New York IS a helluva town

Tanner and I were on a roll with our travelling when we decided to commit to NYC. What's one more weekend of one more month, back to back to back, right? With the success of Florida and Colorado under our belt we felt prepared for tackling one of my (now) all-time favorite cities.

Tanner's friend was winding down his time living there so Tanner wanted to make a weekend of it and spend some time with him and another old CO friend. Worth every penny for the flight and cute hotel room, you betcha! The weather was stunning and the company was entertaining. I finally, truly, enjoyed this city on my third visit there. Third time IS the charm! I have to say though, had I not had food poisoning, I would have counted this trip as making the city my all-time favorite. At that point it was just awesome, sans the sickness.

That being said, our start was a bit rough with a nearly 5 hour delay in Houston. Oh, you planned to land at 6PM so you could catch some grub in the city and relax around the neighborhood?

No, no! Instead, you'll get to land at 11PM, have jilted, hasty email and text communication with the owner of the apartment you're staying in and THEN get to call her pseudo-manager who said we could meet him at his place to get the key. To be fair, I was thoroughly happy to realize he lived on the way to the city from the airport (even though he didn't seem to realize that) and was really nice when handing over the key and we made it to the apartment not long after midnight. Could have been worse!

We woke up the next morning with just the etchings of an agenda. I had planned for us to visit Liberty Island and Ellis Island and with grey skies we leisurely made our way down to Battery Park to catch the ferry. It was nice to wind through Wall Street, with its quiet streets and imposing buildings.

I didn't see Bane, don't worry!

It's hard to put into words what visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island feels like. If you've been, you know. If you haven't, you should go. It's hard not to get farklempt when viewing her or anything on Ellis Island. I relished every minute on both islands and learning more about each place and even about the impact Sandy had on them. Such a fascinating history for both of them. Like, did you know that the base of the statue is a fort which never fired a shot? The physics of her existence are mind-blowing.

It might be grey, but it's still stunning.

This is how I learned all these neat things! Um, be sure to ask for headphones because apparently they have them. #armgottired

Right before this, the audio tour was talking about the position of her feet. I honestly teared up (and am practically doing it again just typing this) because she's meant to represent moving forward and new beginnings and *tear slides down*...just, really good stuff, ok?

After wandering the island, we hopped back onto the ferry to traverse to Ellis Island. I spent each boat ride looking out across the water and imagining what entering that harbor must have felt like to so many people, including my ancestors (and here come the waterworks again).

The building which used to house newly minted Americans has been converted to a museum with all the rooms filled to the brim with pictures, dialogues, videos, recordings, etc. The huge vault of a room where immigrants would stand in line for hours and days had an incredible view of the edge of Manhattan. Can you even fathom the feeling of standing there, looking over, knowing that was your destination as long as you made it through? Can you imagine the fear of being turned away when you got so close after living on a horrid boat for months? I found out from my father that his grandmother nearly didn't make it through when she first came. What a different world it would be...

Janos Klasz became Klass and was my great-great-grandfather. 

With cold winds blowing in and rain drops beginning to fall, we boarded the ferry once more back to the big island. I can't speak for others but I was certainly a little more cognizant of my world.

We subway'd our way back to the apartment for a recharge and when his friend escaped work, we met up at his apartment a few blocks away. The best part about NYC is the walk-ability of it. His friend's neighborhood housed several restaurants, bars, ice cream shops and coffee joints all within blocks so we picked one and sat down. The storm that had loomed ominously while on the other islands had finally made it to shore and the skies opened up as we sat hunkered down in the basement. Who doesn't love a good rain storm? Well, it does make it a bit more difficult to enjoy when you have no umbrella, no jacket and no ride.

A bar-hopping run fest with a drinking game apiece makes sense right? First stop, 20 seconds, gulp down one pint. Second stop, 30 seconds further, up the ante because the pint was too quick...so let's get a PITCHER! Oh, and who needs glasses at this point, amIright? Check. Third stop required a road crossing and therefore a well timed "White man says go" sign to illuminate our path. Don't mind the flats you're wearing that could slip off, don't mind the sopping shirt and jeans, don't mind that you just ate dinner and are sprinting down the streets of New York. To me, that was all fairly free entertainment. Final stop, something about a busty red head and the game has devolved to....PABST BLUE RIBBON. GUH-ROSS. I tried to order a Purple Haze and was hastily shot down. I think there was a shot of whisky involved before that, too. These boys...so absurd.

Finally, we made it back to the apartment and plopped down for a game of Cards Against Humanity. I'd like to take a moment to mention that though I was playing with four very much collegiate minded boys, I won. I decimated them. I apparently have a twisted mind and I don't think they were expecting, nor appreciated, that.

At half past late, we left the apartment with a plan to meet up for brunch the next day. Brunch at noon...which slowly became 1PM+ as Tanner and I wandered through The Strand, which just so happens to be a book lover's DREAM. It was Beauty and the Beast worthy! At some points I did question my safety with the weight of the books + the age of the floor, but no matter...BOOKS!

Makes sense to stop at a bar before brunch, right?

After dining and indulging, we went back to their apartment to gather our things and make our way to Central Park for the afternoon. We went to the lawn and a new drinking game was invented which is probably far more intellectual and attention demanding than the usual. We'll play it some time...

Look at that sky! The weather couldn't have been better, even the rain!

Another late night out where I queried whether or not I had passed muster with the boys (I did, woohoo!) and then had to use the men's room (gross, don't look down) before I thanked Tanner profusely for being so good with directions, even after imbibing a bit.

The next day was another planned excursion to the Empire State Building so we scurried over there and made grand use of our Fast Passes. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. We did the entire building bottom to tip in an hour. Boom, thank you line cutting.

Imposing!

He'd never been before! We walked to each side and took in the sights. Thankfully it was a beautiful, clear day and not too windy!

After grabbing a delicious slice of pizza around the corner from ESB, we walked the 15+ blocks to MoMA, enjoying the sights as we walked.

The sky, the sky!

I definitely sang the theme song to 30 Rock a few times here. 

After grabbing some delicious ice cream, we wandered to a nice park to sit and chat a few minutes before deciding to head back to the apartment. It was an early morning leave the next day and we didn't want to be too tired.

Didn't work, I was still pooped.

What a great trip! Both of us agreed after this trip that NYC was a place we could visit once a year and be completely happy with that. Not that it will happen considering money doesn't grow on trees and there's a mortgage to be paid now. Did I not mention that yet? Oh yeah, right before this trip a house was purchased...

To be continued...