NYC MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Very crowded, very loud, very big museum filled with dead animals and other stuff. It's free with a "suggested" donation of $20. I think it was worth seeing.

Here's the short version:

Tyrannosaurus Rex

More dinosaur bones



Brontosaurus
And Andrew. Looking exceptionally dashing.

Woolly Mammoth

Andrew's picture he wanted with the big moose.

Very large pterodactyl hanging from the ceiling

Very large sea turtle hanging from the ceiling

realistic, exotic animal display

realistic, non-exotic animal display

And really big, dead moose that look alive

There is Andrew looking innocent and...way too happy. And there is Mom reacting to whatever Andrew just did or said to tease her.

The End.

MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

Yes, I am still talking about our NYC trip. I probably will be for another year...that's how many pictures I took. 

Having an art degree, this place was kind of a big deal for me. Like, I was in heaven. It was fun to see all the original paintings I had only ever seen in textbooks. 

The building itself was a piece of art. The design was so fun and open.

I like the movement and action captured just by repeating the image one more time.

Look familiar to anyone? Andy Warhol's Pop Art of Cambell's soup cans, Mickey Mouse, and other famous popular culture icons are really well known. 

This is a really famous painting. 

But mostly, it just gave me a strange urge to find my tweezers. 

This painting was certainly itty-bitty for being so famous. 

I was excited to find this, because I always plan a mini unit about real vs fantasy centered around Marc Chagall's paintings. It's so much fun to hear my third graders holding in-depth analytical discussions about his work. 

There were more Picassos than I can list. 

Andrew wasn't impressed with this famous painting. Neither was I, actually. 

I've always been a fan of Kandinsky. His paintings are happy. 

Kinda cool, I guess. 

There were several of Seurat's pointillist paintings. They don't do much for me. 

Am I the only one to get goosebumps from looking at a painting? 

Don't answer that.

I didn't realize this was so big. 

Cezanne is probably my favorite artist...because of the colors, and free, expressive strokes, and defined outlines. I wish they had more there at MoMA. 

And there were a nice collection of Van Goghs...

Such as this grand finale of the day. I know that it's a super trendy, over circulated, commercialized painting...but it really is incredible art. It's so much better in person.

AT GROUND ZERO

This sculpture sat just outside the World Trade Center before the attacks. What was salvaged was put on display here in Battery Park. It was sobering to see the painfully obvious damage inflicted to metal. Gashes, dents, and gaping holes covered the whole thing.

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The afternoon lighting makes it difficult to see, but just in front of Andrew,  an eternal flame burns from the cement circle in the ground.

Later that afternoon, we arrived at Ground Zero. This is the fire station literally across the street.  

I'm bummed this picture is blurry, but here we are at a memorial stretching along one side of the building. 

I can't even describe my feelings upon seeing the actual spot this occurred. It made it too easy to visualize the devastation an attack like this would have on the surrounding city blocks and the hundreds and hundreds of people on the streets, in the subway, and in the buildings. It must have been truly horrifying...as we know it was. 

Standing there, the reality of it hit me like never before, and I was reliving newsflashes of hordes of people running for their lives through the streets of Manhattan. I spent the next hour with a lump in my throat.  

It was here, that we met this gentleman. Yes, he may have been a little eccentric, but I was very grateful we did. 

After learning these tourists were from Europe, he proceeded to pull out a tattered binder full of pictures that he used as visuals to eloquently and movingly recount the entire story of the attack...all from the perspective of a New Yorker. 

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He directed his speech at the young boy in the blue hat there, because he especially wanted him to understand the significance of what had happened that day. 

After describing in great detail, the New Yorkers' reactions to the initial plane, how the falling towers destroyed surrounding skyscrapers, and the chaos that ensued as the people tried to escape, I started thinking that this was powerful stuff and I should be recording it! 

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Sadly, this is the tiny bit that I was able to capture near the end. He went on to describe the future of Ground Zero after I stopped recording.

That skyscraper in the middle will be known as One World Trade Center. I believe it is only a little over half-way built up at this point. It is going to be HUGE. 

