New York City, Day 7

It was sunny in Southern California, as it usually is, gosh darn it.

The kids were snuggling with dogs the size of small bears.

And they were learning how to blow bubbles in their milk.

Back in New York City the sun had come out, but it was still cold. This last full travel day we went on a tour at the NBS Studios. That tour was a bit of an impulse buy on our part and I can't say we would do it again. First, I mean, hello... we live half an hour from Hollywood and it takes us a plane trip across the country to tour a studio? I mean, that's silly. Second, we thought it might be more geared toward shows we watch, like The Office and Parks & Rec. Instead, it was sport shows (no thanks), the morning news (fraternizing with the enemy), and late night shows (I only know Steve Martin). Oh well, it was an experience.

We had breakfast at my favorite breakfast joint of all time. The couple next to us were coworkers. They talked business with passion and drama and gossip. For a while, as sat at the lazy table watching the subway travelers hurry to and fro and listened to this woman pour out advice to her young coworker, I began to wonder how I could go back to being a mom of four, staying at home, and living in the snail-paced Torrance. It was odd living for that short amount of time in this little bubble. It had an intoxicating pull on me.

After breakfast, my crazy husband took us to the top of 30 Rock to see the skyline in 30-mph wind.

This side of the city was do-able. It was windy, but the sun kept the temperatures okay.

Then we went to the other side and I called it quits. This side of the building was freezing! And look closely at the women's hair blowing all over the place! I told him to go enjoy himself, but I was sitting inside the cozy lounge to edit my photos. The crazy man walked all the way to the top of the building. Shudder! Heights and wind and cold... ugh!

But he was obsessed.

Speaking of obsessed, we had to visit Chipotle at least once so he wouldn't get grumpy. Close call.

And that's it, folks. We were done.

New York, Day 6

Let's see how much of this vacation I can still remember...

While the Steeds were making multitude servings of orange "juice" from their beloved orange trees, Brad and I were still steeped in American history in New York City. On our last full day of travel we visited the September 11 Memorial Museum. It came highly recommended, but we both knew we were walking into a very serious, hard memory for the world at large. I felt as I have at funerals - the knowing that I'm where I should, all the while strongly desiring to run away and pretend such evil things do not really occur.

We had to be there quite early in the morning (for vacationers) and since Brad isn't much of a breakfast-person I voluntarily forewent my morning meal in hopes of being hungry when Brad was hungry, which proved later to be a foolhardy decision on my part.

The museum indeed was a very hard truth in which to be immersed. It was full of artifacts of the original World Trade Center buildings and the time.

The museum did an excellent job honoring those murdered on September 11th. They were successful in putting a face to each name. While the blue tiles in the mural above represents the 2,996 people killed that day, there were further exhibits that shared with you their lives, their crushed/burned belongings found in the rubble, and voices from their remaining family members.

The museum, while extremely well put-together and powerful in story, seemed to go on and on and a couple of hours into the tour, my stomach was growling.

Being the wise husband that he is, Brad began to inch us toward the exit, but at every turn we found ourselves in more exhibits. Brad could have read every word on every surface. Probably an hour later he asked how I was doing.

I answered truthfully that I was on the verge of fainting or getting very angry. There it was... on the celebration of our 15th wedding anniversary our marriage could have taken a downward turn all due to the drop in blood sugar and energy. It was nearly 2:00pm by the time we made it upstairs to the museum's cafe and I ate the best soup and grilled cheese sandwich I ever did eat. Brad says my taste buds were probably a bit biased as I was very hungry, because it was the "most disappointing meal" Brad ate while in New York.

However, the disappointing meal was worth the happy marriage.

It rained on and off that Monday... or whatever day it was... and after a few hours of walking on sore feet, we decided it was high time to watch Netflix in the hotel room. What can I say, the day was just full of good decisions.

After several episodes of House MD, we again ventured into the beautiful, wet city and enjoyed the sights of...

...the New York Public Library...

...the burst of colors amidst the gray concrete...

(my phone was inspired to show me what my picture could have looked like should I have played with their editing tools)

...and the lovely little pockets of parks.

Our dinner that night was a chocolate covered waffle with peanut butter and banana. Another good decision minus the cold of the air turning our chocolate syrup so hard that it nearly broke the plastic prongs of our fork.

We meandered into Saks on Fifth Avenue. Never have I felt so out of place.

I took a picture of these pants for Kaeley and her fashion role model, Melanie. Had I a mere thousand dollars lying around I could have brought them home a pretty awesome souvenir. 

New York, Day 5

Meanwhile, back in California the children were being serve Lucky Charms and taken to church festivals, because we have the best kind of friends.

 

Later that day they transitioned to the family who loves so well they have been deemed Mr. and Mrs. Love by Alynna. Not only are the Loves known for how loving they are, but they are also known for their citrus trees and within half an hour of the kids taking up residence Mr. Love was busy making orange juice.

While the sun was smiling in Los Angeles, the winds were howling in New York City. We woke up to 33*, which felt like 23* thanks to wind so strong one stood at an acute angle to combat the forces.

Doesn't it look like I could be in the arctic?

This was taken by accident on board our boat to the Statue of Liberty. Based on the odd modern art statues aforementioned I think I have a pretty good chance of making a name for myself.

And there she was. I didn't cry this time around, but it might that my tear ducts were frozen shut.

As a misplaced American growing up in Germany I learned about certain American monuments, the Alamo and Mount Rushmore and, of course, the Statue of Liberty. I always thought that if I could just see those symbols of freedom and greatness I, this American who spent fourteen years in Europe, would have arrived. All these years later, I have a husband of fifteen years who found us worth a destination vacation and took me to that iconic woman I always learned about as a child. I am beyond grateful.

By the way, I have yet to see Mount Rushmore. I'll probably be a hot mess when I finally see those mountain men.

For lunch we sat in a historic row of small buildings in downtown. This is Brad sitting in a hallway.

I was so proud of my husband who ordered gravlax... on purpose! Now if you know my husband you will understand what a big deal this is. I texted Kaeley in my amazement. She said mushrooms were the next step. I told her he had mushrooms a few weeks ago and she nearly fell over in astonishment. It's true. People really can change. Next week? Cooked spinach.

Brad took us to an off Broadway show that we both enjoyed.

Then we walked three miles back to the hotel just to see the sights.

One the way to the hotel we both took a picture of the Empire State Building. Brad said it was a contest and I clearly won.

The Chrysler Building and Grand Central Station.

Finally in bed with yet another super late, super expensive dinner. And what does a couple married fifteen years do on a vacation without kids? They eat dinner in bed and binge-watch House MD.