New York City, Day 3 - Today Show, Statue of Liberty, China Town, Central Park

Day 3 started off with a walk over to Rockefeller Center to see the taping of the Today Show with Hoda and Kathie Lee. Most of the Today Show cast was in Vancouver for the Olympics, so they didn't do the early morning taping (thank goodness! I don't think I could have handled another early morning!). But the 10:00 hour returns to New York, so we were there for that part. We grabbed breakfast at Dean and Deluca across the plaza, then got to the window about 10 minutes before filming started. Hoda and Kathie Lee came out, and waved, and we were the "stupid tourists" taking pictures and waving outside the window. It was so much fun! We let a few people back home know that we were there, and Dave dvr'ed it and took a picture of us when we were on screen. A couple of other people didn't even know we were there but saw us! So cool to be on national tv!
Check out http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35407960#35407960 - I tried to imbed the video but it won't seem to work.

We didn't stay at the Today Show very long, because we had 11:00 tickets for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. By the time we got down there, picked up our tickets, and stood in the long line for security, we ended up on the noon boat, but that's okay. It was such a gorgeous (and cold!) day, so we enjoyed the scenery at Battery Park and waited our turn. Finally we made it on the ferry, grabbed our seats, and took off to Liberty Island. As soon as we got close to the Statue, people swarmed the front to take pictures - we were right there with them, of course. The ferry gave us fabulous views of the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline.

To be on the island looking up at Lady Liberty was so amazing! From a distance, she looked really small, especially compared with the skyscrapers of the city. But up close, she was huge and impressive! We were disappointed the tickets to climb up to the crown were sold out, but just to be there was worth the price of the tickets. So incredible!We got back on the ferry to head back to the mainland, by way of a brief stop at Ellis Island. We decided not to take the time to get off the boat at Ellis Island, since the day was getting away from us. But while the boat was stopped, we walked around the back and I found this area of gorgeous light and started snapping close-up pics of the girls with my zoom lens. They turned out so good! I was really pleased with these pics. :)

Back on the main land, we took the subway up to China Town, where we enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smells while wandering down to a restaurant suggested by my New York travel book. The restaurant was definitely well-loved by locals, who gave us their menu recommendations as we waited in line. The food was delicious, and helped energize us to finish out our last day in the Big Apple.

Our day wasn't over yet! We took the subway to Grand Central Station and marvelled at the turqouise vaulted ceilings and hustle and bustle of the train station. We also found the Whispering Gallery, were you can stand in opposite corners and hear one another talking as clear as day. Awesome acoustics!

Finally, after a quick stop at the hotel to freshen up and change into more comfortable shoes, we took a brief evening walk through Central Park. The park was so beautiful with all the snow on the ground and the lights sparkling all around. It started snowing while we were there, nice big, fluffy flakes coming down, and we had an impromptu snowball fight with the snow already on the ground. Such fun... :)

I almost felt bad about throwing that snowball when I saw the look on Amy's face - almost!

It's okay, she forgave me. :)

We finished our trip by having dinner with one of Amy's childhood friends from boarding school and her boyfriend at a nice Italian restuarant. The snow continued to fall as we ate dinner, watching it out the window. And as we returned to our hotel for the last time, I couldn't resist trying to capture the flakes on "film." The photo doesn't do it justice - what an awesome way to conclude our whirlwind trip, watching snow fall in Times Square!