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To be finished in 2015, it will be tagged as the tallest building in America at 1,776 feet.

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As for the actual two sites of the towers, memorials were unveiled today that sit within the footprints left behind by the buildings. We were sad to have missed it by only a month. When we were there in August, it was all surrounded by fencing. 

The twin reflecting pools are about an acre big with the largest man made falls in the country (30ft) cascading down their perimeters.  Names of all those who lost their lives that day are inscribed along the edges.   

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This picture lets you see both pools from above and the crowds gathered for the ceremony today. 

Each year, I teach my class a little bit about what happened that day. Of course, I don't want to traumatize the kiddos, but I think they need to understand the basics and what an impact it had on our country. I'm surprised each time, how little they actually know. 

It's hard to believe my third graders weren't even alive when September 11th happened! Crazy. And it was one of the most memorable days of my entire life...

MANHATTAN TEMPLE

Our first day in New York, Andrew, Mom and I decided to attend a session in the Manhattan temple. It was at the top of our list of things to do, and Becca would be at work anyway.

After taking a subway, we walked over thirty blocks to get there. 

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We figured it was worth the trek. 

It was surreal to see an LDS temple in the midst of the taxis, skyscrapers, and general chaos. And we were so excited to go inside to rest from the heat, humidity, and loud, busy city!

This is us pouting after the front-desk security guard informed us it would be closed until next week. 

We were sorely disappointed. 

The plan was to wear our church clothes that day because of the temple  in the morning and the Broadway play in the afternoon. But with no temple session to attend, we were pointlessly dressed fancy for NYC sightseeing instead. Ugh.

I though we might stand out a little bit...but I didn't realized how much until a group of guys stopped us in Central Park.

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They wanted to know if we were Jehovah's Witness missionaries. 

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Ha! 

But apparently, the Jehovah's Witnesses' worldwide church headquarters is in Brooklyn. 

I guess you could say that Watchtower is to Jehovah's Witnesses as Temple Square is to the Mormons. 

Anyway, has anyone out there actually made it inside the Manhattan Temple? Was it quiet, or could you hear the honking traffic and construction from in there? I was curious about that. 

*If you are curious about Mormon temples, you can read more about them HERE.

BROADWAY PLAY

While in New York, we saw the Broadway play, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

It starred Daniel Radcliffe...also known world-wide as Harry Potter. 

Ring any bells?

I thought it was kinda crazy that he was starring in a musical production. I mean, Harry Potter can sing and dance??
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But we learned that yes, actually, he can. His singing was...acceptable. And his acting was great! But his dancing? It was TRULY impressive. Like, I-was-completely-blown-away impressive. 
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Who knew Harry Potter had it in 'em?
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And it wasn't til the end that I realized he has a killer American accent. 

The theater was surprisingly small...fancy and beautifully decorated...but small. As a result, it was hard to believe how CLOSE we were to Daniel Radcliffe. He was right there on the stage in front of us. 

RIGHT. THERE!

I guess I'm not used to seeing a whole lot of  movie stars living here in Idaho, because it was very, very surreal.

I wasn't sure if musicals were Andrew's "thing."

But don't tell me he wasn't entertained! Not only was he and the audience laughing through the entire show, but every time I glanced over at him, he was leaning forward in his chair...eyes glued to the stage...mouth hanging open.

He even requested that we get tickets for another Broadway play while we were in New York. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it work with the short amount of time we had. 

After the show, a mob gathered around one of the exits hoping to catch a glimpse of the star. 
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What? You can't see him? 

Don't worry. We couldn't either.

The only way we could tell he was there was when the crowd started screaming. Body guards were yelling at everyone to back up, people were scrambling up poles and fences to see better, and I was taking pictures of a sea of cameras in the air. 

We gave up on the madness and left. But not before a young kid came up from the front of the crowd in a daze. I don't think he had recovered from being the sudden possessor of a Daniel Radcliffe signature, if you can call it that. Signature...mad scribbling...either one.

He was kind enough to let me take a picture. 

Anyway, like I mentioned in a previous post, this was the undisputed favorite part of everyone's NYC trip.