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Lovin’ New York

 

There is so much to do and see while in New York. Even 7 days in the city flew by with us wishing we had more time.

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Here are a few fun things to do while in New York.

Greenwich Village Le Poisson Rouge has great food, good drinks.

5641512B-9C7B-43A6-9B88-D6CBC2885C0EThe night Thor and Friends was the featured band.

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We enjoyed their unique sound and haunting melodies that kept the audience mesmerized.

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Greenwich Village has a whole different vibe getting off the subway felt like stepping back into time to the late sixties.

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Great music, fun people and delicious pizza are what you will find in The Village.

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Museum of Natural Science –

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Our visit turned into a Night at The Museum scavenger hunt.

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We found a few of the displays from the movie such as Tiki Head.

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Don got to sit with Teddy Roosevelt for a chat about the great out doors.

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When you go to this museum or the Metropolitan Museum of Art they have suggested prices listed outside, but you only have to pay what you can afford.

Radio City Music Hall Tour –

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This 75 minute tour takes you on an incredible backstage tour that includes seeing costumes

meeting with a Rockette.

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Hearing the history of the building and those who built it.


From the incredible bathrooms to the apartment built for the former manager in the 1920’s.

This our was well worth the $26.00 price tag and kept us inside warm and dry.

Be sure to ask to hear the story of why the elephant had to climb the stairs.

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Our tour guide Joyce was fun and knowledgeable and made us feel as if we were living the experience.

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Hamilton An American Musical –

So we saw his portrait at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and his grave at Trinity Church. But I wanted Don to have the chance to see the show that he so generously had sent all of us to.

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So we walked over to the Rogers Theater and asked again if they had tickets.

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This time the answer was not only YES but they were tickets in the 9th row and for face value.

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The Broadway show was fabulous, and the theater is beautiful.


Later we found out theaters have occasional cancellations and sometimes have tickets at the door. Don’t go to New York and count on getting tickets to your favorite show, but know it is a possible option.

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Central Park Carriage Rides – You can book a carriage ride on line and there are a variety of prices. The average price is about $150.00 on line for an hour.

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We found that just going up to the park that the drivers will offer you a pretty good deal for much less if they are having a quiet night or day.

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Our driver Ishmael and his horse Scooby gave us a lovely moonlit tour of the park, pointing out several landmarks during our ride.

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Church –

There is no shortage of churches in the area. But St. Patricks Cathedral on 5th Avenue is a true experience.

They offer many times for Mass throughout the day so many that as we were leaving one Mass they were starting the next one.

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Of course while in New York, we had to visit Fox News.

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Just to give Don the feeling we had taken him to The Mother Ship.

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We even had a Homer Simpson spotting.

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New York is a unique beautiful city, whether your cheering on the runners for The New York City Marathon.

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looking for fun photo ops

or just traveling the subway

there is always something fun to see no matter how often we visit.

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I love New England, I love visiting the east coast and spending time with my wonderful family and friends.

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Its a place where I have history and roots.

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I love the beautiful endless church steeples in the quaint towns.

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The grand old homes each have a unique personality and elegance that transports you back in time

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The architecture draws you in longing to learn the story of every home and building

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The bridges are magnificent

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The Covered bridges are magical

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The rivers that run through the endless historical towns allow your imagination to run wild.

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The soft babbling of the brooks and streams hypnotize you with their beauty while gently singing lullabies to your soul.

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Every town has its own special charm.

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And each new view is more spectacular then the last

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Of course no trip to Vermont is complete unless we bring home lots of ‘wicked’ delicious Cabot cheese

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I have spent endless summers in New England over the last few years, but this year Don and I visited right on the edge of fall.

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Not the bright reds and golds time in fall that comes in October, but the beginnings of fall whispering in your ear, promising cool nights and brilliant colors.

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And though we did not experience New Englands fall in all its glory, we did get to experience apple season.

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I like apples just as much as the next person, but walking through an apple orchard on a cool day picking apples and tasting the huge variety right off the vine is scrumptious.

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We had the opportunity to visit 3 different orchards.

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The first Orchard we visited was Carleton’s.  A small place run by 2 gentleman who had textbook east coast accents.   They gave us a bag we could fill for $10.00, then a grocery store sack that you could fill with all the “droppings” for free. (aka all the apples that had fallen off the trees.).

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We only spent a few minutes there before realizing the orchard we were at was not the orchard we had planned to meet my friend Deede and her husband Randy at.

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So we took our delicious Macintosh apples and drove up the road to Stowe Farm Orchards, and though the apples were a little pricier to pick here, this orchard was more of an experience.

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You could take hay rides, drink apple cider and pick up souvenirs at their quaint gift shop. And the apples were still delicious.

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Don had fallen in love with apples in New England, so before we left we went to one more Orchard called Apex.

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Here the trees were dwarf apple trees, they were lined up like grape vines and had a huge variety to “pick” from.  The 3 state views from this orchard were spectacular.

