Day Four

On our last full day in PR, we decided to just relax and relax we did. We spent the entire day napping on the beach and doing a little snorkeling - it was a fantastic way to spend the day. It's been such a long time since I've been to a beach, I just tried to soak it all in!

Day Five

On our last day in Puerto Rico, we decided to do a quick exploration of Old San Juan on our way to the airport - we were so glad that we did not miss this beautiful and fun city!

Remnants of the Old San Juan fort ... massive structure!
Views from the city walls of Old San Juan...unbelievably gorgeous!

I LOVED the cobblestone streets and ultra-cute buildings in Old San Juan!

The Plaza de Armas in Old San Juan ... with lots of pigeons (eww!)

One last fruity drink together before heading to the airport...

Friend from Spokane

Jason's long-time and very good friend, Derek, decided to come from Spokane for a visit with us during his Spring break. We met him at the airport late last night and today attempted to see many of the city highlights.

Here are Jason and Derek waiting for our train at the really beautiful 145th Street subway station...on our way to church.

After church, we stumbled across a Persian Parade ... it seems that there are parades nearly every weekend, representing one of the many people groups who call New York City their home.

Next, of course we had to get our weekly cupcake fix. We stopped by the Village Crumbs for our treat today.

Sugar rush Sunday

With our sugar rush well on it's way, we sped down to Battery Park and to the free Staten Island Ferry to catch some view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

The boys wander for a minute while I get caught up taking photos of the beautiful flowers which are finally making an appearance in the city.

Wall Street / Financial section of Manhattan...Yes, Jason & Derek are grabbing the bulls ***'s!

The city hall building.

A quick wander to Rockerfeller Center ... and the famous ice skating rink.

Every kids dream...a trip to FAO Schwarz!

We ended our day with a wander through the south end of Central Park. In the fading light, there were wonderful reflections in The Pond -- you can see The Plaza Hotel in the photo on the right, with the building I work in looming up behind it.

Friend from Chicago

This week, my friend Star has come to NYC for a visit! I had the realization when she & I were catching up on Monday, that I hadn't been sure if she was someone I would ever see again...the last time we saw each other, I was leaving for Tonga for 2 years and she was in the midst of packing to move to Chicago to complete her PhD. And yet, here we are ... in New York City, hanging out together. God is good.

After work yesterday, Jason & I met up with Star at a great little upper west side Thai place called Charm (which apparently means "bowl" in Thai, so the restaurant has cool bowls all over the walls and hanging from the ceiling) for a delicious dinner and to catch up on her adventures of being a tourist before we all headed back to our place to crash out.

Of course, on the way home, we had to stop in at a Crumbs for a cupcake (sorry, we ate them before getting any photos!) and then made a quick stop at Columbia University for a couple photos.

Easter Feasting

Having someone to cook for (and someone who happily cleans up my cooking mess), has inspired me to try cooking new meals which has been a lot of fun.

Today, I tried my hand at making a few new treats for our Easter Sunday...beginning with some hot cross buns for breakfast, a late lunch of stuffed pork loin, wild rice & lemon-parmesan asparagus and dessert of orange chocolate cheesecake. Yummy!

Dog Sundays & Perfect Apartment Dogs?

Every Sunday on our way to and from church, we walk through Madison Square Park where there is a sizeable dog park. Jason has quite a soft-spot for dogs and so we watch them for a while, entertaining ourselves with how all the different dogs interact with each other. We poke fun at some, admire others and often wonder what in the world possesses a person to keep some of the enormous animals we see there inside a tiny NYC apartment.