3x the Fun!

The fourth weekend of July came and went, but not before more friends from Iowa saw the city for themselves! Thursday night after work, I met two of my classmates from geology classes at Iowa State for a dinner in Times Square. Kyle was visiting his brother on the East Coast and came into New York to check out the sights. Kaylee got in to New York that morning and spent the day walking around before we all got together to dine and catch up. Of course there were lots of stories about the geology field camp I was at in Wyoming last summer, Kaylee was at earlier this summer, and Kyle will go next summer. Rock nerds, unite! :)

Kaylee, Kyle, and I in Times Square

I was expecting three guests to hang out with that weekend and the other two didn't get to the hotel in the city until after 1 in the morning. Flight delays will do that, I guess! Shannon and Craig, friends from high school, finally got to the hotel where they, along with Kaylee would be staying. They say spaces are small in New York, and this hotel room was no exception! 1 bed and we added an air mattress to accommodate everyone. No big deal :)

Friday I went to work while Kaylee, Shannon, and Craig got to know each other while they toured around Midtown. Entertainment was found in the Toys R Us store in Times Square, at the Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Center, and down to Grand Central Station. I met the crew for lunch at a cafe in the Rockefeller Center before heading back down to Soho to work that afternoon.

Craig, a devoted Yankees fan, and I, a hater of the Yankees have always exchanged friendly banter regarding the baseball team. His trip was really to visit the new Yankee Stadium and go to a game while in town. While the ticket was a bit pricy, Craig and Shannon enjoyed the beauty of a major league baseball game in Yankee Stadium on Friday night. Having only been to the stadium once, Craig must truly be a fan- he remembered what subway train to get on- 4 train Uptown to 161st street!

Meanwhile, Natalie and I met after work and caught up with Kaylee and her friend, Charles, at Pier 46 on the Hudson River to watch Ghostbusters on the big screen. Kaylee met Charles earlier this summer while they were both at geology field camp in Wyoming. He is a native of the East Coast and now lives in Brooklyn. Kaylee and him ran circles around the Village on Friday afternoon seeing everything they could!

Later after the movie, Craig and Shannon made their way back from the Bronx after the game and we all met up at their hotel. Craig was in a good mood since the Yankees won, so of course we continued with the bantering. I had to give him a hard time about his Yankees shirt that was number 42 on the back- Jackie Robinson's number that is now retired, but not before current Yankee, Mariano Rivera snatched it up. Craig's shirt bore the famous number, but had his last name, Lamm, printed on the back. Clever, Craig. :)
The classy decorations in the Best Western hotel at 48th and 8th: the American Presidents. Kaylee, JFK is creeping on you!
Craig's mom, Carolyn's last words to her son were, "Take care of those girls, Craig." Hm. Well I won't say he wasn't a perfect gentleman, but shown clearly in this picture, it looks like wittle Craigy couldn't put in his own eye drops. Good thing our resident pharmacy student was on hand to properly medicate! Nice work, Shannon :)
Charles, Kaylee, Shannon, Craig, and I walked down on 8th Ave to Smith's to toast a drink to being in New York City together. The live band playing was, well, not the greatest...

Shannon and I

This was Kaylee's first trip to NYC!

Craig, you're smiling!

This is a little more like it...Craig goofing off :)
And as Shannon said, "this photo makes me feel a little nostalgic."

Charles and Kaylee

The Iowa gang- Kaylee, Craig, Shannon, and I

Saturday, while Shannon, Craig, and Kaylee went down to Battery Park City, Natalie and I went to a street fair. All of the street fairs are close to the same every Saturday morning. Sundress, scarves, sunglasses, jewelry, hats, etc. all sold for cheap- only in New York- prices. This table was a new sight I've seen at the street fairs. Don't be fooled- these plates don't hold real produce, but rather fake, plastic vegetables and fruit that are glued to magnets. Looks appetizing!

A shot of the street fair.

While walking along the street, Natalie and I noticed a vintage shop and decided to stop in and check it out. A friendly place, complete with a dog that sat on the rug, we deemed the prices waaaaay out of our range. Not exactly "vintage" prices.

