WINTER IN McKINLEY PARK

Halfway through the Winter Olympics, this past Sunday was a beautiful sunny morning so we decided to take a walk around McKinley Park in downtown Sacramento before the serious couch potato time started.

Not too much was blooming yet but what we did see was gorgeous! It should be amazing in another month or two.

This is the entrance to the Rose Garden. Of course, nothing was in bloom in February but it should be spectacular once they all begin to blossom.

From what we were able to determine this is a Saucer Magnolia tree that blooms in February.

A close up of the Saucer Magnolia blossoms. Each flower is 3 - 5 inches across & were really gorgeous.

Camelias are popular in Sacramento. The trees & bushes were in full bloom.

The foliage around the lake is probably a month or two away from filling in but it was still a lovely site. The ducks, geese & turtles certainly enjoyed it!

This tree actually had a lot of white blossoms on it but they are hard to see in the shade.

The turtles were certainly enjoying sunning themselves on the rock wall along the island.

A couple of Canadian Geese made for a serene scene with their reflections.

These two little creatures didn't seem to mind posing for us to grab a couple of close up shots while they enjoyed the warm winter morning just like we did.

This squirrel was content to hang on to the tree head down while we snapped his picture.

This colorful turtle was happy to soak up some rays, too.

Lots of little two legged "critters" were enjoying the colorful playground with their parents. The squeals of "Push me, push me!" were heard everywhere.

This playground was burned down a few years ago but the city & residents have restored it to a great place for kids.

SUPER BOWL XLVIII & LOTS MORE!

Lou has been trying to win the lottery for the right to purchase Super Bowl tickets for five years now. Only 500 pairs of tickets are reserved for the general public. This year he was finally chosen! So, I knew what my Christmas present was months ahead of time – an all expense paid trip to New York & New Jersey for Super Bowl XLVIII. Yay!!! For this sports fanatic woman who loves traveling there couldn’t be a better gift!

We flew into Philadelphia (way cheaper than any NY area airports) on the Tuesday prior to the game & planned a week long trip in the dead of winter on the East Coast. We were checking the weather & crossing our fingers for weeks ahead of time. We lucked out big time as far as the Weather Gods were concerned – they smiled down on us almost the entire trip.

After driving 66 miles to Atlantic City in the dark & eating dinner at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in our hotel, we awoke the next morning to a few inches of snow on the Boardwalk & temperatures in the single digits.

The Atlantic City Boardwalk. The white building on the left is our hotel, Resorts International.

Margaritaville was the only restaurant open in our hotel for breakfast & dinner. At least it had good food & fun decorations.

Snow covered chairs along the Boardwalk with Steel Pier in the background.

Absecom Lighthouse in the middle of Atlantic City.

Lou’s friend, Kevin, & his partner, Pete, welcomed us with open arms into their beautiful home in Howell, New Jersey, not too far from New York City. Kevin played tour guide for our drive through Asbury Park (of Bruce Springsteen fame) & other gorgeous little beach towns. We would love to come back & spend a few more days in the spring or fall sometime. They run a fantastic bed & breakfast!

We are huge lighthouse fans & take every opportunity to check them out. This is a re-creation of Tuckers Island Lighthouse, one of four we visited on the Jersey Shore.

Sea Girt Lighthouse turned out to be a great photo op.

A scenic row of Victorian homes in Sea Girt, New Jersey.

We were able to climb Sandy Hook Lighthouse for a view of New York City & the Gateway National Recreation Area on the far northern tip of New Jersey.

We had requested tickets to a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman before leaving home but didn’t receive a response. Sitting in the Denver airport between flights on Tuesday, we received a call that we had tickets waiting for us on Thursday afternoon if we wanted them. We did! We left Kevin & Pete’s early that morning & headed to our hotel in Brooklyn (again, way cheaper than hotels closer to the Super Bowl).

Our Comfort Inn for the next 4 nights was more than adequate, had free parking, a free hot breakfast & a free shuttle to the nearest subway station. We checked in, hopped on the subway & made it to midtown Manhattan with enough time to grab lunch before the taping.

The Ed Sullivan Theater where The Late Show is taped. Letterman's guests were Dr. Phil & Danny, the car guy from Pawn Stars. I wasn't impressed with the musical guests, the Dum Dum Girls.

The Times Square area was transformed into Super Bowl Boulevard with lots of displays & activities. We walked many, many blocks down Broadway until we saw the Empire State Building a few blocks over. On a whim, we decided to see how crowded it might be – to our surprise it was almost deserted! We headed to the top & had the whole place pretty much to ourselves. The views were amazing & it wasn’t windy or any colder than down below.

One of the gigantic billboards along Super Bowl Boulevard showing the countdown to the Big Game.

