Could've Done Without NYC!!!

After a little deliberation we decided that we should drive the hour out of our way to go and see New York City and especially the Statue of Liberty. We drove in through rain nearly the entire way from Little Falls to New York and could barely see the scenery on the drive. I kept praying that the weather would be more kind in NYC but to no avail. We tried our best to navigate our way through the city to find the Statue. It was relatively easy getting there with our Mapquest directions and the signs. Once we were nearby we had to find parking, which posed quite a problem. We ended up parking about 3 blocks away in a parking garage, paying $20/hr. We drove up 5 levels only to find that it was full and that an attendant there was going to drive our car to another part of the lot. I was very anxious and didn't trust New Yorkers at all, even if they did have a parking attendant outfit on. In turns out that he did work there and even found us a spot, but he also in the meantime felt a need to open all our windows (the passenger side is broken and it wouldn't go back up once we put it all the way down). I was distraught and angry by this point. We had just paid $20 so we could walk through the rain with our kids in tow and yet we hadn't even made it into the parking lot without feeling sour and weary. With our window completley open, I was so uptight that our van was going to be stolen or at least broken into while in the garage that I could'nt wait to get a move on to see the Statue of Liberty in record time. Nathan, more commonly the peaceful filled-with-faith one of the family, was able to offer a soothing prayer that at least convinced me to go through with the plan of seeing the statue, in spite of the open window. We raced down the busy blocks and found our way inside the ferry entrance, only to find that the don't even let you out of the double glass-paned windows unless you are on your way onto a ferry. The combo of the windows, rain and fog, made it so we could barely see the Statue and have definitely had better views of it in the movies and books we'd seen all our lives. However, we were able to capture these pathetic pics of it.

A shot worth $20 and 4 hours?

Kaylie took this and apparently could'nt find the Statue to make sure it was in the background.
After taking our pictures, we ran back to the car and gratefully found it to be in the same condition we had left it in. Nathan worked on the window while I buckled the kids in and got a new movie on their dvd player (the best purchase I have ever made for a trip). After about 10 minutes Nathan was able to get the window to close (a miracle from a loving Heavenly Father) and we were on our way home. At least we were trying to be on our way home.

We followed the Mapquest directions until we saw the signs for Lincoln Tunnel, which was supposed to bring us back to New Jersey. However, after turning down the street that the sign pointed to for the tunnel, we found that we were in the heart of NY and after being cut off by some crazy drivers and even pedestrians, we were anxious to get out of there as quickly as we could. The billboards seemed to promote Satans' work on every corner and we were very glad that the kids were happily watching their movie inside of seeing the nasty pictures and things going on outside of the car. The tall buildings and crowded streets made me feel more uncomfortable than I have ever felt in any city and I was extremely anxious to leave. We were stuck on this road trying to find another sign for this tunnel for over an hour, but to no avail. There were no more signs and somehow we ended up right back where we had started an hour earlier, near the parking garage next to the Statue of Liberty. YUCK. We then decided our best bet was to just go back the way we came in, which we knew how to do. However, by the time we got on the main road again, we were stuck in very heavy NY traffic. We managed to go 3 miles in 3 hours. We were hungry and tired and really really ready to be home. According to our original calculations, we were supposed to be getting home within the hour, and yet we were still stuck in the city. What a nightmare. We finally made it out and found our way to a gas station/restaurant in New Jersey. However, after seeing that the cheapest value meal (which would only somewhat satisfy Nate) was over $7, we opted to wait until the next restaurant, that wasn't part of the toll road, appeared. As it happened, we didn't find one until 2 hours later, when we were out of New Jersey! It was 9pm, most of the kids were sleeping and we were just buying dinner. We ended up getting home around midnight.

So, our trip to New York was amazing and very memorable. However, I could've done without New York City, and will not be going back there again-EVER! It was so not what it is cracked up to be. YUCKY YUCKY YUCK!