I loved this dress in the vintage shop. Reminds me of the dress Julia Roberts wears in Pretty Woman. I called Mom and asked her to sew me clothes again like she used to when I was little. I think the begging worked... :)

Later that afternoon, we all caught up and went to a new place, Roosevelt Island. It is a skinny little island in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. This is a Google Image that looks north with Manhattan on the left, Roosevelt Island in the middle, and Queens to the right.

The Queensboro Bridge crosses Roosevelt Island, but the only way to get to the island, besides a single subway stop, is the tram car that is suspended on a wire above the bustling city below.

Kaylee, Shannon, Craig, and I inside the tram car above the streets of Manhattan.
After getting off the tram car, we walked past a baseball field. America's favorite pastime is everywhere!

Our whole purpose for going to the island was in search of some live music we saw advertised. Jones Street Station and Diane Birch put on a concert for the small (small for NY!) crowd gathered in the green space. It was once again nice to get out of the craziness of Manhattan for a couple of hours. My gray sheet is getting good use at these outdoor events!

Kaylee, Natalie, and Shannon finding seats in the grass.

NYPD on a Segway :)

Shannon and I visited the friendly man at one of the many fruit stands on the street. Fresh grapes and sweet cherries were the produce of choice for a snack that afternoon on Roosevelt Island.

Natalie and I sent Shannon, Craig, and Kaylee on the subway back to their hotel before meeting up for dinner. We took the tram car back since it's stop is just a few blocks up on 2nd Ave from our building. We didn't leave Roosevelt Island without taking a picture with the Queensboro Bridge.

The next few pictures were taken while in the tram car going back to Manhattan.

East River

1st Ave

2nd Ave

After getting off the tram car, Natalie and I were walking back to our building and while crossing one of the streets, a vehicle that normally wouldn't get a second glance out of a couple of Midwestern girls, took us both by surprise- a F150 pick-up truck was waiting for the crowds of people in the crosswalk to pass before making it's turn to the west. Haven't seen one of those in quite a long time! It stuck out like a sore thumb against the yellow taxi cabs.

For dinner that night, we took the guests to Blockheads, the Mexican restaurant down the street. The shaken margaritas were a tad on the strong side...

Kaylee and Shannon expressing their feelings about the margaritas, haha!

We entertained ourselves after a long day of walking by relaxing in the tiny hotel room on the west side of Manhattan. Natalie insisted on jumping on the bed. "It's a must in a hotel." :)

Sunday, I took the gang down to Little Italy for lunch at some genuine Italian pasta. Shannon and Craig enjoyed their dishes without a doubt.

The real highlight of the midday meal was the entertainment provided on the street next to our table. The younger guy in the white shirt worked for the restaurant we were eating at as a representative to get people to come in and eat. What a schmoozer! The other guy to the left of him in the yellow shirt worked for the restaurant across the street. You can understand the competition that was going on as they fought for the business of the innocent people walking down the street between their restaurants. It was highly entertaining to watch Mr. Yellow-Shirt get all worked up and call Mr. Young Guy a discriminator, etc. etc. etc. while Mr. Young Guy went about his business quietly drawing in the ladies from the sidewalks. Too funny. :)

One country to the next! After lunch, we walked into Chinatown where Craig was extremely excited because he recognized the sights after watching the movie and playing the video game,The Godfather. Impressive, Craig. haha

Kaylee, Hallie, Craig, and Shannon in the streets of Chinatown

We consulted the Not For Tourists book that has been leading me around all summer to find a street that is oddly angled and "has a decidedly otherworldly feel." No kidding! Doyers Street was slightly deserted, for Chinatown, and what do you know!? The Chinatown Station Post Office was on this odd street- fitting, don't you think? (Haha, just kidding, Dad!)

We stopped in a "candy" store after leaving the angled street and found things not in the category for candy, well at least we thought. They had sample dishes for anyone to try the "treats" in the store. Shredded Squid, anyone?

We walked up from Chinatown to St. Mark's Place in the East Village. The goods were plentiful and colorful in this Thai store.