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We walked up and down the aisle of apple trees sampling several different kinds and filling our bags.

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At some point we stopped realizing we still had to figure out a way to get all that fruit home to Texas.

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I am not sure if there is a bad time to visit New England, as each season has its own unique flavor.  But if you go in the fall looking for apples there are dozens of orchards to choose from.   No matter when or where you visit you will leave with a wonderful feeling of joy!

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New England Fall and Apples

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The Imagined Mystical Power of Gloves

Ahhh gloves, they can be stylish, keep our hands warm when it’s cold, keep our hands clean when we garden, and lately they have become the latest fashion craze at gas stations and grocery stores.

Many people seem to think these gloves possess mystical powers. You’ve seen the ones I’m talking about, that person in the grocery store who touches every surface with those miracle gloves, then grabs their child’s hand (who doesn’t have on gloves, or better yet wipes their child’s face with gloved hand.

Or they dial their cell phone (with glove) then hold the phone to their face to talk.

With the same gloves they drive, eat, perform household tasks.

They never take the gloves off, keeping them on as though wearing the gloves allows them a miraculous protection barrier….it’s as if they feel they have found a cure for hand washing.

Newsflash gloves are not magic shields, especially when not used properly. What goes on the glove stays on the gloves and spreads to everything you touch with that glove. Think of gloves as your own skin then ponder….what would you touch after you picked up dog poop? So if you’re going to use gloves, at least be smart about it.

Respect the glove and it will protect you as best it can, but remember it’s only a glove, your the one with the brain so please use it wisely.

Finally please do not be a thoughtless slob and toss your gloves on the ground outside of public places, that is one of the most disgusting forms of littering ever, remove and dispose of them properly.

Be safe, be kind, be smart and remember we are all in this together!

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Price Gouging in the Time of Coronavirus

No matter how early we get to the grocery store, or how far in advance I order groceries there are a few items that I can never get.

Toilet paper, Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer.

I don’t know anyone who has been able to find those items either.

So earlier when I heard that people were selling them on eBay I had to look and I was shocked and outraged at the prices people were asking for these household items.

There are shut ins and elderly people who have no toilet paper. Items like hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes are almost obsolete on store shelves.

We all thought it was hoarders but it turns out it is price gougers who are taking advantage of scared people in this time of crisis.

So I am begging everyone to go on eBay and follow these simple directions to shut these scumbags down. Report any price gouging you see, even if it’s shame reporting them.

Things are rough enough these days without dirtbags like these taking advantage of others.

What else are you doing while in quarantine, lets all do our part and shut this down!

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Life in the time of Coronavirus

It was going to be a true March Madness week with a Super Full Moon and Friday the 13th. One of those combinations that make healthcare workers everywhere shudder and put in for time off.

Coronavirus had come to the USA a few people were getting nervous and buying all the toilet paper in site, some saying it was all being blown out of proportion, others were saying it was a big hoax in an election year.

I thought it was funny when I sneezed at the grocery store (Texas allergies) and cleared the aisle.

The NBA dramatically postponed their season before a game tip off when a player tested positive, putting hundreds of people out of work. The NHL followed suit, cancelling their season and all I could think of were all the people who worked in the arenas as well as all the TV production people who were now out of work.

I was happy that Don worked in a non contact sport (NASCAR), they would be racing with no fans, but he would still have a job.

On Thursday I left San Antonio to attend church retreat, it felt good to be leaving amidst all the chaos, we all went to sleep that night never guessing how much life would change in just one day.

It was Friday 13th and the superstitious day was starting to cast a very dark spell on our country. The President declared a national state of emergency, followed by schools and churches closing their doors, nursing homes going into lockdown no longer allowing family members or friends to make visits, people were being told to stay home from work, some not knowing when or if they would be going back.

A domino was in effect and no one could slow it down. The only ones who seemed to be profiting from the mess that Covid-19 was spreading were grocery stores and toilet paper manufacturers.

March Madness was coming at us like a train and then it hit home when my husband Don like everyone else in the sports industry was sent home and out of work.

I remained in the safe cocoon of our retreat from Thursday until Sunday, we kept our 6 foot distance and refrained from hugs or even hand shakes, and we washed our hands as though our lives depended on it. Each evening we would pull out our phones and share the latest insanity with one another that was happening in the world.

On Sunday we gathered for Mass one last time before leaving and our priest told us we had a privilege that no one else in San Antonio had that day, we were celebrating live Mass in person.

The drive home that day was quiet and the lack of traffic on the roads was almost eerie.

Don met me in the church parking lot and just as we got everything unpacked it started to rain. I stood in the parking lot and laughed, this was going to be a storm in every way. We ran to our cars and headed home to start navigating this new course our lives were thrown into.

…..to be continued…..

.

