Wow! I can’t believe it’s been two months since our last post. The time has flown by, and the months of June and July were two very different months.
June
After returning from Niagara Falls on May 31st, we ushered in a very uneventful month of June. We had just moved into our new hotel a week prior and took some time to enjoy the sport court, indoor pool, and fire pit that the hotel has to offer. We found some new local parks and playgrounds to explore and even joined a few meet-up groups. We started meeting with some local people to play touch football on Sundays and outdoor volleyball a few days a week. We got a great chance to settle down from all the hustle and bustle of the first couple months of traveling. Below are a few of the pictures from our low-key month of June.
July
On the other hand, July was an extremely busy month. It started, of course, with the celebration of our Independence Day. We found a great small-town style festival at a park that was not too far from our hotel. We went early and set-up to spend a great day celebrating our country’s freedom. The kids enjoyed seeing the parade, riding the carnival rides, and playing on the playground with all of the other kids.
For fireworks, we decided to go to a cliff-top park that we had been to several times before. From there, we were able to see the fireworks in downtown Albany, as well as several other fireworks shows from communities in the area. It was a very different experience watching the fireworks from such a great distance. The fireworks seemed to be going off at the same level as most of the buildings, and the smoke began to really billow from the town. It looked like a city under siege, and gave a great illustration of the battles that raged over 200 years ago that brought us our independence. Unfortunately, because of the dark and the distance, we weren’t able to capture the experience through pictures very well.
The following week, the boys and I set off driving down to Georgia for vacation. Ashley flew down a few days later and we spent the week visiting with family and friends. It was so great to see everyone and spend a Sunday at our home church.
On the final day of our Georgia trip Ashley flew out, back to Albany, and her sixteen-year-old brother, Joe, flew in. He joined the boys and I on our road trip to NY. On the way up, we stopped and spent a couple days in Washington D.C. It was Joe’s first trip to our nation’s capital. We did all the typical tourist things. The boys and I even got to experience some new things this time like the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Arlington National Cemetery, the National Archives, and a private tour of the U.S. Capitol Building. As a History major and a government enthusiast, it was extremely surreal for me personally to have the chance to see these incredibly historic places.
We made our way up to Albany with Joe where he spent the next week hanging out with us and checking out everything that Albany has to offer. We checked out the NYS Museum, got a tour of the NYS Capitol building, checked out some parks, played at some playgrounds, and got to play some volleyball. It was a great week hanging out with him.
On his last couple of days with us, we took a trip down to NYC. It was Joe’s first trip to NYC, and once again, we did all the touristy things. We went up to the observation deck of the historic Empire State Building, walked through Times Square, visited Central Park and Grand Central Station, where we checked out the Whispering Arch, took a trip out to Ellis Island and Liberty Island, experienced the 9/11 Monument, explored Chinatown & Little Italy, and walked on the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.
Yesterday, Joe flew home to Florida to get ready to start his junior year of high school. It was good for him to get to have a summer trip, get to spend some time with his favorite sister (sorry, Maria), and hang out with his nephews. He called it the trip of a lifetime and we were so happy to be able to hang with him for it.
Well, that wraps up our eventful July. We’ve got just under two months left here in Albany, and we are looking forward to wherever our next adventure takes us.
Of course, the Statue of Liberty was one of the highlights of the whole trip. It was magnificent up close, and the view of NYC from the island was unbeatable. Sadly, the kids weren’t tall enough to be able to go all the way up to the crown, but we did get to climb up to the pedastal. 
Now, let’s play a little game with these next couple of pictures. I spy something… small and cute! Can you see? Check the bottom-left corner. 
We made it to the Empire State Building shortly after they opened and were able to breeze right up to the observation deck with no lines. The view was as described, and then some. Pictures do not do it justice, and we could not have asked for a more perfect day for the view. We were all quite amazed.
Once we planted our feet safely back on the ground again, made a beeline (or more specifically we rode the B line) to the American Museum of Natural History. This, of course, is the setting for the original Night at the Museum movie, which is a favorite of our boys, so they couldn’t wait! 
After several hours exploring the museum, we headed across the street into Central Park. With all the time we had been spending on our feet so far, the kids (yeah, that’s it – the kids) needed a little rest. We found a nice peaceful spot in the park to relax for a while.
Once we had some energy back, we made our way over to Oak Bridge & Belvedere Castle as we explored more of Central Park.
And of course, a day isn’t complete with these two until they have found a playground to climb on. So we made our way through Central Park to the Ancient Playground near the Met. I know what you are thinking, and no, the playground isn’t ancient… That’s just what it’s called because it is designed to resemble ancient ruins. It’s actually consistently ranked one of NYC’s top playgrounds, and we could see why.
After playtime, we grabbed dinner at a local place called Fresh & Co. and it was delicious. After dinner it was time to go root, root, root for the home team. And even though it was a shame that they didn’t win, it was just cool to get to take the kids to Yankee Stadium. 
About halfway through the game, we decided to beat the crowds to the subway and make our way back. We crossed back through the Lincoln Tunnel just before 10PM, thus completing our 14 hour day in NYC. 
So, what does our family do when we visit New York City? Well, the same thing we do everywhere else… Find a great playground for the kids, of course! We jumped on the subway and ended up at the Pier 25 Playground right on the Hudson River. It was beautiful and the kids had a blast!
After a little play time it was on to lunch. We decided to check out a NYC original! It was incredible. 
After grabbing some grub, we walked to the nearby 9/11 Memorial. We had already had the chance to explain what happened on 9/11 to the boys when we visited the NYS Museum in Albany, so we just gave them a little refresher before getting to the memorial. The pools were beautiful, and seeing all of the names etched around the two pools where the buildings once stood was very moving. And of course, the new One World Trade Center is absolutely gorgeous! 
We concluded our first (short) day in NYC with a walk to Battery Park and a visit to the new SeaGlass Carousel. It was very cool and the kids loved it (and so did Ashley). 
Even though we were done for the day in NYC, we certainly weren’t DONE. After getting back to Staten Island, we headed over to ‘Hoboken, baby!’ Home of the Cake Boss. The kids love the show and this has been one of the things they’ve been most excited to do. We met Buddy’s sister Madeline and got some yummy treats. 
We finished the night with dinner at an excellent Cuban restaurant in Union City, Mi Bandera. The food was excellent!
The Traveling StarNurse 