Mom and Daughters' Trip - We Love NYC

So far on our Mom and Daughter' Trip - We have visited Arlington Cemetery and Mount Vernon, Washington DC, Williamsburg, and Jamestown... Well our adventure continued to New York City... We jumped on an Amtrak train and arrived in Penn Station in the middle of New York City..... And I do have to say - I planned this trip out perfectly!! Every minute was fantastic....

Before we left home - I booked two days of hop on hop off double decker bus tours and we got the third day free.... This was the best investment! For $82 per adult (that's me) and $61 per child - this is what we got... Unlimited 3 days hop on and off - downtown - uptown - Brooklyn Tours - Free tickets for Empire State Building or Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center - Free ferry tickets for Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island - $40 off for each ticket to Phantom of the Opera - Free night city tour over the Manhattan Bridge - Free Museum tour - and $10 off Planet Hollywood meal... I enjoyed this tour company so very much - plenty of buses - great tour guides - We saw EVERYTHING - we wanted... Here is a free plug for this excellent company - City Sights NY - If you ever go to NYC - this tour really is a MUST..

The hotel we booked could not have been better - We were in the theatre district - very close to Time Square - The hotel was older but remodeled and closer to our budget... We stayed at the Washington Jefferson Hotel - Loved it!

Our first day - We checked things out
Time Square - We're here - Start Spreading the News -
I want to be a part of it - New York, New York
I Want To Wake Up a City That Never Sleeps
These Vagabond Shoes Are Longing to Stay...


The first night we saw Phantom of the Opera - I had seen it in Los Angeles a couple of times and was looking forward to the girls experiencing their first Broadway play.... They loved it! Our hotel was close enough to walk to the theatre... On the way back to the hotel - we stopped by a shake shoppe and got the best malted I have ever had - at 10:00 PM...


The next day was busy from early morning until late at night - go go go was the name of the game and we definitely took in the town! We hopped on our bus at 9:00 AM - stopped off in Soho for breakfast and some shopping - walked to Ground Zero - walked to Battery Park - jumped back on the bus after visiting Lady Liberty - headed to Central Park to see Strawberry Fields and pay tribute to John Lennon's Imagine memorial - saw the Dakota (where he lived) and lost his life at such a young age. Took a pedicab through Central Park - saw the Friends (TV show) Fountain where they played and frolicked at the beginning of each show - Saw movie locations from - Elf, Home Alone, 27 Dresses, Enchanted and many more... Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock were filming a movie as we passed by... At night we jumped on the night tour bus and crossed over the Manhattan Bridge (I hate heights - scared the crap out of me AND the tour guide it was her 2nd official tour as a guide) The view from Brooklyn was amazing.
I'm a Sex in the City fan - so to see Greenwich and Bleecker Street was cool...
Macy's not so impressive on the outside but was told the inside is amazing.
On our bus - Right through the Very Heart of it - New York, New York

Nikki shopping in So Ho
The Site of Ground Zero
This fire station garage door was around the corner from our hotel - the lives that were lost from this station are remembered here
Ground Zero - a new museum was being worked on - a fire truck was being lowered into it.
Lady Liberty

View of NYC from Lady Liberty
The Dakota - John Lennon's previous residence and where he was killed - Yoko still resides here part time.
Our very very strong pedicab driver..
Central Park
Our pedicab driver and the girls - famous site in Central Park
John Lennon's memorial
The Friends' Fountain

New York at Sunset

Time Square where you can get same day play tickets for discounts



Manhattan Bridge.. Don't look down!!!

We were in New York City for 2 nights and 3 days - saw so much - But not everything - I'm thinking another Mom and Daughters' trip to New York is most definitely in our future.... Loved it here!

Mom and Daughters' Trip - Mt. Vernon & Arlington

Before we headed into Washington DC - We visited Mt. Vernon.. As you may know - Mt. Vernon was the home to President George Washington... Simply put - this place is Beautiful... We met up with my sister, brother in law, and niece here to start our DC area adventure... The above front picture of Mt. Vernon was taken off yahoo pictures - while we were there - there was a large scaffold that blocked the view of the front.. The back however - made up for it!
The back of Mount Vernon
George and Martha Washington's Tomb

View of the Potomac River from back of estate.

