One of the nice things about staying in NYC for 6 nights is being able to have a day to take it easy. That’s exactly what we did yesterday. Since Jerry was no longer up for a lot of walking we slept in and then took a cab over to Bryant Park. It’s located in midtown and is another one of the wonderful parks in NYC. Actually it is located directly behind the NYC Library. The park is really beautiful. I’ve decided NYers must be so tired of staying inside during the cold winters that they all come out when the weather permits.
The parks are always full of lots of different people and families. The park has free wifi so Jerry found a place to sit and enjoyed some time surfing the net. I strolled around the park to see what was happening. The parks in NYC are so cool. There are several little outdoor cafes around the park. They all have spectacular views of the park. The park is very shaded and full of tables and chairs for people to sit and enjoy a lunch, play music or whatever they want to do. In one section of the park I saw a magician putting on a show for children. In another section of the park there were several umbrellas and portable shelves with books. It was called the Reading Room. People were sitting in this area enjoying a good book. In another area there were permanent ping pong tables and chess tables with what appeared to be some serious chess players. In the middle of Bryant Park is a huge lawn. Several people were on the lawn enjoying the bright, hot sunshine. I read that in the winter that area is a pond and people can ice skate there for free. I am not sure how they convert it, but obviously they do. We enjoyed a sandwich at one of the cafes in the park.
After lunch I walked around the corner to see the NYC Library. I was unable to get good pictures of the outside of the massive building because they are in the middle of construction on the building. I did visit the inside for a few minutes and took pictures of the beautiful, old building. Needless to say I was on vacation, so spending too much time in a library was not on the agenda. I had more important things to do like stroll down Fifth Avenue and do a little shopping. I found a shop that I knew Meaghan would like so I spent most of my time texting pictures of stuff to her to see if she liked it. So, I bought myself one pair of sunglasses, Jerry a CD and the rest was for Meaghan and of course a couple of things for my second child Jessica (Meaghan’s best friend).
After a day at the park we did something we have never done on vacation. We came back to the room, had Chinese food delivered and actually rented a movie in the hotel room. It was nice to relax after the busier days and nights.
Today we took the subway to Brooklyn. Last year when we did this it seemed a little easier. One of the things about the subway is that the routes just change for random reasons like construction, or because on the weekend less people are going out of the city since they are off work. We were a little confused and had to ask for help, but after two trains and a couple of blocks of walking, we finally made it to the church. Since the first service was still in session, we walked over to McDonalds which is only a few feet from the church to have breakfast. It was so funny, we actually saw the same lady in McDonalds that we saw last year while waiting for church. She didn’t notice us either time, but we both recognized her right away. She had on a big hat, dressed in her Sunday best and was talking to someone about God.
Sitting next to us was another lady, Denise that we struck up a conversation with while dining. She was waiting to go in the church as well. She shared that she had been visiting Brooklyn Tabernacle since moving back to NYC. She said she kept going back because she was just addicted to it and couldn’t do without the word she had received there. Her only child died 10 years ago during child birth. She said after 10 years, she still had not recovered from the pain. She shared how God has helped her through each day and how going to Brooklyn Tabernacle had ministered to her.
The service at Brooklyn Tabernacle was wonderful as usual. I can’t describe how wonderful it is to sit in a huge 4000 seat theater (the church is in an old theater, one of the largest in the city) and hear all 4000 people sing praise and worship together. First of all the sound in the theater is magnificent, but the magnitude of the sound of that many people signing together was a wonderful change from all the stuff you see on the streets here in NYC every minute. One of the things I loved is seeing the diversity of people all in one church. I would venture to say that there is probably someone from almost every part of the world in the congregation. It was like a glimpse of what heaven will be like with all people of all races worshiping together. Pastor Cymbala’s message was very good. I love wrapping up our trip with a day like today. Although the lights of the city and the Broadway shows make the trip thrilling, going to BTC is always the highlight of our trip.
Once we left church we got back on the very crowded subway (standing room only) and made our way back over to Manhattan to Tribecca. I wanted to eat lunch at a place I saw in People Magazine called Café Habanna. It is a little Latin hole in the wall with NO air conditioning. I saw Matthew McConoughey in the picture in People, but I was unable to find him there today. The food was good. Jerry got a Cuban sandwich and I had a Chicken Diablo. We both had their famous Mexican corn, which was a grilled corn on the cob on a stick with parmesan cheese and spices on the outside with a squirt of lime. It was yummy.
We are back at the hotel now resting and getting ready to pack our things for the trip home tomorrow. However, we are going to do “the get up early thing” again and go to Good Morning America with our inside studio tickets. Don’t forget to watch us on TV. After GMA, our trip will come to an end. We will head to the airport and catch a 1:00 flight back to Charlotte, and then drive home to Evans.
I have had a wonderful time in my favorite city, but look forward to going back home. I will post once more when I get home to give an update on our GMA experience tomorrow.
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