Statue of Liberty to South New Jersey

Our morning started at about 5:30 am. Ryan, ate Peachy, and I were running really late!  We were suppose to meet everyone at Battery Park by 7:30 a.m. but because of the traffic and overall craziness of NYC, we ended up meeting my brother, cousins, and friends from Long Beach, CA at around 8:45 a.m. They waited for us for over an hour so our apologies to you all and thank you for waiting for us as well as picking up our tickets!!

As soon as we got there and had our tickets in hand, we went directly to the ferry boat that takes us to the Statue of Liberty.  This was our view from the boat.

Since we were all rushing in the morning and did not get a bite to eat, we decided to get some brunch at the refreshment area when we arrived at the Statue of Liberty island.  Ryan, Johnson and I ended up sharing two orders of fish and chips! YUMMY!! Afterwards, we headed off to line up to go inside the statue... AND it took about an hour to an hour and a half!! 

There are so much more photos from our trip to the Statue of Liberty, so to view them, please click HERE. 

We were planning on eating some NY Pizza but we were running late and had to get to South New Jersey (SNJ) for the wedding rehearsal! So we ending up getting some fast foods at a service/rest area on the way...

Here is one photo of the couple during the rehearsal.  They are so cute!  I think...no... I know I'm going to get teary eyed when I see these two get married... I still CAN'T believe that my cousin is getting married! After years of seeing him grow up... I know I'm going to get emotional... Good thing I have the camera in front of my face... I can hide it ;)

Everyone from the rehearsal left for Natasha's house where food was prepared.  It was really nice to have met some of the brethren in SNJ.  They're soooo friendly!  It's really a blessing to be members of the INC! No matter how far we live from each other.. whenever we meet, it's like we've known one another for a long time.. because we share the same faith :-D

ANYWAYS... Natasha and Fred surprised me and Ryan with beautiful personalized/engraved gifts! Fred and Natasha, thank you for everything! We are sooooo happy for the two of you!

Applebees! Finally!

After worship service this evening, ate Peachy, Ryan and I went to Applebees to get some dinner.  This is the FIRST TIME Ryan and I tried the restaurant so it's a big deal and should be blogged about! ;-D. Here's a picture of Ryan and Ate Peachy (two of the Arellano cousins - represent!).

We ordered 2 appetizers, the spinach artichoke dip and buffalo wings. I got an apple walnut chicken salad as well. I think ate peachy got a California something salad and Ryan got a Chop Steak with a baked potato. The food was deliciouso! (or what they say in tagalog: ANG SARAP TALAGA!!) We will definitely go back to an Applebees in California! Sorry if my pictures aren't large enough to view the food.... I didn't want any of you to get hungry and start salivating on your computer screens heheh ;-D

Okay goodnight/goodmorning! It's now 1:16 a.m. and I have jetlag! 

We have to wake up in 3 hours to visit the Statue of Liberty!

We're In NY!

We landed at the JFK Airport at around 5:40 am today. Ate Peachy picked us up and took us to this really cool restaurant called "Maureen's Kitchen" in Smithtown, New York. I was looking for a website but could not find any.  Just do a google search and it'll pop up reviews. Inside the restaurant looks like a herd of cows exploded because there are black and white cow patterns all over the place and cow figurines everywhere! Really cute! Here's a picture of the signage outside:

Regarding the food....All I can say is, DELICIOUS!  When ate Peachy says she has found a really cool place to try, I believe her to the fullest! The staff was really friendly and the food was yummy! Ate Peachy told me to try the French Toast Croissant with Cream Cheese stuffed with a kind of Rasberry Jam, so I did.  I'm going to use this blog as a means to spread the word on this place because I would definitely come again and try that french toast!

We're still a bit jet lag.  It's 12:36 PM east coast time which means it's only 9:36 AM west coast time.  Ryan is still napping and I'm just relaxing :-D  We'll be attending worship service today at the locale of Bellmore, NY. Tomorrow we'll be meeting up with my brother, cousins, and friends to visit the Statue of Liberty!   Ryan and I didn't get to see it the last time we visited NYC (which was 2 years ago) so we definitely have it as a TO DO this time! 

I'm actually enjoying the day doing nothing but just relaxing here at ate's home.  She has a cool collection of magnets from places she's been to.  I think my favorite one is the "good friends" magnet. It reads: "good friends are like stars, you don't always see them, but you know they're always there." And of course, I need to focus on the Statue of Liberty magnet cause we're in NY!

Here are some photos I took here at ate peachy's home :-D. I need more stock photos for my use... I intend to take more during this trip!

More pictures to come! Signing off, unless I find something awesome to blog about again!

Congrats Grads!

Earlier this year, a friend of mine contacted me and asked if I would be willing to take her graduation photos as well as 9 of her classmates.  I accepted :-D. 

After work on Friday, Ryan and I drove to Cecile's classmates home.  A couple of the grads were already there, ready to be photographed.  They were really nice!! I thought it was really cute how close they all were.  They studied together and now they are graduating together.  From what Cecile had told me, the graduation ceremony the next day was just for the 10 of them. Like an intimate graduation ceremony... 

I'm so happy for all of them, especially Cecile! Congratulations!

The graduates

The graduates having a fun moment

Cecile