New York, New York

Travis: Stop looking up! You look like a tourist!
Krista: I AM a tourist!
{PS - That is the Empire State Building, obscured by clouds}

  Last weekend Travis and I took a little trip up the coast to New York City for my 10-year high school reunion. I guess you can do the math. This was monumental since it was our FIRST trip without the kids, ever! We haven't even spent a night away from them in over 5 years. About time, right? A million billion thanks to my super-brave BFF Wendi for boldly offering to take all three of our kids for the weekend, in addition to her own two. That made 5 kids 5 and under. Actually let me work out those ages for you so you can be more amazed. 5, 3, 2, 1, and 9 months. YIPES right? She even took them on an outing! In public! She is super-mom. I have to say I wouldn't have been able to leave my kids with anyone else - I would have instead spent the entire time worrying (whether for my kids or the people I was leaving them with - it depends!)

Anyway. Another gigantic thanks to Sayaka for letting us stay in her NYC flat - yes she graciously housed 6 adults in 300 sq. ft.! I make friends with super brave people on purpose. I was so excited for this trip since I only see Melissa and Sayaka every couple of years. Truthfully this was only our third trip together since our last summer in India during college - 2002! AND we'd never met either of their Mat[t]s. That is to say, Sayaka's brand new husband Mat (they eloped just last month!) and Melissa's long-time boyfriend Matt, whom I've been hearing about non-stop since our senior year of high school but it was 10 years before I actually met him! Travis felt left out so we decided he could be called Mattt just for the weekend. It was fun to get the three boys together, and I'm sure they were all much more comfortable to have each other during the reunion. Which is only ever any fun for the people who actually know each other there, of course. Fortunately there were quite a few good sports tagging along.

Our three boys

We arrived by bus on Friday afternoon and met the others downtown. After a trip back to Sayaka's and some amazing Thai food, we set off for the pier. The reunion was planned for a sunset cruise around the harbor. Now this was really where the whole trip came apart for me, because I had decided to wear these big clunky 4-inch wedge sandals on the boat. In short, this meant lots of walking. Oh yeah, and of course we were running late. So Sayaka has lived in New York for quite a while and has mastered the art of getting somewhere on time, on foot. Meaning: speedwalking. Holy cow, that girl can WALK! It's kind of unbelievable. My shins were so cramped and my feet were so blistered that the rest of the night - and the trip - was pretty much agonizing! The cruise was fabulous, though, in spite of the rain, and so romantic. I forgot to mention this was also my first trip to New York, so I was so excited when our boat took us right up to the foot of the Statue of Liberty - also checking off one landmark on our sightseeing list for the next day! Kate just learned about the Statue of Liberty in kindergarten, so we took lots of pictures for her. Then we went under the Brooklyn Bridge, so we took pictures for Brooklyn too.

How to take a picture of the Statue of Liberty in the dark: Step 1 - Point. Step 2 - Shoot. It will look like this no matter what you do. I promise it's the real thing.

Just a handful of our graduating class: Miklos, Melissa, Krista, Rahul, Sayaka, Arjun
This is how I have smiled in pictures ever since I was small. I think maybe when people say, "Smile!" I misunderstand and think they are actually saying, "Hey, can I count your teeth?"

The next morning we slept in until almost 10! That was definitely another first, in 5 years! It was glorious. Sayaka is in nursing school and had a shift at the hospital, and Mat was studying, so Melissa, Matt, Travis I mean Mattt, and I hit the town. We found a little bakery for breakfast which served us an array of artisan breads and cheeses and imported cured meats. It was pretty extravagant for breakfast, but oh so good! We set off for the site of the World Trade Center attack and construction of the new memorial and visited the church adjacent to the site. Then we headed toward Chinatown to pick up a few gifts for the kids, and went through Little Italy where it turns out they were celebrating a festival of something or other. So much fun!

Our official appointed navigators at work

Later we met up with Sayaka and Mat, who took us to the highline, which is a stretch of the old elevated train tracks that has been redesigned and landscaped into a walkway. I was so impressed by what an ingenious idea that was. We arrived just as the sun was setting.

Random picture of a fire station we passed by. We had to snap a picture in honor of the now-famous New York Fire Department.

We walked through the meatpacking district and had dinner at a little Belgian restaurant. We were leaving early the next morning, so the trip was definitely far too short. But I'm sure Sayaka and Mat were glad to get their home back! I also took far too few pictures, but I have to say I find stopping to take pictures such a bother. I'd rather just remember the sights in my head and not feel obligated to share them later with other people to whom they mean less!

THANKS to everyone who made this amazing weekend possible! It was the perfect trip in every way, and I LOVED my first visit to NYC! I can't wait to see you girls again, M & S! And Wend now it's my turn to take on five kids for a vacation away!