a reservation for September 14th - 21st (Wednesday-Wednesday). Anyone/everyone is welcome to come. Let me know if you interested and we can look at options for stay. You are also welcome to invite others to come as well. We are booking a villa. The first to let us know they want to come can stay in the villa. The rest can book another accommodation and either come hang at the villa, meet up at the beach or to explore, or do your own thing... :)

I have a blog post in 2008 from our last trip with pictures and details about what we did. Week three is when we stayed at Lifestyles in Puerto Plata. Take a look, it was a blast and so interesting.

Also, of course, Rodd and I intend to leave the resort some days to experience the country itself. You are welcome to come with us or stay at the resort. As you can probably imagine, inside the resort is very different from the country itself. Things outside the resort are very affordable and the culture is... fascinating and very humbling. I came home last time with a great appreciation for shoes on my feet and food on my table... and electricity. It is quite the experience.

Flights to the Dominican Republic tend to be fairly inexpensive. Rodd and I have found tickets tend to be about $500 round trip, depending on the time (of course). All accommodations are great and nice. Short walk to the beach, food is great, WARM and BEAUTIFUL.

We are able to inquire about stays in other areas throughout the world. These tend to be a little harder to book, but I can always look into that. The price for stays will always remain the prices above regardless of location.

Let me know if you'd like for me to look into any availabilities. All I'll need is:

1. Where you'd like to stay.

2. Dates of Travel (check-in, check-out) FYI: Resorts tend to have stays Fri-Fri, Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun.

3. Which accommodation you'd like.

4. How many guests there will be (ex: 2 adults, 2 children)

I can inquire to availability and get back to you within a couple of days, usually.

I'm a Belle person... :)

So... sad to say that we are not high maintenance dog people. Max and Maddie were cute and a lot of fun but could not mesh with our busy schedules. So... We got a cat. :)

I have to say she is by far the cutest cat I've ever had. Belle stuck with the bell on her collar. I selfishly wanted to know where she was at all times to keep her out of trouble. She has since learned now to take her collar off and is bell-less... but I love the name. She is truly a bratty little princess, as Rodd would probably say.

Ugh, I love her. We got her just before Halloween and she was about one month old. She is now nearly 5 months old! Crazy how time flies.