I love New York City. I have been dying to go back there ever since I left it last October after my 40-hour visit. The day after the marathon, we boarded a Greyhound bus and took a 4-hour ride to New York for the rest of the week. It was a great week, and because we were spending 5 days there, I actually made time to sleep this time. Last visit was too short, and I didn't want to waste any time sleeping when there was so much to do and see.
Our first day, we found this great cafe called Fluffy's. It was around the corner from our hotel, and we loved to sit in the window and watch NY go by as we ate breakfast.
Jacob spotted this sweet sign for Jacobs. Whatever that is. It was a cool sign, nonetheless. We wandered through Times Square, went to Toys R Us and other interesting stores along the way. Then we found a great spot for dinner, and after dinner spent the evening at the Waldorf listening to my friend Emilee play the piano and sing in Peacock Alley. Emilee is dazzling, and I love listening to her. She is also a party in a package, and life is always better when Emilee is around. My entire high school career was made better and memorable because of Emilee. I am so glad that we have stayed friends for 24 years.
We were all amazed at the number of taxis and people all over NY, but especially Times Square. I had been here once before, so I wasn't as stunned as the boys and Mark were. But it is fun to be a part of such an immense crowd.Day 2 in New York brought some pretty exciting things. First, it was a run through Central Park. I made Abram and Jacob come with me, and we were so excited to find Bethesda Fountain, which we have seen in so many movies. As soon as we came upon a long pathway with benches on each side, I started singing. Up to this point of our trip I had pretty much been singing strictly Schoolhouse Rock songs about the American Revolution. But at that moment when we recognized a scene from Enchanted, my singing turned to "How does she know you love her?....." The boys were totally embarrassed, but that didn't stop me. Then we got to the fountain, and I went crazy singing. It was awesome. I have always wanted to see the fountain and the stairs that lead down to it in real life.
We had some good times on the subways. Amazingly, this trip, we never had to wait more than a few minutes for a train.
We decided to check out the American Natural History Museum. It was a bust. It was so insanely crowded that it was hard to move around and see anything. We started out cranky because of the cashier who didn't appreciate our "suggested donation" of $10 each for admission. We told her if the museum was great and not too crowded, we would pay the rest on the way out. She told us they did not accept donations on the way out, only on the way in. Yeah, right . She was very upset that we had questioned the sign that says "Suggested Donation $20." Technically you don't have to pay anything, and it was so crowded that we knew we weren't even going to get our $10 worth this day. Turns out when it is east coast spring break, Easter weekend and also Passover, there are a lot of people who come to New York City.
Jacob has always loved monkeys, so he wanted his picture taken with this guy.
Who loves the Olmecs?
We were on the lookout throughout NY for other Boston Marathon runners. Mark found a buddy at the museum. They were complete strangers, but their Boston Marathon apparel turned them into instant friends.Then we took a walk down Central Park West and through the park where we showed Mark the fountain. He took some sweet pictures of us, and we marveled at the crowds who were out enjoying the first warm spring day New York had seen.
Then it was back through times square for dinner and a show. We saw Memphis. Not my favorite story ever, but I loved the music and we all agreed it was an excellent display of talented singers and dancers. It was enjoyable. We couldn't get tickets to see Anything Goes, sadly. Maybe next time I go to NY and it isn't a brand-new show I will be able to see it.
We ended the night back at the Waldorf to catch the end of Emilee's gig, and to meet some of her friends. It was so fun, and we ended up at the Midtown Cafe for a midnight meal. Best waffle of my life. Then we went to bed around 3AM, because we needed a few hours of sleep for our adventures the next day.
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