NYC!!

We had a very fun and "adventurous" (Grandpa's words) weekend. Gpa arrived at JFK airport at 6:30 PM on Friday, Emily picked him up and brought him to her apartment, then Brad and I took him later to a hotel where we stayed. Emily doesn't have enough room for all of us to sleep. Adam and Marie and family had their spare bedroom, and Katie and Laura had the living room. Saturday morning we got up early and headed out sight-seeing. I have to tell a little funny about Gpa. He was so tired on Friday night after a day of flying. I told him what everyone else was planning to do on Saturday morning, which was drive into Manhattan, see the temple and Central Park. We chatted about it and decided that the Yankee game on Saturday afternoon was probably going to be big enough. About five minutes later he came to me and said, "You know, I might never get another chance like this". So off we went early Saturday morning to see the sights of NYC. We were able to walk into the front entry of the temple. The brother at the recommend desk invited us to come in and look at the lobby area. Straight ahead you see a beautiful stained-glass picture of Christ and his apostles on the road to Emmaus. And of course, the entry and doors themselves are exquisite. I love it when the temple construction shows the most beautiful handwork that man can provide. It shows such reverence for the Lord. I'm so glad we were able to at least step inside and feel that we were already away from the world. Perhaps there are very few places on earth where the contrast is so great, because the temple sits right on the very busy NYC streets.
It is right across the street from the Lincoln Center, one of the most important performing arts centers in the country. Lincoln Center is also right next door to the Metropolitan Opera and Julliard School of Music. What an amazing location for a temple! If you are a passer-by, you might not even notice that it is a temple, because you have to crane your neck pretty hard to look up to see the Moroni Angel on top. Nevertheless, there it is and I would say that it is in the "heart" of NYC, meaning, it is right there across the street from where wonderful music is played and sung and studied. I wonder if the musicians recognize the power of the Spirit from across the street. :0)
After that we walked in Central Park for a while; met up with Jeff, Karen, Holly and Mike, AJ and Matt, who were there visiting. It was so fun to see them! Pretty soon the clouds came rolling in and we dashed for the cars. Gpa had asked me if it knows how to rain in NYC. I think he was impressed.
Saturday afternoon was the Yankee game against the Angels. The Yankees won so I guess we were good luck. It was fun to be there together; the weather was hot but not unbearably so; we sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch, and cheered for all the home runs. There were a bunch of them!
Sunday we had a Latino experience!!! We went to Emily and Jorge Luis's ward which is Spanish-speaking and it felt good to be back. We all thought about Elder Tyler and felt closer to him somehow, knowing that we were experiencing a similar church meeting to him. Gpa, of course, couldn't understand the words but felt the Spirit and the spirit of the people. Many, many people came up to him to say hello and welcome him and the rest of us.
Most of us came back home last night. Kate and Laura stayed in NYC to play for a couple of days. They are in Coney Island today and tomorrow night they go to the American Idol on Tour concert. Say hi to David Archuleta for me!!