New York - Day four and five

This first picture is our walk back after seeing the fireworks. You just can't get a grasp of the multitude of people.

This is a blog entry for the 4th of July and for today. Yesterday was quite busy, so didn't have time. We went on a 4 hour bus tour of Manhattan, learned some interesting facts, and saw some areas we hadn't been to before. Much of it we had already seen the last time we were here. We wanted to see the fireworks, and beat feet to the East River to try and catch them. But - we should have known. In typical New York fashion - the entire state also wanted to see them, so we ended up seeing most of them through heads of other people. It was a smash of humanity. After sweating, running, not seeing much - at least I had a laugh at the end. It almost seemed more appropriate given the circumstances, it was New York at its finest. It was celebrating our Independence in its own unique way, and I enjoyed it for that. We were with friends from our group, and we all enjoyed the experience. Madison was pretty bugged that it wasn't the spectacular event she was expecting, but in the end, she did see it for what it was - Independence Day in New York.

This picture is taken from the Manhattan bridge looking back at the Brooklyn bridge with New York in the background.

Today I really feel like we are getting into a routine of things. Showers for Madison in the evening - hair up in braids. Preparing lunch, Gatorade, and coffee the night before. Up around 6:30 - out the door by 7:30 - subway ride to our destination - ministry work - subway to our host church - class time and lecture (led worship again today) - hour subway ride home - stop by the local street side mini-mart - home for dinner - post on the blog - bed!! I'm exhausted just reading it. I have really wanted to write a blog about "living in New York". I think I'll do that tomorrow that will give you a really good picture of what its like living here - not just visiting on vacation. What does it take for the average New Yorker to live in this crazy/amazing city. I'll include lots of pics of our neighborhood, and routes - so be sure to check back tomorrow.