Quick...

Name one supreme court case other than Roe vs. Wade...

Ok?

Good...you're doing better than Sarah Palin!

Also, enjoy this link

More of NYC

So Tuesday we headed back into NYC. Fortunately the weather had cooled off considerably! After the train/subway ride we arrived at Battery park and got in line for the ride to Ellis Island...

Ellis Island itself is an amazing experience! To think of all the people that passed through, and the roughly two percent who got put back on boats and sent home...And apparently if you were in first or second class on a boat, they dropped you off on Manhattan and you got to bypass Ellis Island altogether! After splurging for the self guided audio tour, grabbing some lunch, and wandering around until 3:30 or so, we headed back to Manhattan and Grand Central Station. Be sure to check the full album for some great pictures of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and also one with Jaime in her headphones!

(Next, Please!)

The only other major event was that we had just left when our train stopped still in the station, and we ended up having to switch trains because of some door problem. The only problem was it was five o'clock and we had managed to find seats on the first train. Not so much for Jaime and I on the second train. Fortunately mom and dad did, and it was an express train back to Westport! Oh also Tuesday night Judy and Kathy did a shot of Sambuca - think licorice flavored liquor, lit on fire, with a coffee bean dropped in for good measure. Ask me to see the video!

Wednesday morning we woke up and took my parents out to the local state park to visit the September 11th memorial they have there. Apparently on that date, people traveled to the park because it looks out over Long Island sound, and you could see the smoke rising from lower Manhattan, and a lot of the people that live in Westport knew people that worked in the World Trade Center.

After a trouble free drive into Newark, we dropped mom and dad off at the airport and they were on their way back to Seattle. Jaime and I headed back to Westport and met Jim and Judy at the local Mexican joint, and some more punishment of livers!

Here's a link to the entire photo album, before I get to all the details...

NYC Trip Continued

(a coal fired power plant, unfamiliar to Seattleites!)

Monday morning we awoke to a beautiful (non muggy) day. We decided to take the 1.5 hour ferry ride out to Long Island for some wine tasting! We spent a wonderful day exploring, drinking wine, and had a nice lunch out on the very tip of Long Island. Really, we ran out of road! It was a nice one-eighty from the dirt and heat of Manhattan. If you're ever out, be sure to visit Bhorgese Vineyards - they're one of the oldest vineyards on Long Island, and they make some great wines, especially an East Coast Pinot Noir! We bought some bottles to leave with Jim and Judy for when we return.

(Mom and Dad at Bidell Vineyards)

We also discovered the one thing that I think the Washington State Ferry system needs to pick up on - there was a bar on the ferry, and it was open during our return trip. Who cares if they know you're going to be driving afterwards? The other great thing about the ferry was that in typical Graves men tradition - we were behind schedule and running out of gas getting back to the ferry! Finally with the computer indicating that we only had about 20 miles left on the tank, and with about 15 minutes till the scheduled departure of the boat, I stopped for a couple of gallons of fuel...would we still make it? As we left the gas station, we ran into a back up of cars waiting to turn left. This was a good excuse to cut across the parking lot of a local business as we needed to make a right turn. Was I worried we weren't going to make it? No, but I wanted to give hope to the ladies...

(Beer? On the ferry? Awesome!)

After a few more risky turns and some heavy right foot, we made it down to the dock. And they weren't even boarding yet! Oh well, you can only push your luck so far.


We finished the day with a wonderful sunset and a beach barbeque with Jim and Judy. It was a nice relaxing day!

Geoff and Jaime invade NYC!!!

So we had a blast visiting Connecticut and NYC with my parents last week...

Mom and Dad Graves and I flew into Newark Friday afternoon and were supposed to meet Jaime there, but her plane was late getting out of Florida due to the weather...it was POURING rain in NYC - as a result, we had a 2 1/2 hour car ride back to Jim and Judy's house.

Saturday we had a nice relaxing day (I even got to sleep in a bit). We took the parents up to the submarine base in Groton, CT, and also visited the town of Mystic, and had lunch at Mystic Pizza. Regardless of any Julia Roberts movie, that place has dang good pizzas and sandwiches! We also had a nice relaxing dinner with Jim and Judy.


Sunday we headed into NYC for our first tourist experiences. There was great concern, especially with my father, because as we were riding into the city, the local radio station kept mentioning that the temperature and humidity was going to be "oppressive" When the locals mention the word oppressive, this does not bode well for Seattleites! Regardless, Jim and Judy dropped us in midtown Manhattan, and we hopped onto a Grey Line tour bus for some sightseeing.

The weather lived up to the hype that day - 90 degrees with about 85% humidity. And people live here? That's messed up! The other unfortunate was that there was severe traffic, so our open air tour bus wasn't moving very quickly. We made it down to Ground Zero, where there is a very tastefully done new museum. I know it was a very somber experience for my mom, who had wanted to visit for a long time.


We payed our respects and headed uptown to visit the "Top of the Rock" - the GE Building. Let me tell you, this was a way better choice than waiting 4 hours in line for the Empire State building, because the view is just as spectacular, and we waited a max of about ten minutes! My parents also got their first experience with the (non airconditioned) NYC subway system!

After the lovely views of Manhattan, we headed off to dinner at Becco - a family style restaurant owned by Chef Lidia Matticchio Bastianich (she's got a show on PBS) Jim and Judy, Jaime's sister Jen and her fiance Phil, and our freinds Kevin and Param joined us for dinner! It was incredibly hot, but delicious!

All this on day two...more updates to come!

Home from NYC

We're home from NYC/Connecticut - we had an awesome time, and I'll post all the pictures shortly, I promise!

"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.