What a weekend!

Great sights, good weather, yummy food= yep that was our weekend! Michelle and I stayed about 15 miles outside of New York City for the last 4 nights. On Saturday we took a tour of NYC. It was fabulous! We were able to see several places including the Statue of Liberty (well at least from the side!), Ground Zero, Radio City, Times Square, Central Park, Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center, Wall St., and so many more! We were able to see a lot of different places with a tour guide who was extremely knowledgeable about the city.  As we drove though the city we saw a lot of buildings that were used movies such as the library from Day after Tomorrow, or the building the dragon climbed on top of in the movie Enchanted. It was great having the chance to see sooo many places that people talk about frequently! 

The tour itself had a lot of people from all over as well including Montreal, London, Germany, and several states across the US even though the group was only about 20 of us. Even while just passing people on the street we saw so many people from different countries and places. Since the 9/11 attacks, NYC is the most visited city in the US!  While in Central Park there was a small band recording in an area overlooking the lake. They were from France, had a wonderful accents and were extremely talented!

Other than knowing the city like the back of his hand, our tour guide also starred on several TV shows including CSI. At the end of the tour he showed us clips of his "good ol' days!"  The tour definitely left us thirsting for more, to spend hours at just a few of the places, but this was the first time I had ever been to NYC so it was great to see so many sights.

Then on Sunday Michelle and I contemplated whether or not we wanted to take a bus back into the city and do a little more centralized sight seeing or if we just wanted to do something else. We had ended up make the decision to go to Hoboken, NJ (basically half a mile from NY) to find some New York style pizza, which was huge and amazing, and visit Carlo's Bakery which is the bakery of Buddy the Cake Boss (a phenomenal cake show on TLC).

When we first got to the bakery, Buddy was outside the store in the middle of doing a film shoot. It was so cool getting to see all the work, people, and equipment needed to create such a small part of one episode. We were right in front of the group while he was performing. After watching for a little while, we went to get in line to actually enter the bakery. The line was around a block to a block and a half long. Partially due to the film shoot, but also due to the amount of people we ended up standing in line for about 40 minutes. Luckily it wasn't extremely cold and it gave Michelle and I some good time to talk! We finally made into the bakery, which was tiny and crowded, but so awesome! Their cakes and desserts really are a work of art! Michelle and I each got two cupcakes- a chocolate one with peanut butter creme frosting and a red velvet one. They were fabulous. It was just cool to go to a place that we had seen on TV, and to see  a part of the process of their show.  We had a great weekend of seeing places in the area. What a blessing it has been to get to explore!

An afternoon in Philadelphia

On Sunday, Michelle and I spent the afternoon walking around Philadelphia. I absolutely loved it! When we first got there we went to the area of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. It was awesome to see these places (and it made us want to watch National Treasure!).  For lunch we had some amazing cheesesteaks which was a must!  Towards the end of the day we went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and ran up the steps just like Rocky!  Our day was filled with seeing great places, laughter, and good conversations. Luckily we weren't freezing the entire time we were out there either, probably because we went numb!  I will add pictures once I find my camera cord!

Last week was very stressful with work because we kept having technical issues and shows kept messing up, so after a lot of troubleshooting that didn't seem to do anything, it was great to just have some time to relax and enjoy the place we are at. Next weekend we are going to be outside of NYC, so weather permitting we may go explore there, which I am really excited about!

Relocation: East Coast

The last few weeks some very big things changed: I got relocated from Los Angeles to the east coast. My boss talked to me 2 weeks ago and said that there was a chance I may be sent to the east coast. Monday, only 3 days later, it was confirmed and a flight was book. My new partner Michelle and I arrived in PA on Saturday.  We have had shows everyday this week and had the ability to work with some great schools.

Overall I am excited about this move. It was a bummer leaving a community at the condo, as well as the Life Group I had joined (see one earlier post), but I like being on the road again. Our three nights we stayed in downtown Newark, NJ.  As I looked out the window I was able to see New York City, including the Empire State Building, in the background. It was awesome. We will be back in that area soon, so sometime Michelle and I are going to tour around the big city!  Tomorrow we may even go see the sights in Philadelphia!

Its also a huge blessing because in just a couple hours I get to see my dad (and hes bring my dog :) ). My dad was gracious enough to drive 5 hours one way to bring me some warmer clothes. There is definitely a huge difference in climate between Southern Cali and the east coast right now.  Plus if I am close to home some weekend there is a chance I may get to go home as well.

I am also just super excited to get to explore the New England states. I haven't been up this way in several years. My main youth ministry professor from college lives up in New Hampshire now. This weekend Michelle and I are going to stay with him and his family, doing some sightseeing (hopefully Boston!) and just hang out. It will be so nice!

Honestly I feel like God has really provided for me with this. Not that things have been bad, I just thinking right now this is better for me. There are definitely things I miss about being in Cali, but I could be back there in just a few months, but overall I am extremely excited and grateful for this!