Trip back East

I was sent on a business trip back to Patuxent River Maryland to the Naval base there. My assignment was to operate the Mini C-200 units for the JITC testing and make sure that they pass. There have been a few bumps along the road and a surprise visit from Major Quigley as well as a surprise test/demo with our comoetitors Mini! So far it has been a success. I travel back from NYC tomorrow to finish the testing.

In the mean time I have spent the weekend up in the "Big Apple" with my Daughter, Jamie and her husband and my newest little grandDaughter: Morgan. It has been a very special treat for me!

We got to see some interesting sites around NYC. Jamie, Derek, Morgan and I traveled the famous New York subways to downtown Manhattan. We first visited the site of the twin Towers. Morgan was hungry so we stopped at the Hilton across the street and took care of that. I looked at post cards and souvenirs while Morgan ate at the Hilton. Derek and ci checked out the elevators and found that the Hilton had 105 floors. On the wall was a flag that hung outside the Hilton at the time of the twin towers collapse. The flag was recovered and hung there when the Hilton reopened two years later. The picture to the right shows what they are building in place of the twin towae
There is a small memorial there near the site that shows the time line of the attack and sells little memorabilia. They also collect donations for the memorial that is being built and track the progress of the memorial and the new high rise. Check out this web site: http://registry.national911memorial.org/

After the Twin Towers site we walked up to Wall street and saw the famous buildings there. We then visited China town and had dinner at Dereks favorite Vietnamese Restaurant. It was a real treat. Derek spoke Vietnamese to them and made sure we ordered good food. I enjoyed the BBQ pork on vermicelli. Jamie had BBQ pork on rice but she did not eat the tripe... Derek had the Vietnamese traditional dish that is a soup that they drop meat into. The meat cooks in the hot soup as they serve it to you. Morgan had to be satisfied with gumming on a cucumber slice!

We then hurried over to see Times square. Yes the 2010 ball has dropped and was still there!!! It was fantastic to see all of the Electronic Advertisements; Wrap-around video and enourmous displays!! On the trip back we got to look at all the vendors and even bought a dragonfruit. Check it out:

Today we were all able to attend church. The ward is a small ward that is very divers. The sacrament prayers were bilingual; one in Spanish and one in English.
Afterchurch we ate our Dragonfruit "yum!" and sandwiches and then had a nap. We walked around the neighborhood that consists of million dollar homes and enjoyed the cool spring air. We took pictures and shared fun times. Morgan and I played on the floor while Derek and Jamie cooked up some delicious Enchiladas.. Mmmmm I will have to get thier recipe..