.: Day 15 & 16

Bright and not so early on Thursday morning we packed up camp and headed out to NYC! Below is our fun little tent and nice camp site. (you wouldn't think that while we posed for that picture we were being bombarded by dozens of annoying gnats!)

It was a decently long drive but it was broken up well with a nice stop at Cracker Barrel. We have seen SO many of these that we had to stop by one and see what they were all about. Corey spotted the Chicken 'n Dumplings meal that came with three sides. We split it and still couldn't finish it! Donna gives it a thumbs up but of course it will never be as good as mommo's!

Getting into NY it was INSANE! It took over an hour to go 10 miles. (we forgot that at the time we left North Carolina that we would be hitting NY right at rush hour!) By the time that we got to our hostel (our most expensive stay in the not so best accommodations—but then, what do you expect to get in NYC on the holiday weekend) we were exhausted and drained from the insane traffic in NYC. We didn't intend to drive straight through Times Square...but we did and the amount of people flooding the streets was amazing.

After dropping our bags off we headed back into Times Square... battling the subway to get there. (the subway is quite confusing) We also walked to see the Empire State Building (looking quite patriotic). Rockefeller center was awesome. Twinkle-lit trees and more large buildings (large buildings—that was a theme throughout the city!)

Friday morning we awoke with a plan to see the city (we also awoke to WET streets... it was sprinkling!). Trying to figure out where to go on the fourth of July is daunting in a big city. We went to downtown NYC where we walked along Battery Park and Donna picked up a little souvenir. (this was as close as we got to the Statue of Liberty... you wouldn't believe the lines for the ferry on the 4th... or maybe you would if you have been here on the 4th!)

Also along the park—other than awesome buildings that Corey was enamored with—was a friendly squirrel. This one really truly came up and put a paw up on Donna's hand. Donna was slightly freaked out but afterward was happy to have the little fluff ball so close. (there was no foam on the squirrel's mouth) Also, for those animal lovers out there, we didn't feed the squirrels we just taunted them a little. hee hee

The other interesting sight we saw was this crazy sculpture. As Corey was taking pictures of buildings that were architecturally pleasing to him, Donna happened upon this sculpture. In the picture below, Corey turned and caught Donna looking for an explanation about why a cat in a dress was dancing with a monkey. (there was no explanation... so now you will get to wonder along with us)

We did a LOT of walking. (so much that the bottom of Donna's sandaled feet were black by the end of the day) There was a street festival that had many booths taking over the financial district streets south of the Brooklyn Bridge. We were lured in to going the entire stretch of the street fair, which were just repeating booths of Gyro and similar food shops as well as little crafts and such that you might see at any fair. Corey had to get the best price for a Gyro and we went to over 10 booths to better the $4 price we were told at the first booth (that happened to be the cheapest booth and by the time we walked back to it... the price was raised to the average price of $7).

There was also a booth that claimed to sell "interesting things". Among the items the mentioned were tweezers, scissors, and magnifying glasses (ohhh so interesting!!). Did I mention we did a lot of walking? Our feet were aching by the time we made it to the Brooklyn Bridge...we stopped and took a rest. We then dared to jump on the subway again and hit Greenwich and Soho districts until it was time to get a spot for the fireworks show. In Greenwich we ended up at George Washington park, where even more friendly squirrels roamed. These squirrels, just by putting your fingers out will jump at you for attention. The one in the picture below moved like spider man moves along a building wall to come up to you. It was a bit scary because they came so quickly you couldn't do the "no foam on the mouth" check!

Back to south of the Brooklyn Bridge we headed... to catch the Macy's fireworks show (nope not the Macy's day parade, wrong holiday!). There were many MANY people swarming the area. Lots of sticky bodies to bump into. We found a spot just south of the Brooklyn Bridge that was said to be a good spot for seeing the show. To pass the time sitting on the wood planks awaiting the show, we had the pleasure of listening to a DJ mixing some good favorites (Corey's favorite being YMCA... just kidding, he hates that one).

About an hour before the show at 9pm it started raining (not just spitting like it was throughout the day). The waiting then became a standing wait with umbrellas and we even saw people using a used pizza box to stay dry. The fireworks were great, over 120,000 blasts. (no—we didn't count all of them, we were told there would be that many!) The best part was looking back on the huge buildings behind us and seeing the fireworks reflect off of them... illuminating and echoing throughout!

We actually didn't stay for the entire show, we knew the subways would be absolutely PACKED and crazy, so we decided to get a head start. It was quite crowded, hot, and sticky but it was a short ride and we were happy not to walk! Did we head back to the hostel you ask? No! Of course not, the night was young. We went back to the sparkles and lights of Times Square. Donna had her mouth open the whole time, just amazed at the billboards and glitzy-lights. Two places we hit up (that were still open at 10pm) were Hershey and M&M stores! Yum! The Hershey location made you want to reach up and grab the goodies from the sky... but they were just out of reach.