10/1-10/2: NYC Manhatten Edition

The most adventurous part of NYC was probably the entry! We paid $14 in tolls to cross a bridge...FOURTEEN!!! Then we arrived at my (Nicole's) extended family's apartment and had to unload EVERYTHING from our car. Normally this would be an semi-easy task, but since we currently have our lives in our cars, it took two full bellman's carts to get it all up! The waiting chili made all of the work worth it ;)

It was wonderful to get to know people from my extended family who I didn't know before. :)

We spent one main day in NYC. But we filled it with as many things as we could! Our day started with a rush hour ride on the subway. It was exhilarating! We got off on Wall St where it began to pour rain. Thankful for rain coats and umbrellas! On Wall St we met in front of the Federal building where our Free Tours by Foot tour began. We learned how Wall St was named because of a wall that used to stand there as a defense for the city. Sadly it was a poor diffence because people ended up walking around it. :P The wood squares where the posts of the wall can still be seen!

We proceeded to walk around lower Manhattan on our tour. We enjoyed getting to know our fellow tourists who flew in from England and Scotland. :) This included Chinatown (where we bought a yummy stuffed bun!) and Little Italy. We learned history about immigration in the city as well as how different neighborhoods have changed over time. We stood in front of a church that had a breath-taking view of the One World Trade Center. This church was the only building not affected by the crash of the twin towers in 2001. Because it was spared, the rescue efforts were based there. God's hand of protection and provision are everywhere...even in the midst of the worst of tragedy. 

After the tour we went to the 9/11 memorial. Here is what I posted on Facebook right after we saw it: 'The 9/11 memorial right next to the One World Trade Center. One of the most humbling experiences of my life. As we walked here a man stopped to look up at the One World Trade Center. He said he's lived here his whole life but still it takes his breath away. He said he has worked at 2 world trade centers. I can only imagine what his 2001 story is. It puts this into perspective. 

Here so many lives were lost and our country faced attack. Yet they have transformed it into a tranquil oasis. Beauty from ashes. I cannot help stop and remember where I was that fateful day. #neverforget'

Then we hopped back on the subway to go to Times Square! It was surreal to actually be IN Times Square!! Alyssa first noticed the ball that drops on New Year's. We wandered around for a bit taking in all of the sites. 

Before we left that area we stopped by Radio City Music Hall to check it out. :) We are both are fans of America's Got Talent so it was fun to see where it takes place, even if it was from the outside. 

Then we walked to Central Park to conclude our day. Our legs and feet were tired but we enjoyed the views all the same. Incredible that a park like that could exist inside a city! We loved it!

Our last stretch was to walk back to the apartment where we were staying! This brought our total up to nearly 11 miles that day! We arrived exhausted but happy. It was an incredible day! 

9/26-9/29: Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania was mainly about the people. My cousin lives near Harrisburg, so we went to visit her and her family! It was amazing to be able to spend time with them. :) 

Her daughter has Krabbe's disease which is a terminal disease that will likely take her life before she turns 2. This was the first time I was able to meet her...and it was such a joy! She is such a precious girl. <3 Time with her also made me even more passionate about advocating for newborn screening that can save children with this and other leukodystrophies! 

We had the chance to go to church with them. They had some visitor after church, so we hung out and talked! 

Truly, it was a special time of being together. 

*Photo credit: Lesa Brackbill

Gettysburg was our tourist destination for Pennsylvania. We were disappointed to find out that our National Parks pass wouldn't cover the museum...or even give us a discount. We opted for the free battleground! Our first and favorite stop was to the cemetery. There was something powerful and humbling about seeing the number of graves, especially those unknown. And these were only the graves of the Union soldiers!! We had an amazing talk with the volunteer ranger who was on location. He showed us the dent the bouncing cannon ball had made in the metal cannon and told us where we could see the grave for the only civilian lost during the battle (bullet went through the doors of her house and killed her from behind while she was baking bread :( ). He also pointed out the tree that witnessed the battle of Gettysburg and is still around! We then proceeded to tell him about our trip. He was very interested in our story--and we enjoyed telling him about it. :D If you are reading this, know that we greatly enjoyed our conversation!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

*Back there is the marker to honor the only civilian killed in the battle and the location where Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address!

*it was haunting how many unknown graves there were!

Before we left, we (actually Alyssa) made delicious pumpkin muffins! :D

We left Pennsylvania with many memories! <3

9/23-9/26: Ohio

Our first day in Ohio was full of driving! The first stop was to meet up with one of Alyssa's friends who she knew in California. She treated us to an amazing lunch at a local restaurant in Columbus! We then walked around the city and caught up on life. It is fun to make reconnections along this journey!

Then we drove to meet up with Steve and LeeRoy from Needle2Square. Steve is on an amazing journey to bring funding to Uzima Outreach which is an amazing operation that his buddy started in Africa. They help kids whose parents have been addicted to drugs by giving them food and schooling. There is more to the story, so I encourage you to check it out at www.uzimaoutreach.org! To bring funding and awareness Steve is walking across the country with his goat LeeRoy and talking to people along the way. We spent an incredible 3 hours with him, talking about the journeys we are on. He was an amazing encouragement to both of us!! (Update as of now: LeeRoy passed away from some sort of illness; please pray for our brother in Christ as he has begun walking again with a grieving heart and a new goat named Miles.)

From there we drove across the state to Cleveland where we spent the next few nights. We stayed with the aunt of one of Nicole's friends. She had been a Facebook friend for quite awhile, but now became an real life friend along with her family! It was a delightful place to spend our Ohio time; we loved being a part of the family for a few days. :) 

Alyssa and I decided that going to a National Park sounded wonderful after a long stretch of not going. Cuyahoga National Park was only 30 minutes away from where they lived! We walked along the Ohio & Erie Canal and learned about the canal history. 

During our second full day there we went to the Cleveland Art Museum with the person we were staying with. The art was cool, but the guards were...interesting. They followed us everywhere. You couldn't even check your phone for the time without them coming closer! I've never felt so watched and mistrusted before in my entire life!

*The armory was the best part!

Following the rather uncomfortable visit to the art museum we went to a beach on Lake Erie to enjoy our lunch! It was beautiful.

Our last day we spent at Wigs for Kids. It was one of the highlights of the trip! We were sorting through ponytails that people had sent in. We made sure they were in good condition, long enough, not colored, and didn't have too much gray. Then we rubber banded them so that they would stay together when shipped to manufacturer who makes the custom wigs for kids with hairloss. The people who we were volunteering with were also a lot of fun! :) Great end to our time in Ohio!!!