New York - Arrival

Now, I am able to get to the massively wonderful trip that we took.  There are so many pictures, that it would be impossible to upload them all there.  I decided that I would go through the trip - from beginning to end - and highlight what was so distinctive, what was fun and why this trip is so memorable and then add the pictures to coincide.  


So, to begin, I started planning an annual New York trip so Ken could reconnect with his family and his "roots" and once a year is all we could afford.  With "Kenny" and his Uncle Jimmy both fighting cancer, it was very important to me that they be able to connect as much as possible.  This year, we took the girls with us, and it was so great to see this trip through their eyes and share the love of traveling with them.


The first adventure began with packing and simply just getting to the airport.  The friend that was going to help us out with transportation totally forgot he promised, so we had to find alternate means.  Luckily, I had gotten a business card from a local guy who owns a limo service.  Voila!  We have a ride to and from the airport, and taking a limo completely made this an even better experience for the girls: first plane ride AND they got to go in a limo???

Check out this excitement!  A limo ride AND a plane ride!

Waiting to get on her first airplane

They loved the plane ride, but they were so amazingly happy to see Grandpa waiting in the airport for us when we arrived!  You would think that they hadn't seen in years rather than a few weeks.  Apparently, the amount of time the girls get with Grandpa is precious to them.  We were STARVING by the time we landed (meals are no longer served on the plane) so we went straight to Brennan's.  


Laura, Tom and Kayla showed up at Brennan's and we were finally able to meet our niece/cousin.  The girls went nuts seeing the baby - who isn't even a baby anymore.  

Ken loved taking the time to say hello and suddenly he was talking like them - flatening the vowels - and having a good time.  Totally funny to me.  The girls could not believe that it was almost like home here.  They were expecting people to speak a different language.


We enjoyed eating - again, totally starving after spending most of the day on a plane.  It was nice to sit and unwind from the flight and hang out with family.  The girls, however, were very upset to see that Grandpa was smiling while holding Kayla.  Jordan went up to Grandpa, "Um, why don't you smile like that for US?"  Grandpa was totally put on the spot and uncomfortable and I laughed hysterically!

Look!  Dad CAN smile!

Now, the really ugly part of arriving in Buffalo was the heat.  I'm not talking about, "gee, it hasn't been this hot in 90 years" kind of heat.  No!  It has never been recorded this hot in the Buffalo area EVER and the humidity kicked my lungs' ass!  Once we got off the plane, it was like being squished in a vice that lasted the entire trip.  No one here has air conditioning because you don't really need it.  This was just all shades of wrong, and I was miserable for most of the trip.  There was no escaping the heat, and I looked like I had just stepped out of the shower for the entire trip.  So, it was upwards of 96 with 90% humidity each day.  Yuck!!  It's a good thing our friends and family were so worth it!  ;)