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Life in The Time of Corona

In January my husband Don first started talking a about articles he had read about a new mysterious virus called Corona. He spends a lot of time on planes and in busy airports and was concerned about coming in contact with the virus. I told him to use good hand washing and do his best to avoid anyone who may be ill. Little did we know what was in store for all of us in the not so distant future.

We were in California visiting my son David and his wife Ani when the first dark clouds of the upcoming storm started moving in.

People were being told to wash their hands and they were actually listening, I remember thinking why haven’t we been doing this all along and was glad to see them finally using good hygiene. We were still thinking this was going to be a virus we could avoid by being taking normal universal precautions. Towards the end of our visit I started hearing about shortages of hand sanitizer in stores and how people were buying out toilet paper at stores. We laughed at how people seemed to be getting crazy about silly things and thought it would probably blow over in a few days.

When I returned home to San Antonio on March 6, the only thing that was different was that there was no hand sanitizer in the stores and the toilet paper aisle was looking a little depleted. I am glad now that I purchased a 24 pack just in case. The storm clouds were getting darker, but I still thought it would be just that a storm that would pass through quickly, I don’t know if anyone was ready for what was coming our way.

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Things to consider if using a public restroom in Israel…

If your visiting Israel and you plan to use public restrooms consider bringing

1. Tissue (few public restrooms have toilet paper)

2. Hand Sanitizer (there rarely is soap)

3. Shekels (Israeli money) there is a fee to enter many of the public restrooms.

4. Jeans to wipe your hands on since hand towels and dryers are rare.

5. Lysol wipes (if you have a fear of germs) to clean the toilet seats.

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Ceseara –

We woke up on our second day in Israel to cold rainy weather. After breakfast we bundled up and drove to the ancient city and ruins of Ceseara, this was the place I found the least interesting on my first trip here.

It was very different from my trip in 2018 where the skies were blue and the sea was calm.

Seeing the waves crash into the rocks left me wondering what it must have been like when they started to build the city, did they keep working even when they were freezing and being beaten by the water? How did they build so deep into the sea in a time when there were no tools or divers or machinery to help them.

By the time we got to Stella Martis the weather had calmed, we were able to venture out with only our jackets into the chapel where Father Pat.

In the large church was the cave where Elijah was said to have lived.

Nearby are The Bahá’í Gardens a breathtaking are for spiritual reflection, it was winter when we visited and the gardens were still beautiful and colorful.

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TABGHA – ISRAEL 2019

In Tabgha we saw where Jesus multiplied bread and fish and fed thousands.

Years ago the church was burned but the Olive Tree in the center survived. We were told that Olive Trees will live for thousands of years unless you pull them from their roots and burn them they will always come back.

We then went to The Primacy of St. Peter where we were able to see and touch The Rock that Jesus stood on and called to The Apostles to come and have breakfast with him.

Don was very moved to be able to touch The Rock that Jesus stood on.

Located on the shores of The Sea of Galilee the church and ground are beautiful.

Across the road was The Rock that Jesus stood on when he preached The Beatitudes.

We wondered how Jesus was able to address so many without modern day microphones or speakers, and found it was a natural amphitheater.

From across the street I could hear and understand Emilee, when she spoke to us. The rock is on top of the cave, we decided the cave must have been Jesus’s Green Room where he prepared to speak.

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Jordan River – Israel 2019

The Jordon River

My image of The Jordan River is this big beautiful body of water that the sun somehow always shines on. I envision John The Baptist standing in the middle waiting to Baptize anyone who enters.

In reality the area that we are allowed to visit is no more then a small stream of muddy water.

Across the area is Jordan, the area is protected by armed guards to keep anyone from crossing into their country without permission.

Not what I expected but the idea of standing in the same river that Jesus was Baptized is pretty amazing.

It was a short visit where we renewed our Baptismal Vows before getting back on the bus to Jerusalem.

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Return To Israel My first trip to Israel had been an amazing experience, the only thing missing from it was the opportunity to share it with Don. So nearly 2 years later we have returned to one of the most beautiful places I had ever been. Exhausted after a long day of travel, I was energized when our friends arrived. We had dinner, then walked along the shores of the Mediterranean, before going to sleep to dream about the adventures and history that we would be sharing over the next few days.

My first trip to Israel had been an amazing experience, the only thing missing from it was the opportunity to share it with Don.

So nearly 2 years later we have returned to one of the most beautiful places I had ever been.

Exhausted after a long day of travel, I was energized when our friends arrived.

We had dinner, then walked along the shores of the Mediterranean, before going to sleep to dream about the adventures and history that we would be sharing over the next few days.

My first trip to Israel had been an amazing experience, the only thing missing from it was the opportunity to share it with Don.

So nearly 2 years later we have returned to one of the most beautiful places I had ever been.

Exhausted after a long day of travel, I was energized when our friends arrived.

We had dinner, then walked along the shores of the Mediterranean, before going to sleep to dream about the adventures and history that we would be sharing over the next few days.