Day 12: New York, New York

{ Sunday, 26 July 2009 }

This morning we awoke in Hershey's campground and the keikis immediately ran to the nearby creek to play in the water. Good thing grandma had them wear their Crocks!

LOOKING FOR STONES

MOM SAYS THEY ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN FINDING THE BIG STONES

GIAN, ROLL UP YOUR PANT LEGS!

"I FOUND A BIG ONE," YELLS GIAN

"OOH, PRETTY WATER!"

ON THE HUNT FOR BUGS

At DC Christine opined that she wanted to visit NYC. "We're already here," she explained. After a brief family meeting we decided that yes, since we're only three hours away from the city we should head there for one night. Atelei found one two double bed room in Hotel Belleclaire on the Upper West Side for cheap so it was set. New York City, I hope you're ready for us!

First stop, Jersey City to view Lady Liberty. Too bad it rained.

POSE FOR MAMA, GIAN

THE MONINGKAS

THE PROUD IMMIGRANTS TO AMERICA

AS CLOSE AS WE CAN GET TO LADY LIBERTY

HAPAI CHRISTINE WITH NYC SKYLINE IN THE BACKGROUND
{ photo by brandon }

"OH SAY CAN YOU SEE..."
{ photo by brandon }

THE CITY

HUDDLING FILIPINO-STYLE TO AVOID THE TORRENTIAL RAINS

LADY LIBERTY

Dad suggested we leave the open air and head back to the comforts of the RV. We did and with Brandon driving and Atelei as navigator, we made it to Park&Go, an RV/18-wheelers/car airport parking. Atelei said that since we'd only be staying one night we should only bring one small carrying bag. We listened and soon after the driver picked us up in his 15-passenger van and we headed to Newark Airport. We got to Newark and Atelei and I immediately set forth to find affordable transportation to the city.

CALLING FOR A CAR TO NYC

After booking two Lincoln Continentals we waited for five minutes before the cars arrived. The Moningkas and mom went into one car while dad, Atelei, Gian and I went into the other. Mind you, we left Newark at around 7:45pm. Apparently the former car's driver knew what he was doing and despite horrendous traffic in Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, he was able to get them from Jersey and into NYC and onto the UWS within thirty minutes. Our car's driver, however, took over an hour to get to our destination. Mom had Gian's pillow in her bag so Gian had to ride the entire trip without his night-night. Praise God he was a good boy and didn't complain too much.

When we finally arrived at Hotel Belleclaire we were pleasently surprised to see how clean, modern and elegant the hotel looked. Emery Roth designed the hotel in 1901 and they are currently renovating its exterior so it looks similar to its original design. They upgraded our one bedroom room into a two-bedroom suite. Mind you, New York dwellings are tiny. However, our rooms were quite comfortable { and with AC! }. Even the bathroom, despite being snug, was clean, had a window, and new.

We are now settled and resting { actually, dad's outside exploring our neighborhood } for our big day tomorrow. Gray's Papaya, Central Park, and all things touristy... here we come!

BROOKLYN BRIDGE AT NIGHT
{ photo by brandon }