June Random

Here are some random shots from June

Gracie clearly enjoyed her ice cream

Joey took the kids to Focus on the Family . They stopped for a food break

Graice discovered a love for carne asada fries.  She is such an adventurous eater!  

Park time

Sister

Grace is a little fish and swims any chance she can get

Crazy kids decided that they would all hop into Emmy's baby pool.  

The DeLorme men

New York City Day 5

    Joey and I were pretty bummed it was our last of our trip.  When Joey booked our return flight, he booked a late flight so that we could spend most of the day in NYC.  We decided to spend the day getting the kids souvenirs and doing some sightseeing. 

Waiting for the subway like a true New Yorker

    We decided to head to Dylan's Candy Store to find the kids souvenirs.  That store is HUGE!  It was two stories and literally had every candy imaginable.  If we ever come back with the kids, we will have to bring them here. There were so many choices, it was hard to narrow it down, but we found some things for them. 

The floor was even made of candy

    Some of our new convention friends had mentioned that they had gone to Katz's deli and it was good.  My sister and mom had gone years before, and they also said it was good.  We decided to check it out.  It is a pretty iconic NYC place.  The ordering system is really strange there.  You walk in and they hand you a ticket with no further instructions.  We eventually figured out that you are supposed to go to the counter to order.  We decided to split a turkey sandwich since they were really expensive.  I believe the sandwich alone was around $23.  It was good, but I am not sure that it was really worth the price.  I got an egg cream and it was amazing!!!  I wish I could find egg creams around here that are as good.  I am glad we got to experience a really NY deli. 

What $36 dollars of food looks like in NYC

My amazing egg cream

   After lunch, we decided to head towards the World Trade Center area.  I was still on the hunt for my Tory Burch purse and the first store we went to said the mall near the WTC had some.  We took the subway and we were on our way.  I wish that we could have spent more time at the WTC.  If we had had more time, we would have actually gone inside.  It was an extremely surreal experience and a very emotional place to visit.  I think they did a good job of memorializing the Twin Towers. 

The reflection pond

The new tower

    We went walked down to the harbor and spent some time on a bench just watching the boats go by.  It was so peaceful and a great way to soak in more sights of the city. 

   We made our way to the mall that was really nice.  Much to my disappointment, they did not have my purse.  At least it wasn't a wasted trip because we got to see some really important sights. 

This was part of the mall I think

  We decided to make our way back to midtown so we would be close to our hotel where are bags were.  We still had more time to kill.  I really wanted some authentic banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery.  We stopped for some and found a nice little table to eat at.  The pudding was really good.  Well worth the stop. 

    We still had some more time to kill, but we really didn't have enough time to go and do something like go to a museum.  Joey suggested that we head back to Central Park one last time.  I love Central Park so I was happy to go along.  The oddest thing, Joey and I sat on a bench for quite awhile just people watching.  He said, "Let's go walk under that tunnel and see what's that way".  We got up and started walking.  We ran smack dab into Rich and his wife who is the part of radio show Covino and Rich . We stopped and talked to them for a bit.  They too were killing time before their flight. I just couldn't believe in a city like NYC we would run into someone we knew. 

Last time in Central Park

   We headed back to our hotel and got our luggage.  Joey wanted to take a taxi to JFK.  I told him that since we had our metro cards and had figured our the subway system, we should just take that.  WORSE mistake ever!  We each had a very heavy suitcase.  We had to switch trains many times since it was the weekend and the trains were running local.  Almost none of the subway stations have elevators, so poor Joey had to carry both suitcases up and down so many flights of stairs.  At one point, we had to board an El train which was more stairs.  I think we took about 7 different trains/subways to get there.  It took us more than hour.  We finally made it to JFK, but next time, we will just take a cab. 
    Once we checked in and got through security, we got something to eat.  They had a really cool food area which happened to have Artichoke pizza.  Joey and I both got one last slice.  So good! 

   Our flight was a little delayed.  We finally got to board.  When we boarded, the captain came on and said, "Bad news.  There is a bad storm that we have to fly around.  We basically are flying to the Arctic circle to avoid this storm.  It's going to make the flight even longer".  This was not the news that I wanted to hear since I HATE flying so much.  But, we had no choice and I just wanted to get home to see the kids.  The flight was long, but we finally landed in Denver around midnight our time.  It felt so good to be home and to see the kids the next morning.  We had such an incredible time and it was so special for Joey and I to get to have time together without the kids.  We hope to make it back again. 

Our flight path home

New York City Day 4

    After having a late night out the night before, Joey and I were a little slow moving this morning.  The convention was having a softball game in Central Park that Joey was really looking forward to.  Our hotel was really close to Central Park so we were able to just walk over. 

We started our day with a fresh smoothie.  It was just what I needed.  

In typical Brianna and Joey fashion, we got really lost locating where we were supposed to go for the game.  We ended up doing a lot of walking around Central Park.  I didn't mind too much, because it was so gorgeous outside! 

The producer of the show, Spot, is a yoga instructor.  He offered a yoga session for those that didn't want to play softball.  I decided to try it out.  Yoga is not my thing and I don't think it ever will be.  I did manage to complete the hour long session.  

