Good day! Let me just say if you had asked me around 3 how today was I would said "eh...it wasn't terrible, but not as awesome as yesterday", but now that we've reached the end of the day I can say it was another great one!
We had a very early start as we had to be to the Battery Park ferry to the statue by 9 so we had to get up around 6, get ready, go eat breakfast, and head to the park. Breakfast got a little scary because we went to this market/breakfast place and while were were eating these two strange guys came over on Citi Bikes and just acted very weird. We were at the only table outside so maybe they were just waiting for that, but they kept circling us and giving each other weird looks. It made me VERY uncomfortable. We ended up texting our husbands just in case. I knew Larry wouldn't read mine until he woke up so I told him if he didn't get another text from me by 8 to call someone and then told him our location and as many details of the guys as I could see. I also made sure to say out loud "okay, so they'll just meet us at the park and I told them we'd give them their tickets when we meet up" to make it sound like we were expected somewhere and it would be noticed if we went missing. Maybe I was being paranoid, but rather safe than sorry in a new city (especially on a dark and VERY deserted corner).
We finished up breakfast and headed down to Battery Park. We were a little early and I was VERY sore and had a huge apple juice to drink (I couldn't find a small one in the market) so we sat on a bench to just rest for a second. We then walked over to stand in line for the ferry. Luckily we planned ahead and knew today would be the gloomiest day so we got lucky when it started raining, but we had the proper jackets and hats. Stace did NOT fair well on the ferry ride to the statue and I felt SO bad. She forgot to take her Dramamine so it was very very rough for her, We got to the island and she had to sit, but once she got her bearings she felt so much better. We could only get tickets up to the pedestal, but it was still a cool view and how close you get to her is still really cool. Unfortunately, you couldn't even see Manhattan from the city with how cloudy it was. We definitely climbed a ton of steps! We ended up taking our time going through the gift shops (I was looking for this wind up statue toy I saw last time that I hate that I didn't get, but they didn't have it...Stace had to find a spot that had motion sickness meds...luckily they had one). So we had to rush over to Ellis Island. We knew we had to get some food there since we had to rush to the 9/11 museum after this so I got some chips while Stace ordered real food (I just didn't feel hungry enough to need it). We didn't get to see too much of the Ellis Island museum...nothing like what I was telling her we'd see so it was kind of a bummer. But we had to hurry and get back to our ferry to take us back. The ferry rides were still a bit rough for her and I felt so bad because I knew how horrible feeling nauseas like that was. But once we were back on the island she was doing good and we rushed over to the 9/11 museum.
We got there just in time for our reservation and ended up seeing so much more of the museum this time. They took out the parts that really made me cry last time so that helped, but seeing all the "missing persons" posters they had for people you knew were from the towers was heartbreaking enough to make me tear up a bit. We also got to see the airport camera footage of a couple of the terrorists going through security...that felt crazy and surreal. They looked so normal and not nervous or anything...weird. We spent about 2 hours in the museum and it felt SO weird coming out and back into the normal city. After seeing that same area filled with dust, fires, papers, and sad and bloody people for so long it was so weird to see the opposite of it. I felt like we had time traveled. We of course had to see the pools they had there too.
After that we had time to head over to China Town. Stace really wanted to see that and Little Italy and since Little Italy was such a treasure I figured maybe China Town would be just as cool. It wasn't. We made it a block and a half and turned around. Unless you went there for a reason, it just wasn't worth seeing. On our way back to the hotel Stace decided we really needed a good place for dinner after the way the day had started. She looked up "must see" places on her phone and mentioned Serendipity. Now I had mentioned going when we originally started planning this trip, but she was like "eh...whatever" about it so I didn't push it. When she mentioned it now I was like "YES! We NEED to go there tonight!" so we planned that, but we had some time to kill.
Now here was when I had a kind of exciting moment. Since we had extra time and I had two large hoodies for my mom I decided there was NO way I could squeeze both into my bag so I needed to exchange one for a shirt for me (she only asked for one hoodie so that wasn't a big deal). We went to the store armed with our receipt and the sweater and when I went to the store owner he threw a MAJOR fit. The address on the receipt wasn't the same as his store (but I KNEW it was the right receipt and the address on the receipt wasn't even a store, it was some bank or something). He kept saying I was lying and it was 100% not his store. I asked him to print off a receipt to show me and saw the one he printed did actually have his address. He threw SUCH a fit that I just walked away saying "yeah, yeah, whatever" while Stace bought some pens. I was so angry though because I knew it was his store so we went back to our hotel (not too far away) so I could find the right receipt. I couldn't find one with his address, but when I looked at the receipt at the store next door (the one I actually bought my mom's sweater) I saw the time stamps were so close together, I also found the pics I had sent to my mom that were from his store (with the owner even in one of them) and they were time stamped as the same as the receipt. I googled the name of the store on the receipt and it came up his actual address so I was SURE he was trying to run some sort of scam. Then we realized we could look at the receipt Stace just got for her pens and sure enough it had the same information as my receipt. We stormed back (I have never walked to fast even though I was extremely sore). I showed him both receipts and he asked how we paid, when we told him Visa he immediately apologized and said we were right. I was still so angry, but Stace reminded me he was saying sorry and I needed to forgive him. I told him the sweater I wanted to exchange (it was much thinner so it wouldn't take as much room as the one I was exchanging) and he even helped me pick a good size. He also threw in these $100 bill magnets that we normally wouldn't buy, but they were free so why not? He must have said sorry about 50 times and explained his machine prints visa receipts weird and said he needed me to understand. I told him I did and I'm fine and I thanked him for doing the exchange. I felt VERY happy with my victory though, not to mention proud of myself for standing up for myself (the old me would've apologized and walked away crying over such confrontation). I'm using this ugly magnet as a lesson for my girls: don't be afraid to back down when you know you're right, but also don't be afraid to admit you are wrong and apologize!
After that we headed to Serendipity for dinner and it was the best way to end the night. We talked about our Peak and Pit of the trip (a tradition I like to do). We even asked the locals how they did trick or treating (turns out the apartment dwellers that hand out candy just sit on their stoop for trick-or-treaters). We both agreed yesterday was the funnest day, but we definitely ended the trip on a high note. I was happy to get a caesar salad (I had wanted one since yesterday at lunch haha) and then we both got big frozen hot chocolates....they were AMAZING!! We couldn't even finish our food, Stace got the appetizer nachos and both plates were almost larger than the table we were at haha.
Overall I'm very very pleased with how this trip went. Stace and I travel very well together and between the two of us we can figure almost anything out. I'm so hoping that tomorrow's travel day is a smooth one. I'm excited to get home and see my family, but I am definitely dreading figuring out how to get to the airport...I'm not a nervous flyer, but I am a nervous airport traveler...I hate the timing and being on someone else's control. Plus we're flying United...I haven't flown anything but Delta in a very very long time! Wish us luck!
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