Over spring break, we found a place called "Berry Happy Frozen Yogurt" in Encinitas, California. This place on St. Mark's Place in the East Village was pretty much the same- AWESOME. It was self-serve frozen yogurt with lots of flavors- cake batter, dutch chocolate, peanut butter, cheesecake, strawberry, green tea, pomegrante, etc. You took a cup, filled it up with as much as you wanted, and then went to the bar were there were toppings of everthing imaginable- lots of fresh fruit, chocolate, marshmallows, gummi bears, galore! Put it on the scale and pay only 35 cents an ounce- what a sweet treat!

Kaylee, Shannon, and I enjoyed our bliss in the form of frozen yogurt. Yum!
The colorful street lamps were a work of art in the East Village on St. Mark's Place:

"A Nation Once Again"

"East Village"

Us girls ended up on a bench together in the subway ride on the 6 train back up to Midtown while Craig was across on other side of the car. Perhaps out of exhaustion, we found it to be humorous watching Craig sit between regular New Yorkers in the subway car.

Craig and his first set of "friends" on the subway

More "friends" on the subway for Craig...it was a long ride.

No more subway friends by the last stop...Poor Craig. :)

Shannon and Craig flew home to Iowa on Sunday night (delays, many crosswords, and a drive from Kansas City to Panora and Omaha later, they finally made it by 4 and 5am on Monday morning- yikes!) Kaylee didn't fly home until Monday night so we, along with my suitemate, Jessica, used discounted tickets from my housing service and went to see a newly released movie- The Ugly Truth at an AMC Theater down in Kips Bay. $8 instead of the regularly priced $12.50 ticket! I got a kick out of the theater using dated movie posters to decorate the many hallways in the building. I wish I could go see The Little Mermaid in theaters on the big screen! :)

Monday morning, Kaylee and I got up in time for me to go to work for the day while she headed up to 81st street on the west side to visit the American Museum of Natural History. It's still on my to-do list! Kaylee called from LaGuardia while I was watching the Bachelorette finale (Natalie and I watched every episode on Monday nights together. It was a must because we are devoted fans to the show!) to say her flight had gotten cancelled, but she was staying in a hotel near the airport to catch the 6am flight the next morning. LaGuardia better get it together before I fly home in August!

"It's just...for the first time, I feel...WICKED"

I finally got the opportunity to see the Broadway sensation- Wicked. My housing sometimes gets tickets to events around the city for a discounted price and I took advantage of this opportunity. This show has taken Broadway by storm and now it's tour around the US has quickly become a hit.

Dad and Thad saw the show while in New York City this spring on the OHS Senior Trip. Dad kept telling me I would love it! I have been listening to the music since I graduated high school, but had not had the chance to see the show.

Gershwin Theatre on 51st Street in Times Square was beautiful inside! Here is a picture of the stage and the audience before the show started.

A close up of the map of the Land of Oz with the green light illuminating the Emerald City, of course!

Dee Roscioli had her Broadway debut as Elphaba, the green-faced witch, on Tuesday night when we attended the show. She was sensational! The audience applauded her first entrance on stage at the beginning of the show, acknowledging her premiere performance. Here is Alli Mauzey, or Glinda, applauding her performance during the bows after the show. I like this picture because she shows so much emotion in her face :)

Alli Mauzey's performance as Glinda when singing Popular was absolutely hysterical! I sat by a girl in the audience who was seeing the show for the seventh time. She said the performance of that song was the best she's seen! Of course her singing was amazing, but the little quirks she threw in just amplified the girly character she was. For example, the scene starts with Glinda wanting to exchange secrets with Elphaba. Glinda says with great anticipation that she is "going to marry Fiyero" and then in perfect "teeny-bopper" form, runs and throws herself on her bed and screams into the pillows in excitement. Keep in mind she had just met this boy that day. It was perfectly acted!

Witch Love

The song performed by Glinda and Elphaba at the end of the show, For Good, has always held a special place in my heart. We sang it at our high school graduation ceremony. The song is beautifully composed with truthful lyrics that make you really stop and think about those people in your lives that have made an impact. Watching the actresses sing it on stage brought tears to my eyes.

The entire cast for one final bow after the show.

The sign above the door on the way out was very fitting. :)

"Seniors in the City" All Grown Up

I took my first full day off from work on Friday and Emily and I went got up early and headed down to Lower Manhattan to board the ferry headed out to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty. It was a VERY muggy day as you can see from the picture looking back at the skyline from the ferry.

