NYC Day 3

10:35 AM

Day three was a long one. Mostly because we started at 5 am! We had planned to attend Live with Regis and Kelly. We'd written in for tickets several times, but only received an e-mail telling us they'd let us know if we were selected for tickets. A friend suggested that we go over early and get in the stand by line. That's how she got in a few years earlier. So we did. We caught the subway EARLY and navigated our way to the studio. When we arrived to the studio a gentleman greeted us at the door and said, "No taping today...or for the next two weeks." WHAT??? You think they could have mentioned that in the e-mail, huh?

It was 6:15 am and we were awake, dressed and across town from our hotel. We headed to the nearest Starbucks to drown our sorrows and come up with a new game plan.

After breakfast, we decided we'd continue our double decker bus tour. Our first stop was Little Italy and Chinatown.

It was cold and early, so we didn't stay either place long. We hopped back on the bus and headed downtown. We visited a memorial one block over from the spot of the World Trade Centers. The memorial did a wonderful job of retelling the events of 9/11 and forcasting the future construction in the area.

This is the one of the two buildings that is being constructed where the towers once stood.

This American flag on the construction sight caught my eye.

A few blocks away from the WTC sight is Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange.

Spot where George Washington was sworn in as our first president.

Courtney making a new friend...with a machine gun. He told us this type of security is the norm around the NYSE since 9/11.

Then we made our way to Battery Park. This sculpture used to stand in front of the one of the towers. Though it was banged up, it was not ruined. It was reconstructed and stands in Battery Park to represent the resisilance of the people of New York City.

From Battery Park, we began our tour of the Statue of Liberty.

There was a LONG line. The wait called for pretzels from the pretzel stand!

We had to go through a full security check. After a very cold 45 minute wait, we finally boarded the ferry to Liberty Island.

The views from the ferry were spectacular!

There she is...Lady Liberty!

I am convinced this was the coldest spot in all of New York! The wind was whipping through the harbor and it was brutal! But what a great backdrop of the city!

The ferry ride back also stopped at Ellis Island, however, we passed. We grabbed lunch (at almost 4 pm!) then caught a double decker bus back to our hotel. Traffic was so bad that we eventually got off the bus and walked the 20+ blocks back to our hotel.

After our toes thawed, we met our friends,Tammy and Donnie Smith for dinner. Tammy, Donnie and their son, Preston, are from Phenix City, too, and were also visiting NYC. We ate at John's Pizzeria and it was great. I didn't carry my camera this night, but we ate a great meal and enjoyed our time with the Smiths!

Man, what a long day! We walked back to our hotel and turned in for the night.

Day 4 recap coming soon.