       Joey had a great time playing softball with the guys.  They got a couple of games in.  I got to live one of my life long dreams, I went for a run in Central Park!  It was everything I dreamed of and more.  There is so many people running through Central Park on a Saturday morning that it looks like a race is going on.  I only did two miles because it was really hot and I was terrified of getting lost and not finding my way back.  I am glad I got to run in such a beautiful and iconic place. 

The softball group

An idea of how crowded Central Park is on a Saturday.  

  The softball games didn't end until the afternoon.  By that time Joey and I were STARVING!  We had only had smoothies that morning.  There was a restaurant, Jason's Pickles that I had been dying to try while we were there.  I looked it up and realized that we were within walking distance to it.  We walked right over and got a table.  The food was absolutely amazing!  It was southern food and fried chicken.  I got some smothered chicken dish that was one of the best things I have had in a long time.  It hit the spot! 

The fried pickles we started with

My lunch.  It was amazing!  

Joey's food

  After we ate, we headed back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the night.  For some reason, I didn't take many pictures of this night.  It was the last night of the convention, and we all met in Times Square at an Italian restaurant for a last dinner together.  Times Square is beyond crowded on a Saturday night.  We had to make our way through masses of people.  The restaurant was some old restaurant, but I was not impressed by the food at all especially for the price.  It was nice to spend one last night with all the new friends we made.  After dinner, we went to a rooftop bar for one last hurrah with the group.  The bar overlooked the Empire State building which was pretty neat to see at night.  We said goodbye to the group and headed back to our hotel. 

Our last night in New York city

New York City Day 3

   Friday ended up being another incredibly busy, and fun filled day.  We had to get up very early again to go and watch another taping of the Covino and Rich show.  It was at a famous comedy club, Carolines, and it was a lot of fun to watch again.  There shows are three hours long, so we had to leave a little early.  

   

  One thing that I planned and really wanted to do was to go on a food tour of NYC.  The food there is so incredible and I knew that we wouldn't have time to even scratch the surface of all it had to offer.  I found a walking food tour through Greenwich Village.  I knew we wouldn't have another chance to go to that area, so I thought it would be the perfect way to see a different area and try some good food.   We took the subway, and arrived with a little time to spare.  We sat in this beautiful little park and took in the sights while we waited.  New York in the summertime is simply the best!

   Before long, it was time to meet for our tour.  The man who owned and ran the tour company, was absolutely incredible.  He was seriously the nicest man ever and he was so, so knowledgeable about the area and food.  He explained to us that we would be making seven stops and we would all get plenty to eat.

  

A street in Greenwich Village

     Our first stop was Artichoke pizza.  They are famous for their special artichoke pizza.  He explained that this was the first one, but they now had like 18 locations in the city.  I can see why!  The pizza was so good and unlike anything I had ever had.  It was the smallest restaurant ever, but he said late at night when the bars let out the line would be done the street.  It was a great start!

    Our next stop, was another teeny tiny little place.  It was a falafel place that I can't recall the name of.  I LOVE falafel and this was some of the best falafel I have ever had!  I could had eaten a lot more, but I knew we had a lot more food on the way. 

Enjoying my falafel

    Next we went to Pomme Frites, which is another teeny tiny place that specialized in Belgium fries with all sorts of dipping sauces.  He got us the most popular sauces to try.  They were some of the best fries ever and the dipping sauces put them over the top.  It was so good! 

 Next, we did some walking.  We walked through a park, and I believe it was Washington Park.  It was beautiful and just felt like the quintessential New York park.  I loved it!  

He explained to us that this is a replica of the Arc D'Truimphe in Paris

A shot of the World Trade center

   Our next stop was a bagel place.  I was excited to try an authentic NY bagel.  It was good, but honestly I was not blown away by it.  I really didn't taste much of a difference. 

    We walked some more through the neighborhood.  We turned a corner, and all of a sudden, I saw a large group of people in the street and sidewalks taking picture of this building.  I was a little confused, until our guide explained to us that it was the outside shot of the apartment building from the show Friends.  It was pretty neat to see in person.

 
    Up next, we went to another pizza place, Brooklyn's pizza.  It was pretty good pizza, but I liked the first pizza place better. 

   Our second to last stop was an authentic Italian deli that had been around for over a hundred years.  Joey was drooling over the meat case.  We wished we lived there so we could have bought some meat to try.

 
We got an arancini that was incredible.  It was piping hot and so tasty.

    Our last stop was the cupcake shop where we had met in the beginning of our tour.  I chose a chocolate cupcake with Italian buttercream and it was so good.  It was the perfect way to end such an incredible tour.  I am so glad that we did this tour and it was so much fun!

   After our tour, we took the subway back to our hotel to get changed and ready for another night on the town.  The convention was having an event on a rooftop bar.  We got to see another different area of the city.  It was a lot of fun and I decided that rooftop bars are really the best in NYC.

   We made our way back to the hotel but not before I got my Halal cart chicken.  Halal chicken is only found in NYC and it is honestly the best stuff ever!  I insisted that we stopped every night so I could get some.  It was really that good.  I dearly miss that Halal chicken.  I would seriously go back just for that!!!