December 31, 2012

New York family trip

We took the family on a Vagabond Style vacation. What better way to do it with a bunch of vagabonds!




We started off by stopping in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Reading Terminal Market. It's been open since 1893.

There are many vendors selling varieties of amazing food in this building.

One of the things I appreciated about Philadelphia were the buildings. I loved the art on the side, the building with two green steeples and the potted plants on the side of the wall. The bike below used particle board with electrician taped around it. The seat and handle bars were also wood.




We went through Valley Forge and the National Memorial. We visited at the perfect time. It was a beautiful day! It amazes me the struggles and turmoil men (I would say women, but I don't think women fought then) suffered for our freedom. We watched a video that depict what they went through. I love living on the east coast and appreciate our beloved country's history. The words on the monument are :
Naked and Starving as they are
we cannot enough admire
the incomparable patience and fidelity
of the Soldiery.
 
 If that doesn't bring a tear, appreciation and love for the soldier...!




We visited the World Trade Center Memorial in New York. Words can not even begin to express what you feel seeing the new World Trade Center being built and knowing that there were two just like it where holes are in the ground. The names of those that lost their lives on the tragic day are engraved around the memorials. The church across the street from the memorial was used as a rest place for those that helped go through the debris.



That night we spent time at Time Square. This is a sight! So many people, so much going on. One of the GIANT screens was showing a live play.




The next day we took the Staton Island Ferry to view the Statue of Liberty.


Took a hike along the gorge of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York.



Smith farm, Sacred Grove, Palmyra Temple




Hill Cumorah & E.B. Grandin Printing press (where the first Book of Mormon was printed)