NYC Day Trip

I had wanted to watch the Georgia vs. LSU game at the NYC Alumni Bar, so we decided to make a day trip to NYC.  The game wasn't until 3:30, so we did some sight seeing before.

We took the free ferry to Staten Island - you can see the Statue of Liberty from the boat!

We were trying to get Manhattan in the picture from the top of the ferry

 The UGA Alumni Bar is now at a new bar, called The Whiskey Bar.  It was so fun to watch the game with all my fellow UGA fans.  This picture was taken because my brother Shawn didnt believe that Trent was rooting for the Dawgs, he wanted proof!

Oktoberfest

West Point hosted its own Oktoberfest party.  We got a few friends together and joined in the festivities

The event took place over at the base of the ski slope - so you can see in this picture the ski lifts!

They had a costume contest...with only 3 couples participating!

Couple #1

Couple #2

Couple #3...The winning couple!

It was our friend Tim's birthday...Cheers and Happy Birthday Tim!

Trent and I with Tim and his wife Kathleen

Virginia Visit

The weekend of September 21-22, Trent and I drove down to Virginia Beach to spend the weekend with Isabel.  The weekend always goes so fast, but its always a great time!  We picked Isabel up Friday evening, and Saturday went to Busch Gardens which is just about 45 minutes from Virginia Beach.  They offer free admission once a year to Active Military, so it was a nice treat to get to go for free!  Sunday was spent swimming in the hotel pool and Jumping Jac's bounce house!

Isabel really wanted to get her face painted!  We tried to persuade her to choose something simple, but nope...she wanted the Cheetah!

Isabel was sooooooo excited to meet Elmo and give him a hug!

Just hanging out at the hotel coloring

At Target wearing my new sunglasses!

Lunch on Sunday at Red Robbin...Yuuuummmmmm

The last few minutes of playtime before we had to drop her off on Sunday 

Friendly Faces!!

MY FIRST 2 VISITORS...WELL, SORT OF!

I know living in Atlanta I absolutely took for granted seeing good friends and family very often.  Being here in New York, with only the comfort of Trent, I quickly realize how much I miss hanging out with the special people in my life.  So when I found out I was going to get to see not just one, but two friends, in one week here in New York, I was ecstatic!

First, Ashley and her mom were in New York City for market for their store Rumor in Macon, GA and so I jumped at the opportunity to get to have dinner with them and stay the night in the city.  I was already going to be in the city that day for the taping of Dr. Oz, so I just met up with them afterwards at their hotel and we went to a delicious dinner at Buddakan.  Ashley and her mom have been to this restaurant before, but its one of their favorites, and I understand why!  It was soooooo good!  I told Trent we will definitely have to go there for a date night soon.

I have already warned you all that I am horrible at remembering to take pictures, so in an effort to keep this blog interesting, I may be forced to "borrow" photos of the internet to capture the whole experience.

Here is a picture of Ashley and I at dinner - doesn't it look like we are in a library?!  We joked that this photo backdrop would have come in handy in college!  "See mom, we were at the library studying!"

We had a great waitor who recommended a lot of great things -and we also picked a few of Ashley and her mom's favs as well.  It is the type of place where you order a bunch of stuff and everyone shares.  

We started out with an interesting but amazing cocktail - called the FEVER: fidencio mezcal, lime, jalapeno, and pomegranate.  It was basically a Pomegranate Jalapeno Margarita.  All three of us ordered one!

I am listing what we ordered, mainly, so that if I go back I have some record of what we got!

The Edamame Dumplings

Glazed Alaskan Black Cod

 Tuna Tartare Spring Roll

We also got the Charred Filet of Beef and the Sweet and Crispy Jumbo Shrimp.  And then we finished it off with the most AMAZING dessert - the Dark Chocolate Fondant - with roasted sour cherries and pistachio ice cream.  Ummmmmm - my mouth is water writing this!  THANK YOU ASHLEY AND JUDY FOR A MOST WONDERFUL AND MUCH NEEDED NIGHT OUT WITH FRIENDS FROM HOME!

And then literally the NEXT night, I got to see Clay!!  Clay was in town for work and was staying a little closer to West Point - he was basically a little less than half way between NYC and West Point, so Trent and I met up with him for dinner and drinks!  Such a great night catching up with Clay - and it forced Trent and I to explore a new area of town for dinner.  We met him in Nyack which is on the Hudson, same side of the river as West Point.  Trent and I had driven through there back in March when we were looking for places to live, but in the Winter and morning time, this area of town did not seem as happening and welcoming as it does in the summer/fall.  Trent kept saying that this area of town was a young, fun area and that I would like it, but because of our expierence in March I was hesitant and can say I didn't really believe him.  But I admit, he proved me wrong.  We had a great time, and I loved the area.  It was about a 30 minute drive for us, but I am sure we will be venturing out to these restaurants a lot more now.  Thanks Clay for getting us out and exploring - and thanks for coming to visit - I can't explain enough how wonderful and refreshing it is for me to see friendly faces up here!!

We had a few restaurants to choose from, but we ended up just staying at the one we stopped in first for a drink, called Bourbon Street.  The food was really good and the company great as well!

So I say that Ashley and Clay were my first 2 visitors - even though they werent really in town to visit ME - I still claim it!  When we left dinner with Clay, I told Trent that I felt so much better after seeing friends this week - I felt like my tank got refueled.  Again, the little things I took for granted at home - but now mean so much!!

Dr. Oz Taping!

My new friend Amber (she is the wife of one of Trent's buddies from college) got tickets to see a taping of the Dr. Oz show and I was lucky enough to get to go with her.  THANK YOU AMBER!!!  We had a great day venturing out into the city!  Travel to the city includes driving to the train station, getting on a train to grand central station, then navigating our way through the subway.  This was my first time on the subway without someone that lives in the city and knows it well.  But Amber came prepared and had our route already written out - which made it so much easier!  I am proud of us - we didn't get lost once!  We arrived early enough to have lunch and get to where we needed to be in no time.

We weren't allowed to take pictures on the set of Dr. Oz - and of course while everyone else had their cameras out, I was too chicken and didn't want to get in trouble!  So this is the only photo on-set that I got.  Sorry!

Beautiful Views!

Just some of the beautiful views on West Point overlooking the Hudson River