EMPIRE STATE - NEW YORK PART CUATRO

our hotel was right by times square, so we usually ended up there every night!  we went for a bike ride in central park one day - my favourite part was going around the corners really fast and standing up -- it felt like i was in a huge forest :)  strawberry fields was pretty amazing too..there was a huge crowd gathered around the IMAGINE mosaic. for me, the empire state building trumped top of the rock because it was such a clear night.. it was amazinggg

we went to the natural history museum and saw the huge mineral collection.  it was so beautiful, but it gave me flashbacks to my confusing geology class that i dropped in university.  and i was so pumped to see the whale cause i've been waiting MY WHOLE LIFE. check these out!

 my dad's crazy.

brooklyn, oh brooklyn. NYC PART TRES

my favourite place we visted in new york was brooklyn.  i totally thought i was going to dig greenwich village, but brooklyn thrifting and boutiques are so much more affordable and the items are way more wearable.  i really like the vibe you get there, and the street art is bountiful and beautiful. the brownstones helped, too :)  for some reason we had to get off a stop early and by some magic, we stumbled upon a group of men who play weekly in a shady courtyard.  turns out fella on drums was in THE DRIFTERS. it was way cool.

 mama and sissy

 pops

the cruise to end all boat cruises (in my opinion) NYC PART DOS

we stumbled upon a boat cruise after learning the one we planned on was already closed for the day. we were all cranky, tired, and mad at each other -- then we boarded the boat, got some coffees, and we were taken on what seemed like a circle of the whole of new york city.

 it was AMAZING. 

even though i froze my ass off, i'm so glad we got to take the cruise! we had some laughs, taking pictures of all these wicked sights.  and seeing ms. liberty, of course, was crazy.  she was radiant.

back from new york!

i'm back from my 10-day trip with my family to new york!  it was quite a whirlwind, and i'm still catching up on everything, so this is all i have for now.  i'll definitely be posting a few pictures a day so you can see what a great time we all had. hope everyone had a great week!