Bon Voyage

June 7,2010. The Big Day is here! Grandpa and Grandma are going on a European Tour on Queen Mary 2 and we are going to NYC ( Brooklyn) to see them off. Verna planned the farewell trip and invited my kids and I to ride along. It was too good to pass up. The girls were ecstatic about going to the City again and Josiah was excited to go for the first time.

As we were driving to Brooklyn we made one last effort to contact our childhood 'Fresh Air Girl' Luci. We haven't been to her house or seen her since '97. The only recent contact has been Christmas cards. We called to ask if we could drop by her house or could we meet her somewhere. She spontaneously, along with her mom, decided to meet us at the ship so they could also say good-bye ( and hello) to mom and dad.

Verna and i had no idea what to expect in this great city with this great ship. We didn't know how close we could get to see someone off. But as we got closer and closer, we got more and more confident, so we kept right on with the flow of traffic heading for the gigantic ship up ahead! The parking lot was right next to the water and Luci arrived with-in minutes of us. Now where are the sailors? Mom, Dad, and the rest of their group came soon and we were able to spend about an hour together. Of course they were surprised to see Luci and Margie. So much excitement was in the air. These folks were going across the ocean in 6 days to spend 4 weeks touring Europe. And on the largest ocean liner on the water!
We had a grand time chatting, looking out over the water, craning to see the top of the ship from such a close view, and meeting others going on the trip as well.
Verna, 4 of her kids; me and my 4; Luci and her mom; and Mom and Dad.
Ready to say our final good-byes. Gramps and Grand were ready to go explore the ship. The world for that matter.
Emily and Hans. Everything in Hans' life is measured against the Titanic. Is Queen Mary 2 bigger? We sure hope that she won't hit an iceberg!!
She's a beauty!
Lower Manhattan there. ( it still makes me sad that the Trade Towers are gone from this picture.They were incredible to see!) After saying farewell to Grandpa's and bye to our city friends, We 10 went to visit Liberty Island and Ellis Island. It was a gorgeous day! We would not have made it any better ourselves, had we been able.
Here's a view of the ship from our ferry ride over to Miss Liberty.
Me, Meg, Josiah, Brit, And Brooke ( Lyn :)
Follow the leader, she's a good one! Verna did a fantastic job driving thru the city ( i sat shotgun as Navigator) and taking us from one place to the next. We learned and saw about as much as one could in one day in one city. We covered alot of ground!
While we were on Ellis Island and touring the museum we kept peering out the windows to keep a sharp eye on QM 2. We wanted to watch her sail and sure enough....a picture to prove it. Dad didn't answer his phone, but we were so excited to watch her go and wave, of course.
8 happy cousins. Troopers everyone!
After seeing countless ice-cream trucks, we finally settled for one and enjoyed a cone.

We also walked to ground zero, drove by Central Park and thru Times Square. What a place that is! The teenagers were leaning out the window with my camera ( around your neck, thank-you!) and here are a few shots.What a great day! We got home after midnight and were so thankful for the successful day we had together. The kids were very patient, just along for the ride! They all loved the city and now my girls can't wait to come back to shop on Times Square. I said MAYBE when Dave's elk hunting. ( and Josiah is at a friend's house) We girls have just have a knack for shopping that my 'boys' do not. We'll see....................anyone wanna join us?!