Lowdown House Blues Festival

July 11, 2013July 16, 2013 • by admin • In July Home, Travel, Where We Walkers Are • 0

BB King & Co (July 10th/11th)

Blues. I thought I knew what ‘blues’ music was… yet had no idea there were so many different ‘types’ or genres within one category. Anyways, on Wednesday and Thursday night Cordie and I made the trek to the Brookfield Plaza which was formally known as the World Trade Center… a couple hours in advance to get in line for seats. Forgetting that I am not a huge fan of lines the wait was not that fun when the actual ‘seating’ of people started LOOOONG after what was communicated. I must say though, seeing BB King and his crew in person was definitely worth it!

BB King is now 87 years old… a great singing voice, talented at his guitar playing and LOVED to talk more during the show than do either of the previous two things. He was very humorous and the team of guys on stage with him were just as amazing! The crowd went wild when ‘the thrill is gone‘ started playing!

For the second night of the festival we went much later to avoid all the lines and in hopes of just seeing the Los Lonely Boys and to hear their infamous “Mamacita” which was fantastic!

A few highlights of being at the festival was being two rows back from a commercial that was being filmed both nights in a row (the actors/actresses had the same outfits on both nights) and watching all the crazy people trying to move seats…walk towards the stage to be told to sit back down again…over and over and over.. yes I may have paid much more attention to all the people than the actual show. (guilty) And the gorgeous view of the water, the beautifully constructed buildings around us and spectacular yachts just lounging in their place.

9/11 Memorial

July 9, 2013July 16, 2013 • by admin • In July Home, Travel • 0

In Remembrance & Prayer (July 9th)

Today we went to the 9/11 Memorial to honor the lives that were lost and to help support the efforts of building a ‘new’ place for the city of New York in that specific area.

There are two fountains (30 feet deep) in place of where the two towers stood-the names of each individual is nice and large so it is very legible. The last picture is of the new Freedom Tower (now the tallest in the United States) and I believe 4 new World Trade Towers will be built as well. We spent a lot of time at the memorial amongst others reading about the events and all that happened on that day praying for those that are still mourning the loss of their loved one.

Hillsong NYC

July 7, 2013 • by admin • In Uncategorized • 0

Stand Up

This morning Cordie (husband), and I went to my sister Elizabeth’s church Hillsong NYC. I am not used to arriving an hour before the start of a service to wait in line, in the hopes of getting a seat for the service, but this morning we did! In the ‘excessive heat warning’ that was going on here in New York City with temps of 90+ and with the humidity according to the weather forecast felt like 105 F! The wait and walking in with sweat running down my brow was definitely worth it! Stepping into an environment where more than just one person is expecting to meet with God and worship together was very refreshing. The church does not have their own building so this week’s service was at a club near Union Square and had gorgeous chandeliers, I was offered water, mints, a Popsicle and a cupcake in the three hours of attending and waiting-I was very impressed over all.

We had the privilege of being able to watch one of Pastor Charles Nieman’s sermons that was recorded at the recent Hillsong Conference in Sydney, Australia. You can go check out his story at the link above, in a few words he recently lost his wife to ovarian cancer (she was diagnosed then died 6 months later) and preached about what to do when ‘life doesn’t go your way’. His teaching was straight from the word and was enlightening to be reminded of a few simple things. The main thing he emphasized was when life hits you in a really bad way or something awful happens and there is nothing in you to ‘stand up’ or keep going to let God ‘STAND UP’ in you and do the work for you. To fully be dependent in your weakest moments rather than avoiding and trying to run from God and those that love and care for you as well. It was an awesome word. You can listen to it here. The message reminded me of one of my favorite songs that my husband has written called Your Corner. Have a listen and hopefully this same message will speak to you through his song.

After church Cordie and I had lunch at beautiful Mediterranean restaurant north of Union Square then wandered around ending up in the Air Conditioned Barnes and Nobles to escape the heat and enjoyed our very first Argo Tea. It was a wonderful Sunday and I am looking forward to the days ahead here in New York City.

Pictures to come later when my computer and phone decide to interact together again.

Fourth of July

July 6, 2013July 6, 2013 • by admin • In Uncategorized • 0

Citi Bike Riding

For the 4th of July my younger sister Elizabeth, my husband Cordie and I decided to try out the NEW Citi Bikes that are in most parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn! I was hesitant about riding a bike through the busy streets of New York!

We had so much fun biking around on a trail from Battery Park up to the High Line which is an old train line that the city has turned into a park! We walked for about an hour, grabbed some lunch than jumped back on the bikes. (there are ‘docks’ all over the city for you to leave a bike and then you can pick up one later in the day, pay for a 24 hr pass and you receive ‘unlocking’ codes to have access to another bike in another location-absolutely worth every penny!)

After leaving the High Lines we continued to bike north up to 59th Street which is the farthest Citi bikes have locations due to other old standing ‘competitors’ there seems to be such ‘wonderful’ respect for other peoples’ territories in the city. We then headed towards Central Park and ended our 10+ mile bike ride there to join the crowds and relax in the shade.

If I lived in NYC I would definitely invest in a yearly membership to have access to a bike that I wouldn’t have to try and store somewhere!

Above are some pictures of our trek to see the fireworks in which I loved. There were so many different ‘types’ I had never seen. In between the biking and fireworks we made a stop in honor of ‘Osborn’ history of watching a movie in the theater on holidays and saw World War Z and had dinner at the infamous Shake Shack!

This 4th of July will not be forgotten!

Life in the Fast Lane

July 5, 2013July 5, 2013 • by admin • In July Home, Travel, Where We Walkers Are • 0

These first few days of living in Manhattan have FLOWN by-we have taken complete advantage of exploring our surroundings each day! So it feels like we have been here for more than just 4 days! We have decided that everyday we will go out and ‘walk’ the city for exercise but also to just see MORE… in NYC I am finding there is always MORE to see!

One of my favorite things is how there are different styles of buildings everywhere you look! We live really close to what I call the ‘court’ district as there are court houses and police buildings everywhere! The pier is also a very short walk away and we have gone to everyday since we have been here. I love the view and being by the water.

Check out my Pictures page for more photos in the New York album that will continue to grow as we are here! (in the upper right hand corner of each picture within my gallery-there is ‘info’ click on that and you can see the description..for those of us that would not know where to look. )