New York Day 4

Our last full day started a little slower. It was a rainy morning and we were pretty tired from the last few days, so we slept in. Once we got up and moving we grabbed a quick bite to eat and started our day. We ran an errand for our daughter Jessica and ended up around Penn Station. We went into Penn Station because Lisa wanted a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery. While we were in there, we saw there was a K-Mart inside. I was surprised to see it, but even more surprised by the size of it. It was 3 stories, one at ground level, and 2 below ground, and each floor was pretty big.

New York Day 3

I thought we walked a lot yesterday. Today was even more, over 21,000 steps and 8.2 miles all over Manhattan. We started a day with a food tour in Chelsea Market. The Foods of New York food tour was a great introduction to everything about Chelsea Market. It is the old Nabisco factory where the Oreo was created. It now has shopping and food throughout. It is also the home of the MLB Network and more importantly, the Food Network. The foods you see on Iron Chef and Chopped are all sourced from the Chelsea Market. We had everything from steak tartare to aged cheddar cheese, to cupcakes.

After the Chelsea Market, we went to one of the places I really wanted to see in New York, the High Line Park. The High Line is a park that has been made from the old, abandoned, elevated train tracks that run on the western part of Manhattan. Instead of tearing them down, they turned it into a beautiful urban park in the sky. What a great way to change how people think about places and spaces! It runs for over a mile and during the summer will have performers and artisans along the way. I definitely recommend a visit and wish we could have explored more of it.

New York Day 2

Day 2 started with letting Lisa sleep in. After a long day yesterday, we didn't have anything planned for Day 2 until late morning. We got started around 10am with a trip to Pick a Bagel up on 53rd and 8th. We had been wanting to make sure we got a real New York Bagel, and we did. Much less dense than the bagels we've been getting in Tennessee.

I had an appointment to meet my counterpart at the Midtown 45 Wyndham Resort in New York, so we decided to walk there instead of taking an Uber or a cab. It took a little longer than I thought, it was about a 25-30 minute walk. If it had been a little warmer, it would have been more pleasant, but even with the chilly temps, it wasn't that bad. We enjoyed seeing the different buildings in the midtown area.

New York Day 1

A week from tomorrow, I will be arriving in Daytona Beach to start our new life there. It is kinda silly that we would be on vacation now, but here we are....New York City! We have talked about going to NYC for many, many years, and never made it closer than a layover at the Newark Airport in 2014. We decided, well before we knew anything about Daytona, that we would go on vacation in April (I would have preferred May, but it was pushing it with our 3rd grandbaby due May 15). So here we are.

Who would have thought that on the 9th of April, there would be a chance of snow in New York City, but here we are with a cold rain and threat of snow. It doesn't matter though, it's New York.

Well, We're moving...

We have a big news and I figure that this blog would be a great place to announce our latest move. I have gotten a promotion at my day job and will be relocating to Daytona Beach, FL the middle of April. Lisa will be following along by the end of May (Our oldest daughter Jessica is having a baby May 15 and there is no way I could drag her away until after the baby is born!)

We have enjoyed our stay in Tennessee and getting to know many of you who read our blog. Just because we are moving doesn't mean we won't be around. Tennessee has been our home for the last 16 years. Our kids and parents are both in Tennessee, so we will be back, if nothing else for a visit.

We look forward to the new chapter of our lives in Daytona Beach. Our daughter-in-law Nicole realized that makes us just an hour and a half from Harry Potter World! All of our kids are looking forward to visiting us at the beach .Our daughter Allison said she can't wait to go to the Daytona 500! These and more are things we are looking forward to as we make this move.

Lisa realized we are now going to be a lot closer to the cruise ports. Port Canaveral will only be a short drive away, so she is looking forward to taking more Cruise vacations. We can also help you with your Cruise plans as we will be able to get all of the current information. Just let us know.

Also, if you know of someone looking for an apartment in the Hermitage, TN area, we are going to have to break our lease. It goes through the end of September and is a 1BR, 1.5Bath unit on the first floor overlooking the pool. Message me if you want additional information. The only cost would be the application fee to get into the apartment, then you would pick up the rent from May 1 on.

Remember, if we can help with your vacations in any way, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We will be happy to get with you.

Two Hidden Gems from a Quick Trip to Austin, TX

We recently made 2 quick trips to Austin, TX. One of our daughters lives there and we needed some grandbaby time. (Those of you with grandkids can relate I'm sure!) While we were there, we found 2 great places to spend some family time. I highly recommend visiting one or both if you are in the Austin area.

The first place means you are there in the summer. Baseball season. The Round Rock Express are the AAA farm team for the Texas Rangers. The play in Dell Stadium in Round Rock, a suburb of Austin. It is a beautiful venue to enjoy a laid back evening of baseball. They do a great job of catering to kids as well with different activities throughout the game. They also have fireworks every Friday night. There is even a berm, a hill beyond the outfield wall if you want to take a blanket and just enjoy the evening. It was a great way to spend a Friday night with the family! Get more information here.

The second trip we found something a little different. Who knew Austin, TX had an aquarium? Now, we've been to aquariums before; Atlanta, New Orleans, etc. This one is a little different. Those aquariums are world class places with gigantic buildings and tanks. The Austin Aquarium brings the experience up close and personal. From its location in a small strip mall, to the parrot that greets you in the lobby, you can tell it is going to be different, The size of the aquarium is perfect for families with small children. They have a play area for the little ones and open exhibits to allow you to get up close and personal with the inhabitants of the different aquariums. Feeding the koi, stingrays and sharks is fun and definitely a little different than other similar locations. Their home page describes it well as an "immersive, interactive experience." Just be careful not to get wet when you feed the koi!

Of course, don't forget the food while you are in the Austin area. The BBQ is amazing as to be expected. Make sure you partake!

Look for New Orleans coming next. Also, we're going to New York in April. There will be a series of posts from that trip.

And...We're Back!

Sorry for the hiatus in my blog. A lot of things have happened in the past few years from a new grandbaby, to a new job, to a new place to live. With life sometimes you forget to live, and that happened to us somewhat as we haven't had the chance to travel on our own for awhile. We did get away recently to New Orleans after a trip to see our grandkids in Austin, TX. Stay tuned for some a review of some interesting, low-cost activities in the Austin area as well as our trip to New Orleans where we stayed at the Wyndham La Belle Maison resort. For now, I'm just glad to say that the blog is back and operational!