The Empire State Building looming behind Super Bowl Boulevard.

After getting in late the previous night, we headed out early the next morning for another full day in Manhattan. We experienced the solemn 911 Memorial which was only a hole in the ground when we were there about 7-8 years ago. The new Freedom Tower is almost completed but isn’t yet open. We walked ourselves ragged once again visiting Theodore Roosevelt’s Birthplace, Castle Clinton, Battery Park & the National Tenement Museum among lots of other downtown sights.

The names of the victims of 911 are inscribed around the edges of the waterfalls where the Twin Towers once stood.

The new Freedom Tower looms high over Lower Manhattan & Wall Street.

After two days of running all over Manhattan, we took the car to New Jersey where we toured Thomas Edison’s Laboratory & Home in West Orange along with the nearby Morristown National Historic Park. 

Apparently Thomas Edison was a workaholic. He had this bed in a corner of his research library at his laboratory in West Orange.

One of the 1093 devices patented by Edison on display at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

Thomas & Mina Edison's home was just stunning with the white snow & blue sky background.

The home George Washington used as his headquarters one horrible winter in Morristown, NJ.

A photogenic cabin in a snow-covered meadow in Morristown National Historic Park.

On the way back to Brooklyn, we detoured to Coney Island where Lou’s dad grew up. Unfortunately, he lived in a gated community that wouldn’t allow us in to find his house. The guard was having none of Lou’s reasoning & pleading.

As we crossed the Verrazano Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn, I looked back to see this gorgeous sunset. Scrambling to grab the camera & snapping a shot as quickly as I could out the car window, I got lucky!

This is the original Nathan's of the famous Coney Island hot dog eating contest held every year. Of course, we had to stop for dinner. The hot dogs that Lou's dad said were 10 cents when he was a kid are now $3.95.

The parachute ride on Coney Island is no longer operating but they continue to light it at night as a tourist attraction.

We finally arrived at Super Bowl Sunday – the whole reason for this trip. That morning we ventured out in the car once again to explore Prospect Park & other areas of Brooklyn where Lou’s grandparents lived. Brooklyn is not an easy place to drive around – lots of dead ends or one way streets &, God forbid, you should slow down or hesitate. Five people will be honking at you within seconds!

We drove around to find this view of the Brooklyn Bridge across the East River with the Manhattan skyline in the background. Where was that bright blue sky when we needed it?

The archway at the entrance to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. 

Lou’s research paid off since he decided we would take the Fan Bus from Manhattan to Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford. There were several choices so we took the direct subway line to one of the bus locations. The security allowed only a couple of options for getting to the game & this one turned out to be great. We drove right to the stadium, parked close & were through the lines in no time.

Those of you who are football fans know that our Forty-Niners were beaten in the NFC Championship game by the Seattle Seahawks. It was so, so close to seeing our team play in the Super Bowl. But, even though we were rooting for the Denver Broncos, the Seahawks took the lead 11 seconds into the game & never looked back winning 43 – 8. The event was well organized & well run, but the game itself sucked big time.  Of course, there were a few glitches & the food prices were totally ridiculous – two Coors Light beers, two foot long hot dogs with a bag of chips cost $46. WTF??  But overall, we thought New Jersey did a great job & put on a terrific event.

Metlife Stadium from our bus parking space. We entered through the Verizon Pavilion on the right.

The view from our seats in the corner of the end zone. We were about 2/3 of the way up in the third deck but the sight lines were good & with four large screens in each corner, we didn't miss anything.

A couple of die-hard Forty Niner fans ready to cheer on the Denver Broncos, but it was not to be. Congratulations to the Seahawks & their fans. We'll get 'em next year!

The awarding of the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks.

The weather had held all week long & the Super Bowl kick off was a balmy 49 degrees. We avoided the snow most of the week & until our last day the driving was pretty easy. The forecast for our day in Trenton was 2 – 4 inches of snow. By that morning it was increased to 8 – 10 inches so we packed up fast & hit the road immediately. It was a little harrowing since they had the freeway on ramp closed by our hotel & we had to drive all over snow covered city streets in Brooklyn.

That's our dashboard & windshield as we drove along the New Jersey Turnpike between Brooklyn & Trenton.

We made it to our motel in Trenton around noon, parked the car, ate "lunch" at the Dunkin’ Donuts next door then hunkered down in the room while it snowed all day. The snow let up that evening allowing us to drive to the Cracker Barrel for dinner. We knew the next day should be fine for our flights home & it was, we arrived 10 minutes early in Sacramento. Thank goodness they were right because the following day airports were closed & they’ve had horrible weather for the past two weeks. Thank you, Weather Gods!