The highlight of my fall (and, hands down, one of the biggest highlights of the year!) was a trip last month to New York City with my bestie! This weekend was forty years in the making and two years in the planning! It all started a couple of years ago when we were bemoaning how quickly our 40th birthday was approaching. We decided right then and there to celebrate BIG and immediately picked our destination. At the beginning of this year, we booked our flights, hotel and event tickets and then began the long wait until our much anticipated weekend arrived.
We carefully planned every detail of this trip (as in, not only did we have a list, but we had a SPREADSHEET that detailed places, times, menus, how many minutes it would take to walk, how many blocks, which subway line . . .), but I was still anxious that "something" somewhere along the way just wouldn't work out. I even dreamed that I missed my flight, so much so that I thought it might become a reality. The week before the trip, we doubled up on school work just to make sure we wouldn't be behind when I got back. So, honestly, I was already very tired. The thought of having to leave my house at 3:00AM to drive to the airport didn't help either.
Since I had such an early flight, I didn't anticipate any problems at the New Orleans airport. I figured I'd just walk right on in and to my gate. Once I saw how full the parking garage was at not quite 5:00AM, I knew it wouldn't be that simple. I totally didn't realize it was a holiday weekend (Columbus Day), and most universities and a lot of schools were on fall break. So that meant a heavier than usual travel weekend. I still wasn't too worried. Until I walked in and saw the line for security. It was the longest I'd ever seen at the NOLA airport. And it wasn't moving. At all. My flight was scheduled to leave at 6:00, but at 5:25 I nearly accepted the fact that I wasn't going to make it. Right about that time, they announced they were "bringing the dogs in" to speed the line up. I finally made it through the line, scanned my ticket and had my bags on the conveyor belt to make the final pass through security. I was the very next person in line standing in front of the scanner and waiting on them to pass me through when . . . wait for it . . . the power went out. It was 5:40. From where I was standing, I could even see my gate.
The power came back on, but the security computers and scanners were a little slow. I finally get through security and to my gate. It was 5:50. The doors were locked and no one was boarding. Delta's computers were still down following the power outage. At this point, I was just glad I wasn't going to miss my flight. And I was scheduled to land about an hour before Barbara so I wasn't too worried about that either. My flight miraculously left on time and several hours later, we Uber-ed to our hotel, checked our bags and started walking. Our first stop was Chelsea Market and then a walk on the High Line.
By the time we made it to Chelsea Market, I was starving. There were so many fantastic restaurants and cafes that it really was hard to choose. We finally decided to eat at Sarabeth's Bakery, and it did not disappoint! As a matter of fact, this was one of my favorite meals! We both had the special - smashed avocado on a roasted corn polenta cake topped with bacon, pickled onions and tomatoes.
So the 911 museum and memorial were at the top of my "to do" list. We didn't do most of your typical NYC touristy sites because we both had already done all of that on previous trips. I'd been a couple of times before, but I had not been since 911. We got up early the next morning and took the subway (yes, we nearly mastered the subway system while we were there!) downtown. We spent the entire next morning at the 911 site. There's no way in the world I could ever put into words this experience. It was a beautiful, somber tribute to those men and women who lost their lives that day and the heroes who came after. I still remember exactly where I was and exactly what I was doing that day when I first heard that a plane crashed into the north tower. I will never forget that day. Or the days after when all I did on my lunch breaks and after work was watching news footage from the wreckage and aftermath. The memorial was quite stunning and such a beautiful use of the space that had once been marked by terror and destruction. We took our time walking through the museum and taking it all in. By the time we were finished, I felt the weight of it all. So heavy. But such a wonderful experience!
Here are some of my favorite images. The skyline was forever changed on that day. My first trips to New York have those iconic towers in the background. It's still so surreal to me that they are no longer there.
We grabbed Mexican for lunch and found us the perfect view.
But before cake, we had the best French toast . . . and my frittata was just so good!
I mean, not bad for zero visibility . . . right?!?
I mean, where's everybody at?!
We walked back over to Times Square because when in New York . . .
Two things.
First of all, I would absolutely LOVE to live in New York for a year (with my people, of course!). I mean, we could live in an apartment and take the subway everywhere we didn't walk to. A year wouldn't even be enough time to do and see everything, but it would be such fun! And Christmas time would be the best! When I was a little girl, I always wanted to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in person. I really do love everything about the city. (And then I'd probably want to live in Wyoming for a year after that!). Yes, I am very serious.
Second of all, this was the first time ever that I took time away for a girls' weekend, and I hope it won't be the last! I think we need to go ahead and pick our next destination! Or, we could just go back to the city that never sleeps again (after all, there were a couple of things on our spreadsheet that we just ran out of time for!).
Oh, and last (but definitely not least) of all, this girl right here is my tribe! So thankful for her and a friendship that spans twenty years and several states.
