Bennetts come to visit

We are so excited that some of our family came to Manhattan to visit us.  We had originally planned on 23 months in Manhattan but that was changed the second day of our mission when we were in Salt Lake City for training.  Since we are now in Manhattan for only 7 months, our family realized they had better get out here while they could!

The first night the Bennetts arrived, we went up on our apartment building and looked around the city.  We had no idea that on top of our building it was so beautiful!  We named it "Top of the Block"...our version of "Top of the Rock"!

And this is the view-

You can see the Angel Moroni from 17 stories above the temple.  Lincoln Center is across the street.  The Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic and American Ballet all perform here.  We live in the best location in New York City.  Our apartment door is 103 steps to the temple and across from all of the above and seconds from Central Park, subways and all of Manhattan.

Well rested and ready to go, we headed to a well-known New York City icon....the Empire State Building.

Built in 1931, it took 14 months and $25 million dollars to complete. It was the tallest building in the world for almost 40 years. Then the World Trade Center took it's place. In 2015, it is the 23rd tallest building on the planet.

Ready to go to the top!

View of Lower Manhattan from the 86th Floor of the Empire State Building.

It was a perfect day to be on top of the world!

You can get a breathtaking view and a sense for the layout of the city from this vantage point.

MY favorite building...the Flatiron building...considered by many as the first skyscraper in New York. It was the first to use a steel frame. the classic skyscraper structure. It's unusual shape was a solution to wanted to produce as much rentable space as possible. It is 6 feet across at it's narrowest point! Built in 1902, crowds would gather across the street to wait for it to fall down! It never did!

Another favorite building, the Chrysler Building...erected in 1929...at the time, the tallest building in the world. But not for long, the Empire State Building took that title 2 years later!

Grandpa and his buddy, Dax, were having a great time. They had moved up to the 102nd floor...the top of the Empire State Building.

The 102nd Floor offers a great view but it is enclosed....not a bad idea, the winds were picking up! Riley, Grandma, Devin and Chloe.

The Bennett family down in the impressive entry to this beautiful building. It was a great attraction. All the kids loved it!