Alright well we spent 4 days here in NYC.  It was a lot of fun, but we are ready to move on.  It is a fast paced city and there is always something going on, and I think Ryan and I both appreciate a little more laid back place.

Since I last posted we have done quite a bit.

I went to the restaurant seen in almost every episode of Seinfeld.

Ryan went to the Natural History Museum

We both went to the Rockefeller Center, you may recongnize this statue from the beginning of 30 Rock.

Then today we had our interview with Drew Hyun form New Life Fellowship.  They are a cool church with lots of really cool things going on in downtown Queens.  Be on the lookout for the post of that church soon, it was definitely one of the most unique places we went to.

Then later we went down to the 24 hour Apple store which is very cool by the way, and then to Lombardi’s Pizzeria for dinner.  On the way I started talking to this really pretty girl on the train, but I had to get off before I got a chance to ask her name.  So pretty girl if you are reading this, please say hi.

Tomorrow we head up to Connecitcut, and then Boston.  We are excited to spend the 4th of July in Boston, it should be a lot of fun.

We got a hold of Ryan Baitzel from Jacksonville Chapel in Lincoln Park NJ just a few days before we got there.  He was really nice to meet up with us on a Saturday, and said his schedule has actually been pretty hectic lately cause he is getting his house remodeled by a TV show on TLC.  Pretty cool right?

We met up and Ryan had a lot of great things to say, especially when it comes to young adult ministry.

After the meeting he took us out to Burger Deluxe which is absolutely delicious.  Apparently they raise and kill their own cows, so you know it is good.

 

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So we left the Sublettes yesterday morning around 10am.  My GPS was acting funny cause it led us on a bunch of dirt roads that went through what felt like the middle of a forrest.

We eventually made it Lincoln Park NJ were we were interviewed Ryan Baitzel from Jacksonville Chapel.

Then we headed to New York City, and of course hit some traffic, but the amazing thing was that people actually let me split lanes.  Most people would get out of the way for me, and let me go through.  It was like driving in California again.

We stopped by Noel’s place to drop off our stuff, then headed to Woodrow’s place to drop off the bikes.  Parking is crazy here, but Woodrow had enough space to park the bikes in his garage, so that helped us a bunch cause now we don’t have to worry about our bikes ending up in the back of some truck in the middle of the night.

Woodrow introduced us to his friend Dave who recorded his album with him entitled 48.  We hung out on their roof for a while and could see a pretty good view of NY.  They have a pretty awesome place.

After dropping the bikes off we took the metro over to Times Square, and met up with Noel Stringfellow, who we are staying with.

From there we walked up to Madison Square Gardens and then took the train home.

The next day Nicole Hubler had a lay over here in NYC on her way to Spain, so met up with her by the Brooklyn Bridge, and walked over it to Lower Manhattan.

This is some of the construction at Ground Zero.  There is not much to see there right now cause it is all being reconstructed.  The only problem is that they are running out of money to complete all the projects, so it might be a while before they finish everything.

That is the Statue of Liberty in the background on the left.

You can barely tell but Ryan is on Wall St. & Brodway.

Which you may remember from National Treasure is right outside of Trinity Church.

Then we got some NY pizza, and headed back on the Subway.  Nicole went to the airport to catch her plane, and we went to Central Park, and then back to Noel’s apartment.

I am sure there will be more updates from this amazing city, there is just so much to do here.

Miles Yesterday: 100

Total Miles: ~12,650

We met with Eugene Miller from Living Hope Community Church Friday morning.  He had some great stories about how that church has developed over the years, and how God has used people to help them grow.  He also had some good things to say about ministry to youth and young adults. Enjoy.

 

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We took the train down from Doylestown to Philly yesterday morning.

First we saw the Liberty Bell

Then Independence Hall

Benjamin Franklin’s grave

Christ Church of Philly were George Washington, Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross, and other historical figures attended church.  This is Ryan standing over George Washington’s pew.  Apparently in Washington’s time families would rent a pew as their tithes to the church, and the kids actually sat sitting away from the preacher, facing their parents in the opposite side of the pew.

I also went in the Philadelphia Mint, but was not allowed to bring in a camera, so I don’t have any cool pictures from there.  Don’t worry though your not missing much, just a bunch of fake coins, and you get to see where they make money, but they werent even making any that day.

We also of course enjoyed some local favorites such as Philly Cheese Steaks, WaterIce, and Soft Pretzels.

Then today we met with Eugene Miller from Living Hope Community Church, then headed out with Kevin Sublette to the nearby lake.  We have been staying with Keving and Marissa since Tuesday, and it has been great to see old friends, especially ones as fun as these two.  They both went to church with us at Parkcrest when they lived in Long Beach.

Ryan and I both realized today that we are pretty white. Our arms and faces get a lot of sun, but nothing else.  It was good to just relax in the Lake for a little while.

After the lake we headed to see the new Transformers, I have to say it was a fun movie, but the story was a bit over the top.  Also it was a lot goofier than the previous one, and I can’t tell if I liked that more or not.

Total Miles: 12,540

Yesterday we left Odenton MD where we stayed with Dan & Sylvia Richetts.  They live right next to a Marc station, and so that is how we got to and from DC.  They were a lot of fun, and we had a blast with them.

I Rode to Bear DE to interview Stephen Harvell at Love of Christ Church, but Ryan wasnt able to meet up with us for the interview because he had to replace the chain on his bike.  We met up afterwards for some late lunch, and the headed to Doylestown to stay at the Sublette’s house.

Today we did a whole lot of nothing, which was really nice.  Caught up on some work, and went and saw Hangover.  It was pretty funny, but definitely pretty crude.  When we got back Marissa took us on a ride around Bucks County in her convertible, and it was a really nice drive.  I managed to get a couple of cool shots.

An old Covered Bridge

Rainbow over Delaware River, and thats New Jersey on the other side.  Which by the way we went over to for just a short while so thats 32 states now.

And then this is my attempt to paste together two shots to show you the full rainbow, even the iphone camera did not have a wide angle enough lens to capture the whole rainbow.

I got to meet with Pastor Stephen Harvell from Love of Christ Church yesterday, and it was really cool.  We had talked several months back about getting together, but I forgot to follow up, so when I got a hold of him just a few days earlier, I was fortunate for him to have the time to meet with me still.

They are doing some great things especially when it comes to working together with other churches in the area, It is good to hear about pastors being this bold with how they do church.  Check it out.

 

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