Aquarium and Cyclone

On Memorial Day weekend, we paid a visit to the NYC Aquarium at Coney Island. We'd never been and thought we'd cross it off our "Things to do before we move" list. All in all, we were disappointed with the aquarium - I expected more from New York City. The exhibits are in need of a major update and many of the tanks are too small. But hopefully they will get the funding they need from the city and make some changes. There were a few cool things though - Osborn, the sea lion and the jellyfish exhibit.
Osborn put on a show in the aquatheater. He was a well trained, break-dancing sea lion.

Jellyfish - kinda creepy.

Also, I saw my first horseshoe crab ever - these aren't W Coast crabs. I didn't take a picture, but I felt like I was in Jurassic Park. Talk about prehistoric looking- I would be scared if I saw one on the beach. Yikes.

Another item on our "To Do" list - ride the famous Cyclone rollercoaster. It's wooden, fast, and scary. The seats are so padded that I had trouble squeezing into the car. It was a rickety and rough two minute ride and on the tight turns, I felt the car lift off the tracks. But with that said - we had fun and are glad we were brave enough to ride it.

Hanging on for dear life.

DC, Here We Come!

It is official ~ Ethan was offered a position in the Washington, DC office.  This is great news, as we were getting antsy to leave NY.  We hope to look for a place to live in July and move down in August.  I can't wait to see the cherry blossoms, visit the Smithsonian, see all the monuments....and drive again.  Not sure about that last one, I'm going to have to practice a bit before I head out on the Beltway. :)

Ooh-Rah! Marine Corps Half Marathon

Road trip! We rented a car and drove down to Fredericksburg, VA for the Marine Corps Half Marathon last weekend. Ethan and his brother, Matt, ran the 13.1 mile race on a cold, wet Sunday. It was also the First Annual Via Family "Run Against Diabetes". We had T-shirts made for the occasion and donated money to diabetes research. (Diabetes runs in the family). Ethan and Matt wore shirts with the Via patriarch's names on the back.

Pre-race at dawn
I met up with Courtney and the kids to watch the race. Here they are waiting for Daddy and Uncle Ethan to run by us.
Here they come!

Racing to the finish line! Official finish time: 1hr41min!

T-shirt shots

Uncle Ethan and Cutie Pie

Family in NYC

My sister and cousin flew out to visit NYC last week. It had been a while since we had any visitors, so it was nice to see some familiar faces and have family close by. I took some days off work so we could have some NYC adventures together. The weather was rainy for about 4 of the 6 days- which never happens here! But weather aside, we had a great time and had some fun NY experiences. Below is a collection of photos from each of our cameras.

A trip to Brooklyn always includes a ride on the F train.

The Chrysler Building - the prettiest little skyscraper in the city

Main entrance of Grand Central Station - we came here to catch the Metro-North train to Cold Spring.


Located on the Hudson River, Cold Spring is about an hour from the city. It was the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle.

Chapel near the train station - it faces the river and is a popular wedding spot.

Hiking to the West Point Foundry Ruins

This foundry made cannons and shells for the Civil War! Abraham Lincoln visited and inspected the foundry in 1862.

The office building is the only structure still standing - it is being refurbished and will be used as an events venue for Cold Spring.



There really is a cold spring in Cold Spring!

Riverboat on the Hudson

Ice cream break


The cannon that supposedly won the Civil War (a replica I think).

Sisters and blooms

West Point from the train - we saw parachuters in the sky, trying to land on campus!

Rainy day + no umbrella = $0.99 store poncho for Ethan

This was the rainiest day of the visit. We started the day with a trip to the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market (which is supposed to be the biggest in the city). It was almost empty and the vendors that did show up had a bunch of overpriced stuff. Next it was off to the East Village and Lower East Side for lunch and a tour at the Tenement Museum. No cameras allowed in the museum, so you'll have to check out the website for photos. I love this museum, so much history and so many stories to hear. We learned about the garment workers and factories and walked through a tiny 3 room apartment where a family with 12 kids lived during the early 1900s. After the museum, we headed to the candy store.

Economy Candy - Tootsies for Kathleen

Have you ever seen so much candy?! This is trouble.


Club next to the candy store - couldn't resist this photo.

Empire State from Bryant Park

Lunch at Yaffa Cafe, yum. Funky decor and good food.

Kathleen is "livin' it uptown". These subway ads were everywhere. A Real World-esque reality show in Harlem.

A visit with Kathleen is not complete without a new hairdo. So happy to get cleaned up every now and then.

Boathouse in Prospect Park