Lookie there! What is that? The Statue of Liberty? I had no idea!

Emily and I attempted to take obnoxious pictures with the Statue. Emily gave Lady Liberty a wet willy in her ear...I picked her nose. Real mature, I know. :)
(For those of you keeping tabs on my VEISHEA wristband, Nicki, this is the last picture with the beloved piece of green plastic. I parted ways with it on Saturday. My wrist feels naked! haha)

The tickets to the crown are sold out until November and we were too impatient to stand in very long line to go up to the base of the monument. This close will have to do for now!
We were hot and tired on Liberty Island so we boarded the ferry that goes to Ellis Island next. We went inside the main building and counted our blessings that we hadn't arrived back in the day before they installed the air conditioning. :) We decided to learn more about the history of Ellis Island and went into a theater. After we collapsed in the seats, they turned down the lights and we knew we were doomed. A nice little nap was what we got out of that movie! After awaking from our slumber, we made our way to this beautiful, open room- the Registry Room. It was neat to look at the pictures and see this open space full of people all waiting to be let into America.

These columns were preserved because of the graffiti that was inscribed by the people who crossed through Ellis Island. There were illustrations as well as messages left to love ones.

The dormitory room housed some of the smallest and most UNcomfortable beds I've ever seen. A piece of canvas maybe 5 feet long, stretched tight between a couple bars, was all you got if you were unfortunate enough to have to spend the night at Ellis Island.

Coming off the ferry in Battery Park City, there were a couple of these brothers that would run down to were the crowd was and start shouting in a rehearsed manner:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, you have 5 minutes!"
"5 minutes!"
"To get off that ferry and over to watch our show!"
"Our show!"

Emily and I stopped by to watch what these brothers had put together. Of course their attractive outfits drew us in more than their actual act!
It's hard to miss the bull as you walk up Broadway towards Wall Street. There wasn't its usual crowd surrounding the figure so Emily and I jumped at the chance to snap a picture. Apparently I was into picking the noses of statues that day? Haha :)

Natalie had snagged tickets to a taping of the late night sensation, the Jimmy Fallon Show. We went over to the GE Building in Rockefeller Center, received our wristbands as we so fondly show off in the picture below, waited in line for quite awhile, but were finally let into the studio. It's just as they say- the studio is much smaller than they make it seem on the show! The guests that night, Anna Paquin, Mancow, and the band The Dead Weather, weren't exactly highlights. Yet, Jimmy was still hilarious and it was so much fun to watch the taping in real life. The episode we were at can be seen by clicking here. The kid that won the computer was sitting next to us! (Woop-de-do, I know...haha)
Emily, Natalie, and I with our official "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" wristbands.

Natalie noticed this sign on 5th Ave on our walk back from Jimmy. Love it.

Friday night, we tried to go down to the Intrepid Aircraft Carrier where they were showing Jaws on its deck for free. We dinked around long enough after leaving NBC Studios that the on-board crowd reached capacity. Oh well. Still got a picture of the huge ship!

Because we missed out on the movie on the boat, we found these fountains nearby. After sitting and watching the pretty display of lights and water, we decided to retreat back to our childhoods and jumped in the fountains. It was ridiculously fun and made for some pretty pictures!

Saturday, Emily and I finally slept in and got some much needed zzzzz's. That afternoon we hopped on the 4 train to ride to the Bronx for the Yankees baseball game. It was the longest, most uncomfortable subway ride I've had this whole summer. Sooooooo many Yankee fans crowded in the subway car. It was hot. Everyone was sweating. Gross. This picture does no justice in displaying how crowded the car was:

Finally we made it to 161st Street and everyone clambered out of the subway car into the sunny platform with a view of both Yankee Stadiums. The first is of old Yankee Stadium covered by scaffolding:

And then the bright, new Yankee stadium was off to the right.

Being baseball fans, Emily and I were pumped about going to the game, but I should throw a disclaimer out there. We are NOT Yankee fans. In fact, I despise the Yankees. We went for the experience. Period. :)

Because of the loooong subway ride, we got in after the top of the 1st was already complete. Derek Jeter was up and hit a single during our first look at the field.

