continuing with 9.11

sorry i didn't update soon enough, but i wanted to share the rest of my 9.11 anniversary weekend.  on monday, i headed down to battery park to see the memorial flags--each with names from 9.11 written on them.  it was a nice, silent walk around battery park and i took in all the memories of that day, as well as the proud feeling of being an American on such a memorable weekend. the rest i'll let you experience through pictures.

experiencing 9.11 as a new yorker.

when i moved to nyc, i realized quickly i'd be living in the city for the 10th anniversary of 9.11.  i felt a bit lucky to experience that when it finally came around this past sunday. i had told myself i would just lay low, and not ride the subways or anything in order to play it safe, but i had to work! i work in rockefeller plaza so i figured it would be different on 9.11.  usually filled with tourists on the weekends, sunday morning at rockefeller plaza was empty aside from a few tourists and a lot of NYPD officers.  

a few days before, i was offered tickets to the Mets vs. Chicago Cubs game on 9.11--SO excited.  we got to Citi Field in plenty of time to eat and get seated for the special 9.11 ceremony.  back in 2001, the NY Mets were the first NY sports team to play a game in NY after the attacks so, this was a special night for them.  i can't put into words how special it was to be there for the game and ceremony.  they had the children of 9.11 bring out a flag the size of the entire outfield (seriously) and then had all of the "first responders" outline the field.  tears? YES. goosebumps? ABSOLUTELY. boy did it feel great to be not only an American, but a New Yorker.  Marc Anthony sang the national anthem (!) just like he did 10 years ago at the Mets game.

unfortunately, they lost.  but it's a memory i won't soon forget!

we will never forget. 9.11.01.

great seats.

beach day!

as a native to the North Carolina coast, living in a true "concrete jungle" has proved difficult this summer.  i grew up going to wrightsville beach each summer since i was 3; spending all day on the beach, and all night relaxing on the porch listening to the waves.  i was fortunate enough to continue going to wrightsville beach when i moved there to go to UNCW, allowing not just summers at the beach, but spring, fall & winter, too! so, when i moved up to NYC in february, i knew it would be difficult during the summer. i made it to nc twice this summer--a record LOW for beach days. i knew i needed to see the beach one last time this summer, so i got a group together, and we headed to long beach this past weekend!

what a great day.  we boarded LIRR around 11 and it only took about an hour to get to Long Beach.  fortunately, we got there in time to see the end of the quiksilver pro surf contest and got to see kelly slater competing with the NYPD & FDNY.  i decided to be a paparazzi/tourist and ran to get a glimpse of kelly slater--and i did! 

i was like a little kid --so freaking excited getting to see him!!

this was the first time they've had a major contest on the east coast--so cool we got to be there for it! after my star-sighting i posted up with some friends to soak up the end of summer.  unfortunately, i soaked up a little too much sun, but boy did it feel good to have a sunburn in september in nyc!  

my favorite part of the day, you ask? walking barefoot all day in the sand and on the boardwalk.  you forget how much you miss the relaxed atmosphere of the beach.  this just confirms i am, and always will be, a beach girl.

this doesn't look like fall is coming to me!

it must be love.

when i moved to new york, i didn't really come with a bucket list.  so, after being here for about 7 months, i guess i'm making a list up as i go along.  so far, i've added/checked off a yankee game, attempting a met game (i'll get there!), seeing the alexander mcqueen exhibit at the met, and a bunch more i'm sure i've overlooked.  the us open was added to the bucket list just by chance and i'm SO glad i went! my friend lauren and i decided to get ground admission tickets which let us see any match except those in Arthur Ashe Stadium.  we weren't sure we would get to see anyone "big" but we knew that just being there with all the greats would be an experience in itself.  well, we were SO surprised at how lucky we got with our tickets! 

we set up camp in Louis Armstrong Stadium around 10:30am and didn't end up leaving the stadium until 6pm! we got to see #20 Janko Tipsarevic from Serbia win a 3+ hour match.  it was long and we were tired for them!  then we won the jackpot--#1 seeded Novak Djokovic from Serbia played #22 Alexandr Dolgopolov from Ukraine.  we figured it would be a quick match but boy were we wrong! the first set was better than amazing--Dolgopolov proved to be quite the competitor, only to lose the first set in a tie break of over 30 points!  unfortunately, he didn't have the stamina and Djokovic won in 3 straight sets. 

if anyone lives in NY or the tri-state area, or if you're a tennis fan, i would seriously consider planning a trip to the US Open.  i would go back in a heartbeat!  take a look at our adventure :)

Arthur Ashe Stadium! 

Lauren & me at the 2011 U.S. Open!

Tipsarevic wins!

it was a full house--the line was so long to get
into Louis Armstrong stadium.

he had such a peculiar serve! 

so much action!

Djokovic wins!

we took some time to check out a little
mixed doubles.

andy roddick love!