Staten Island/Macy's

God knows what He is doing.

He had me marry someone who is more laid back.

Last time we were in New York, and nearly every time I travel, I try to pack in as much as possible. Rob is much more laid back - the majority of his vacations growing up were to Maui, so I think he adopted an island mentality early on. Having now experienced his Maui mindset, I have come around.

So, today, when we didn't leave the apartment until 12:30, I had to reconcile my Germanic tendencies with my love of a truly relaxing vacation.

I'm not sure that "truly relaxing" can quite describe New York, though.

My sister lives almost as far north as you can go in Manhattan. Our destination today was the very southern tip.

Our subway ride from here to there was about half an hour - much less than we had counted on.

Gina was very interested in watching our progress, so I pulled out my metro map and we followed our stops along the way.

We got off at South Ferry, and the Staten Island Ferry terminal was right there. Rob had been there last time, and said that it was totally renovated since then. The ferry terminal was very impressive. We only had to wait about ten minutes for the next ferry to come by.

The ferry was HUGE - so many people had been waiting for it, and yet when we were all in, there were vast, open spaces.

The biggest treat is that it took us right next to the Statue of Liberty, and I think that will be the extent of our visit there. We got a great view. I also loved looking back as we left Manhattan and seeing the skyline. It was so sad to look at the Financial District and not see the twin towers.

Our destination on Staten Island was St. Peter's Cemetary. This is where Fr. Vincent Capodanno is buried. You may remember him from our birth announcements - he is the one that we named our son for. (Vincent is two months old today, by the way.)

Fr. Vincent Capodanno was a navy chaplain that served and died with the Marines in Vietnam. He is not very well known, but the cause for his canonization has been taken up, and he already has at least one miracle attributed to him.

What was lovely is that where he was buried is a totally normal cemetary . There was nothing there to indicate that someone on the road to canonization was present. I'm sure that once he is canonized, they will remove his body, so it was special to be there at his family's plot.

Two men approached us as we arrived, also there to pay homage to Fr. Vincent. They were both Marines - one from Massachusetts, and one from Connecticut. We all sat down to pray the rosary. It brought a tear to my eye - Rob and these two other men, Marines, being drawn to the grave of this hero and saint. And, our son there. We prayed in our rosary for Vincent, and for courage and faith for our family.

We took the ferry back, and hopped back on to the subway.

This time, we were headed to Macy's. I had very foolishly asked Cathy where Macy's was. It was a "DUH" moment for me. HOW MANY TIMES have I seen "Miracle on 34th Street"? How many times have I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade? I definitely should have known where it was.

We got off of the subway on 33rd, and found Macy's a block away. It was pretty crowded at first. The girls loved the old fashioned (wooden!) escalators, and were amazed that Macy's was 11 levels! The one at home is 2 stories.

We headed straight downstairs, where Rob and I remembered that there was food. They had a great selection of pasta and pizza. All five of us ate for $20, including drinks! It was such a deal. We left Rob in the food section, and wandered a bit. Gina bought a purse that says "Macy's New York", and Mary Teresa bought a teddy bear dressed as the Statue of Liberty.

Cathy met us there after work. We stepped outside to walk back to the subway, and I suddenly saw the Empire State Building. Cathy laughed at me for not having spotted it on our way in - it was sooooo obvious. Also right next to us was Madison Square Garden.

Exhausted, we ordered more Indian take out (I'm REALLY getting spoiled with that), played Scrabble with Claire, and went to sleep.