The food and drink prices were outrageous, of course! Try not to be distracted by the calories listed immediately after the menu item. That number is outrageous as well!

Finally we made it to our seats! We got lucky and didn't bake in the sun since we sat up high enough to be shaded by the overhanging at the top of the stadium. :)

As I warned you all before during my post about the Mets game, I adore baseball diamonds. Therefore, here is yet another shot of the view we had.

The background view of Yankee Stadium offers a glimpse of some of the finest in the Bronx of New York. I was talking to Dad before we came to the game. He had an uncle that lived on Long Island, NY that Mom and him visited a few times. Dad reminded me, "Uncle Rusty would roll over in his grave knowing you're going up to the Bronx." It isn't exactly the nicest borough of New York City, that's for sure... Oh and I should mention, Uncle Rusty was a die-hard Mets fan. Enough said.

The grounds crew came out between innings and while dragging the field, they did a synchronized dance to the YMCA song that was blaring over the loudspeakers. It was impressive!

A-rod hit a homerun to liven up the 0-0 game that they had going...

Then Marcus Thames of Detroit responded with a solo home himself. In true Yankee-form, the fan who caught the ball threw it back into the field in disgust. Yankee fans are classy people. A good comparison would be they're a lot like Hawk fans. But that's just my opinion. :)

In the section next to us, there was an Obama look-alike. He obviously knew of this similarity and played up the part. Why else would some random dude come to a Saturday afternoon game in a suit?! People were taking so many pictures of the guy, you'd think he actually WAS the President.

With a 2-1 score going into the top of the 9th, Mariano Rivera came in from the Yankee bullpen to finish off the game by shutting down the Tigers one last time. No, Thad, it wasn't quite the perfect game I was hoping for, like Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) somehow throws everytime (haha) in one of our favorite movies For Love of the Game.

Emily and I decided the classic picture with the field in the background was necessary.

And, in keeping tradition from childhood family vacations of visiting MLB stadiums in the area...Yankee Stadium, check!

Saturday night, Natalie and I took Emily down to Blockheads, the Mexican restaurant that we have become regulars at over the summer. Warm night, good food and drinks, and a fun atmosphere made for a great time.


After dinner we went down towards Union Square near NYU in the Soho area. Our destination was this place called the Beauty Bar where you can get a drink and a manicure for only $10 (so cheap!), but the line was too long so we soon left after arriving. We sat in Union Square people watching for a bit, but had to leave when Emily's shoulder got pooped on by a bird. Hahahahaha
This picture of Emily and I was suppose to capture the view of the Chrysler building lit up down the street, but the flash didn't allow that to happen...

Sunday brought yet another trip to Coney Island. My lil sun goddess, Emily, enjoyed the sun while Natalie applied sunscreen every 5 minutes, I swear! Here we are on the pier looking back at the huge crowd of colorful umbrellas on the beach.

For Emily's last night, we went to Times Square to get the classic picture together. Dinner at Applebee's allowed us to be "eatin good in the neighborhood"

Look, I met Morgan Freeman! You thought he was real, didn't you?! So did I... We were walking by this store front that had wax figures of movie stars in it. Morgan Freeman's was closest to the sidewalk and when I saw "him" I stopped dead in my tracks and started grabbing for my camera. "Emily, I know him!" Emily was confused but then after realizing what I thought, she grabbed my arm, doubling over with laughter, and pulled me away. "Hallie, 'he' is NOT REAL."
How embarassing... :)

Monday morning before Emily's plane left, we walked down to the plaza were the Today Show is filmed. A goal of Emily's was to see Matt Lauer. It's still on my to-do list as well because no sooner did we get down there and found out that Matt was on vacation. Not cool, Matt. We did get to see Meridith Viera and Al Roker. We ended up standing by a family that was from West Des Moines. The kid had a Hawkeye jacket on so of course we shared some friendly banter about Iowa vs. Iowa State. It turns out that the dad had relatives that played and coached football at Central College the same time Reece was there. Small world!

This is the way to go. Lucky Mr. Policeman of the NYPD.