NYC: Sanctuary and Beauty

Amidst the chaos, sanctuary.


I've heard numerous times that when you walk in the Manhattan, NY temple, you forget that you've just come from such chaos. This is so true. When I walked in, I quickly forgot about the crazy world outside. I knew I was in a holy place. I knew I was in a safe place.

We did go to the temple to visit, and back on Sunday for church. You walk in the front door and to your left are the doors to the temple, to your right is a security guard. You walk past the security guard to get to the elevator that takes you to where church is held. It was just like a church at home, only smaller.

When I say chaos, I mean, chaos. We crossed a 3 road intersection to get to the temple. It was HUGE! Complete with 2 medians just in case you couldn't make it across in one light sequence.

See the tour bus? Down that street, about 3 blocks away is... Central Park!

The trees, the bridge, the light post, the bricks, the man pulling the sled, the city in the background: this picture says it all.

This is the first picture I took, just inside the park. I thought I knew what it would look like. But you haven't really "seen" it until you've SEEN it. It really is just like a park here at home only this park has roads for cars, several businesses, a zoo, everything!

The park was covered in snow, so we didn't get the full effect of Central Park, but we did see Tavern on the Green. I didn't know that Tavern on the Green is in Central Park! The park is 843 acres and Tavern on the Green is located on the upper west side of Manhattan. Notice the city is hoovering in the background.

Despite the cold snow, this little guy hammed it up for us. He had a friend nearby who I presume kept him company in between performances.

Loved this old tree, all twisted up. Tavern on the Green in the background.

This is "The Lake"; one of the 6 water features in the park.

I saw this and thought, "How? When at every turn you see these incredibly tall, incredibly numerous buildings- did they get all this space here?" It was refreshing to get a breath of "fresh" air when you've only felt surrounded and stuffed for days. Though the "fresh" air was nice, you never really forget your in the city.

It sure looks like these trees are competing for the "tallest" award with the buildings.

It truly is a beautiful park. Wish I could see it in the summertime, when all the leaves are green!