New York!

Mike gave me a late birthday and early 10th
anniversary gift! He had a conference to
attend in New York, and he flew me out
to spend time with him once he was done.
They were three wonderful days!

When I showed up, I met Mike and we went to a nearby restaurant with a fun (and loud) jazz trio. It was quite late when we finished, but here we are hitting Times Square. I couldn't get over how true the saying is that New York
City is the "City that
never sleeps." At midnight nothing changes except that the sun has gone down. Deliveries are being made, people are walking the streets, the shops are open...it's weird.

And another surprise for me: the people were very friendly! I had the idea New Yorkers would have cold shoulders and averted eyes would be the norm. Over and over people would answer our questions in such a genuinely warm friendly way...one woman, when asked directions, actually walked us to the street we were looking for because she said the area was very confusing. Another woman stopped us and asked us if we were looking for something in particular. Then she told us all her restaurant recommendations. This, actually, was the norm for our trip.

So our first full day turned out to be quite emotional. We started at the Trinity Church. We saw numerous old, beautiful churches while we were here, but this definitely felt like hallowed ground. Inside, we were able to listen to a string ensemble perform. As I sat on one of the old pews, I was overcome with thoughts of those who had labored in the building of this church, those who had sat in the very pew I was sitting in, and the times they all had lived through. I could have spent much longer outside than we did, because there was a cemetery with headstones dating to around the early 1600's. Sweet inscriptions, and just the sheer age of the worn headstones, made it enthralling. So many infants, and adults in their 30's and 40's were buried here, along with Alexander Hamilton, and others who were Revolutionary war generals and signers of the Declaration of Independence. Very cool.


The doors to the church were ornate (along with so many of the buildings in New York). I loved this depiction of Adam and Eve being cast from the garden.

Then we headed off to the the World Trade Center Memorial Center. Wow. That was hard. It took you through the days and weeks following the attack with photographs, video, voice recordings, and written statements. There was a wall of photocopied "missing people" posters that was almost too much for me. It gave us a glimpse into the individuals lives and those in their family that were mourning.
This is a picture of thousands of origami peace cranes that were folded and put on the fences surrounding the site, and now hang above the staircase leading to a room full of inspiring stories of those who have taken the tragedy and used it as a stepping stone to making the world a better place and to give of themselves. It was a wonderful way to end our walk through. We were left with that wonderful united feeling that we all felt after the attacks. I felt friendlier to those I passed on the streets after that and had that realization again that we are all brothers and sisters here on this earth and we can be stewards over one another, to bless each others lives.
We walked and walked! All over the island. When we went to see the New York Stock exchange on Wall Street, we stumbled upon the Federal Building. What an unexpected treasure. Here is the stone that George Washington stood on as he was sworn in as the first President.
This place was so OLD. The marble steps inside were wearing away from hundreds of years of use. The Bill of Rights was ratified there. I am fascinated by the stories behind everything in the city (and every city), and probably drove Mike crazy with all of my "can you just picture what people used to be wearing who walked these streets?" and "think of all the people who have walked up and down these same steps" and "I wonder what all the land around here used to look like when this was built." I love reading all the plaques on every building and monument. This is the bible that was used during the swearing in of George Washington.
We also went to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. What a great place. Gave us perspective and reminded us again of the sacrifice people made to come to this country. We learned about the voyages here and the thrilling and nerve wracking experience it was to enter this country. You were able to search for your relatives that arrived on Ellis Island, and luckily Mike knew enough details about his Swedish grandfather to find him.

They all thought it was worth it, and I do too! Mike and I talked about the great freedoms we have here and the contribution of all the different cultures here. It's a great country!

Please pretend I am not in this picture. We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and loved it. It's huge, though. I think four city blocks. The Greek and Roman stuff was amazing. And of course we had to take this picture of the horse and knight armor from Medieval times for the boys. So fun!
Washington Square. Can you see the Empire State Building through the arch? It had this fogginess settling in around it and nowhere else. And below are just some random pictures. It's crazy to be walking and tucked in between skyscrapers all along are these little jewels. These building are so common we saw one that was a CVS Drugstore.

But really, one of the things I will always remember is how much fun Mike and I had together. It was WONDERFUL to be able to hold his hand all the time, talk as much as we wanted about anything we wanted, be out and about as a couple. I LOVE HIM! Some of my favorite things were going to restaurants in the evening....a little French one in Greenwich Village, an Italian one on the Lower East Side (that we could have stayed in all night and I don't think anyone would have cared), and listening to music, making each other laugh, and looking into his eyes. It was a good thing. A needed time together. Below is a little graffitti on a pier post by yours truly.

And here we are at our favorite park - the HighLine. Beautiful. Warm(er) night, looking out over the Hudson River.

Here's to another handful of decades!