Autumn in New York

I've never been a world traveler. I've never even really wanted to fly to different countries, see the sites, experience the culture. Maybe it's the homebody in me; it's just who I am. I DO love traveling though, just a different type of traveling. I love traveling to places where there are people that I love. Because, in my opinion, it's just another strange place without special people. Being that three of my dearest friends live in The Big Apple, I definitely thought I better grasp my opportunity while they were still living there. Unfortunately, one of my friends WAS travelling the world, so I didn't get to see her. The other two are too pregnant to fly, so they were stuck with me ;) Spending many years of my childhood in Pennsylvania, I knew that autumn would be the perfect time to visit. Juliet and I headed east, while Justin stayed home and spoiled Aubrey. I stayed with my best friend, Misha, in her amazing apartment on Roosevelt Island.
If you are totally clueless when it comes to the geography of New York City (like me), then let me help you out. Roosevelt Island is a tiny island located in the river between Manhattan and Brooklyn. If I had to live in NYC (I don't think I'd ever choose to live there), I would definitely want to live on Roosevelt Island. It is literally one subway stop from the action, but still has a crazy feeling of suburbia in the city (well, at least as suburban as being IN the city can be). And the view, well the view is amazing. I wish I would have taken a picture of the inside of her apartment when I arrived (before I crashed with a baby in her living room). It's amazing how spacious and homey a one bedroom apartment can feel.Misha was an amazing hostess. We hit the ground running and literally never stopped the entire time I was there. She met me at JFK where I got a crash course in public transportation. I didn't really realize the process of using the subway when I decided to be cheap and suggest we just use public transit to get from the airport to her house. Just imagine: me, a baby, an 8 month pregnant lady, stroller, suitcase, backpack, diaper bag, car seat... well, you get the idea. Welcome to NYC!
I scaled down a bit for our first big day around the city, and I quickly learned the art of carrying strollers up and down subway stairs. Misha took me all around Chinatown, Little Italy, Soho, etc. The amount of energy her pregnant self had, was AMAZING! Eventually, Juliet was getting restless with all our walking, so we picked up some (CHEAP) and amazing dumplings and headed to Central Park for a twilight picnic. The next day was Misha's baby shower. It was great to meet all of the women who love her so dearly in NYC. It was also crazy to see a couple of friends who have been with her in different stages of her life (HS, college, etc). How amazing that God has provided friendships that have traveled with her. These are the sweet girls who hosted the shower.
Hanging on the wall in the church offices where the shower was held, was this painting by a friend of Mike and Misha's. He used Mike as the model for a Biblical king. I had to take a picture of his amazing work.
Teri, one of my dearest friends from high school, had us over to dinner that night (after hosting the shower that day-- seriously, the energy these pregnant mommas had was amazing). She and her husband Matt have an awesome apartment near Cornell (where Mike (Misha's hubby) and Matt work). We had New York style pizza and just enjoyed catching up on life and talking about the babies on their way. Juliet helped them "baby proof" their apartment by getting into everything within reach. :) The next day we set out to see the typical tourist sites like the Statue of Liberty (a tiny lit up figure way off in the distance), the World Trade Center, Wall St., Time Square, Rockefeller Center, etc. Whew! We were going constantly! We met up with Mike, his sister Stepo, and her hubby for a delicious Peruvian dinner.On my last full day in the city, we set out to see Grand Central Station and meet up with Teri in the park for one final stroll. Out of everything we saw and did, this was my favorite. I loved the old architecture of the building, but more than that, I think the forethought and planning that went into NYC public transit is astounding. To think that these trains, subways, buses, etc are the MAIN source of transportation for millions of people on a daily basis and they were planned and built over 100 years ago, is incredible. Central park was a close second. In a city so busy, so packed with people, with such a huge value on property, the forethought to preserve nature and encourage connecting with it...just amazing.
After 4 days of literally LIVING in this stroller, Juliet had had enough. This girl wanted to crawl, explore, stand and just plain be back to normal life. Her socks fell off and her feet were black from dragging them through the mud. She enjoyed autumn in New York almost as much as I did.
I had an amazing time with these precious friends, but I was so ready to be home to my suburban life, my handsome hubby and my favorite big girl!
But I must say, I do ♥ NY!