View from back of Mt. Vernon

Kids being silly at Mt. Vernon

Our last day in DC - the girls and I went to Arlington Cemetery, Georgetown, and a closer look at the White House - The house was much smaller than I anticipated... The day was incredibly hot.. While we watched the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - I put my hand on a metal chain and it blistered right away.... I am so very glad that we had this amazing opportunity to see all the things we did.... What a whirlwind trip!


John F Kennedy - grave site - the picture only close up - you can see the eternal flame

Unknown Tomb

Back of the White House
Back of the White House
Front of the White House - if you look on top - you will see snipers.. crazy
Famous cupcakes - the line went all the way around the block... no thanks!

Mom and Daughters' Trip - Washington DC

One of my biggest dreams was to go to Washington DC - The pulse of our incredible nation... I dreamed of sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial - I had seen this done in many a movie and I wanted to do that too! I wanted to stand in the steps of Martin Luther King Jr - Where he gave a speech from his heart - not from a script.. His Dream for our nation... A Dream that changed our nation..

My sister, brother in law, and niece joined us in DC - It was wonderful to share this experience with them.







I wanted to walk along the Vietnam Memorial, World War II, and Korean Memorial and pay respect to those who fought for our country... those who gave their lives so that we can have our Freedom.. On the wall at the Korean Memorial these Four words were carved in stone... "FREEDOM IS NOT FREE"
Korean Memorial - Thought about my dad who was a part of this Police Action/War - Dad passed almost three years to the day - We were here...


The Vietnam Memorial - It is beautiful and sad - There was one person with our last name.
World War II Memorial - As we were sitting here in awe - an older man and his wife walked by us - He wore a hat that said the name of a ship and WWII - I asked him if he had fought in this war and he said "Yes" - I put my hand out and said "Thank you" - He took my hand and nodded his head with tears in his eyes... His wife thanked me and said that many of his friends lost their lives in this war and that this day was very hard on him.... My eyes well up just blogging about this experience....

When we flew into Reagan International Airport - there were two landmarks that I could see and not miss.... I was awestruck - This was... IS a big deal to me...




One of my biggest highlights was going into the National Archives and seeing up close and personal the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and The US Constitution... The security on these incredible documents was amazing... I did learn that the Declaration of Independence was in deed brought down to the basement as it was in the movie National Treasure but now is housed in a multi-million dollar case in a huge multi-million vault along with the other documents - It was crazy... Of course no pictures were allowed but I got the building they were housed in - the architecture is incredible..

When we were visiting the Dalai Lama was in town and there were a few protests - it did tie up the streets for a while...


Went to the Ford Theatre where President Lincoln was assassinated - There is a museum below and the theater is still an active operating theatre... A docent told us the story of that fateful night... The booth where Lincoln was shot is exactly as it was that night in respect for this incredible president.


We visited the Smithsonian - so much to see - by the end of our days - our feet were barking..

Eisenhower's golf clubs
On February 1, 1960, Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond, and Ezell Blair, Jr., walked into an F.W. Woolworth Company store in Greensboro, North Carolina, purchased some school supplies, then went to the lunch counter and asked to be served. They knew they probably would not be. The four freshmen at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College were black, and this lunch counter was segregated. Still, as one of the students told UPI, "We believe, since we buy books and papers in the other part of the store, we should get served in this part." This is the counter they sat at and started one of the biggest sit ins in the civil rights movement.
Old Dinosaur
Evolution of apes... or man - depends on what side of Darwin you are on...
The Wizard of Oz - Ruby shoes
First Lady Michelle Obama's ball gown
Michael Jackson's hat
and my favorite - Julia Child's kitchen - her real live actual kitchen!

There is so much more to share - next I will tell you about our Arlington Cemetery and Mount Vernon visits.... This was definitely a trip of a lifetime!!!

If You're A Mom To A Teen - You May Want To Read This

When I was in the 9th grade - I got my first kiss.. Now this kiss was anything but romantic - he was a very cute boy that I had been stalking and he was much more experienced than I.. After that first kiss - he asked me if I liked sex.... I told him I did not know - I avoided him after that... he scared me.... Now after getting that first kiss - I was on the prowl for my 2nd kiss.... In those days - 1980 - to be exact - we did not have cellphones... facebook... IPod with skype - heck, no one owned a computer. But we did have party-lines and once I discovered them - I became addicted.... I soon met high school boys that were just as immature as I was.... I soon had my 2nd kiss... at the park... I told my mom I was going to the library - I forgot my bike lock - she went to the library to give it to me but instead found me sitting on a park bench making out with a boy she had never met... I was SOO Busted... But - I continued to sneak behind my parents back - sneaking out the bedroom window to meet boys... I have to say that I am lucky... I was never attacked... hurt... molested and I did not have sex - I just kissed.. I kissed a lot... and looking back on my dangerous activities - I was very lucky.....

