Preston (My Nephew) Takes on New York City and Washington DC

This past week Marc had a business trip that was taking him to the east coast and he decided to take my Nephew Preston along with him.  Preston is 18 years old and seriously considering joining the Marines in the next year and we thought it would be a great opportunity for him to see Washington DC and New York City (two of the greatest cities in the country).  The trip started when Marc and Preston took the "red-eye" flight from Salt Lake City to New York City.  After arriving at about 6:00 AM they spent the rest of that day taking in as many NYC sights as possible.  They started by checking out the Brooklyn Bridge and then made their way to Brooklyn Heights (which ended up being Preston's favorite NYC neighborhood...just like me).  The rest of the day consisted of exploring lower Manhattan (Wall Street, etc), Midtown (Rockefeller Center, Union Square, etc) and ended the day with dinner in little Italy and hitting up Times Square.  After one day in New York City Marc asked Preston what "blew his mind" the most and he said Chinatown. :)  The next morning was spent checking out the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  Then the rest of the afternoon they explored "The Village" and SoHo.  Marc said that Preston had his mind blown by everything in New York City but overall he loved the Statue of Liberty, The Village, the street performers, September 11th Memorial and Chinatown.  After hitting as much of NYC as possible (thanks to the incredible subway system) they took an evening train to Washington DC.  They arrived early enough in the evening to take a stroll past the White House and Lincoln Memorial.  Over the next day they literally hit almost every major site in Washington DC...here is the list: Capitol Building, White House, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Roosevelt Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Iwo Jima Memorial (Marines), American History Museum, Holocaust Museum and National Air & Space Museum.  By the end of the weekend they had exhausted their feet and metro passes. :)  Preston is generally really quite and reserved (so it is hard to get too many answers from him) but Marc believes he was most impressed with Arlington Cemetery (especially the Tomb of the Unknowns), Iwo Jima Memorial, Star Spangled Banner flag and the Vietnam Memorial.  Everybody experiences some "culture shock" when they first visit places like NYC and Washington DC and Preston was no exception.  Overall he had a great time and Marc said he could not have been a better "travel buddy."  We love you Preston!

Here are the Pics...

Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn Bridge

View of Manhattan from the top of Rockefeller Center "Top of the Rock"

Chinatown

"The Village"

September 11th Memorial

Times Square

Rockefeller Center

Manhattan from Liberty Island

Statue of Liberty

Soho

                                     

Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument

Chillin at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Checking out the monuments

Martin Luther King Jr Memorial

WWII Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

View over Washington DC

Arlington National Cemetery

Tomb of the Uknowns

Iwo Jima (Marine) Memorial

National Air & Space Museum