Thanksgiving in New York City

Yikes!  It has been almost 6 1/2 weeks since my last post!  The last several weeks have been busy with work travel, holiday travel, job transitions, and visitors, so there hasn't been any time for gardening.  I mean to remedy that in the coming weeks, primarily after Christmas.  Until then, let me play some catch up.

I spent the week of Thanksgiving up in New York City because my husband was in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!  He performed with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corp's - a musical group made up of current members and alumni from the drum corps.  He was one of 425 men that marched the two mile parade, ushering out Santa Claus.  It was pretty awesome to not only see him, as well as two of his brothers perform in the famous parade, but also to see guys who were 75 years old marching and playing in the alumni performance.

My hubby is the third one in, playing the mellophone (marching French horn).

Other than the parade, we got to spend time with family we hadn't seen in many years.  We went to several Broadway shows, including Phantom of the Opera and Lez Miz (Les Miz was definitely my favorite!  We also went to several comedy shows and even got to see our favorite comedian, Louis C.K., as the surprise headliner at the Comedy Cellar while we were in the front row!  There was some standard sight-seeing, including the World Trade Center Memorial and 9/11 Museum, Top of the Rock, the Metropolitan Museum, and Central Park.  Here are some pictures from our amazing trip:

Inside the 9/11 Museum - looking at some support beams from the World Trade Center towers.

Freedom Tower

9/11 Memorial - South Tower Reflection Pool...a very sobering place to be.

Some of my favorite paintings of the day while at the Met:  Van Gogh's "Wheat Field with Cypresses" and Monet's "Water Lilies - Reflections of Weeping Willows,"

We took several walks in Central Park during our visit.  It was a nice way to connect back to nature for a few minutes while in the middle of the bustling city.  There were plenty of mallard ducks and cattails lining the ponds.

My favorite Central Park creature was this vibrant wood duck.  The colors and white lines on him are so stunning!

In front of the Rockefeller Center - before the tree lighting took place.

Top of the Rock - the best views in the city.

What a fabulous trip and fantastic city!