Today - I have a daughter that just completed her 9th grade year... She has her own cellphone - Facebook - and IPod..... She is going through the same hormones as I was and is making bad choices similar to the ones I did - the difference is she does not need to sneak out of the house - she has a cellphone and an IPod with a camera.... She is doing things right in her own bedroom! Yesterday - she got in trouble and had her phone taken away... While I had her phone - I was going to block a number of a kid that kept calling her and she was getting annoyed.. While I was looking up the number (she has a touch screen and I had no idea what I was doing) I hit a message that she sent to a boy... I could not miss the message due to it being a picture of her without her top on!!! I could instantly feel the nausea come up to my throat.... I (in front of her) started reading the several texts she was sending to not one boy but a few boys... I could bypass the bad words somewhat - she is a teen and I'm not stupid.. I wish she did not use the F word and other choice words while talking to her friends but unfortunately she and her friends think it's okay.. What I could not over-look was the extreme and graphic sex talk that she was initiating - not the boys - but HER....

I know she still has not had her first kiss and I also know that she is desperate to get it... When talking with her last night about her texting and also the inappropriate friends (that she has never met) on Facebook..... She told me that every guy she talks to wants pictures and that she likes that they think she is "hot". Needless to say the conversation was awful... There is so much that was said but the end result is - I told her I was not going to give up on her... She can hate me now - that's okay.... But if I did not do something now to protect her - she would hate me later and more likely hate herself too... As of last night - she will no longer have a cellphone that she can call her friends on - she will use it for emergencies and the only calls she can make are to family members.... everything else has been blocked

Regarding Facebook - this is something that she and I have been going back and forth on basically since she started it almost 2 years ago.... I have to say a majority of the "friends" on her Facebook are kids that are friends of friends or friends of friends of friends... She will also meet "friends" on You Tube.... Most of the "friends" are boys.... no brainer there...... and Most of those boys are graphic... nasty... vulgar.... and people she would not associate with in person.... That is one of the things that is so flipping dangerous about Facebook - Facebook opens the door for so many low-lifes to invade your daughter's bedroom.. I thought I was so smart - I had her Facebook password etc and I would check it on occasion - but I wasn't monitoring it close enough - obviously.... She was making friends and "chatting" with people that would scare her if she ever saw them face to face...

Computers, cellphones, and IPods with texting etc - are easy to hide behind and allow a teen to say and do practically anything they want - things that they most likely would not do in person.. For example - last Friday - my daughter had a small pool party with friends - a boy that she has known for a while that she flirts with on FB came - and when he walked in the door - she walked by him and barely said "hi" - she did not know what to say or how to act... She is brave behind her cell but face to face she is tongue tied and shy.... Computers etc have stunted my kid's communication skills and I have a strong suspicion that my kid is not the only that is having this problem...

So what have I done??? I have learned (the hard way) that she is not mature enough to handle a cellphone... She has many numbers of kids she does not know face to face.. The sex-texting and pictures have to stop... and did I mention that she was trying to get her first kiss last night at our neighbor's son's birthday party? Yep - he's 18.... Another thing I did - I called the boy that she sent the "sexy" picture to and left him a message that I was her mom and would like to speak to his mom... Haven't heard back yet... This is one kid that she did know and I know his family to be a very devout Mormon family.... So NO Cellphone. Next - Facebook - after really looking at her activity on Facebook - She wasn't talking to her friends here at home... She was talking - flirting - befriending boys she has NEVER met... Facebook is for actual friends - Not for stalking boys who are strangers! So last night I deleted every one on her Facebook, changed the password, and then deactivated it.... IPod - took it away - because this gives her access to all that her cellphone and Facebook/computer do.... She can use her old IPod for music...

New rules have got to be made... Stronger and more effective monitoring will have to be done.
I know that I cannot do this alone - there are so many issues that need to be addressed and healing has to start... I have a message into my therapist for a referral for my kid... I will not give up on her!!!!

Has any of you gone through this - If so - HELP