Love, Friends and Everything Else New York

Love, love was in the air in New York City as Tom and I celebrated fifteen years of marriage; the highs and the lows, the ups and the downs and all the adventures in between; needless to say the good times far outweigh the bad times and I feel lucky to call him my husband.

So how did we celebrate, well in true New York fashion of course! Tom surprised me with tickets to Wicked at Gershwin Theatre, not knowing where we were going until coming up upon the theatre, I was just told how to dress, and eager to see what he had planned and ecstatic once I knew; the show was phenomenal and the music spectacular! Then finishing off our anniversary at the most romantic place in New York City, The Boathouse in Central Park for dinner, it was a dream and I truly felt like a queen in a fairy-tale and I can't wait to see what the next fifty years holds for us! 

So what else makes New York great? Friends, we have a bunch of friends in and around the city that truly made our trip here phenomenal! Honestly, Heather and her adventures were a dream and I am seriously missing them now that we are in Philly, I have contemplated driving back to Brooklyn and kidnapping her for a day or two. I am going through her friendship withdrawals! But we also, got to catch up with so many others that we haven’t seen in ages the Dolan’s, our college friends Jed and Clark and brunch with Tom's boss, Whynde. 

The Adorable Herky

The Dolan’s I mentioned in prior post, they were kind enough to save us from the parking game and let us utilize their driveway for the month of May and then on top of that, Aaron and Anne had us out to New Jersey for a BBQ over Memorial Day weekend. We had such a great time catching up with them, reminiscing about life before they left Salt Lake and all that has had happened since, not to mention their kids have grown like weeds; I wouldn't have recognized them if they weren't spitting images of their parents! Plus Ethel got to meet their dog, Herky, and while they both just ignored each other, Ethel was beyond joy with the idea of being off a leash and having a yard to roam; seriously after being held captive by a leash and concrete, freedom to roam and grass on her belly where just what the pup needed to give her back a little bit of normalcy!

Tom and Aaron

Our college friend Jed and his husband Ben, hosted us for a delicious dinner one night and even invited Miss Ethel to come along. It was a perfect evening; great food, wonderful company and the best part, just catching up on all the important life events that have happened over the years; from the good ol’ Cedar City days to current day life; the success and the happiness of where we all are now. Plus we finally got to meet Ben, who is a perfect match to the charismatic Jed! It was such a great night and we were overjoyed that we got to hang out with them both, seriously, a New York trip wouldn't have been complete without seeing them!

The Guggenheim

Now I didn't have the pleasure of meeting Clark, life kept getting in the way as it sometimes does; however Tom did make it out to Brooklyn for a “man” night and was able to meet up with Clark for a bit before catching up with Willy for concoction of booze and good times. The booze I am only aware of because I saw the state of Tom when he came home, and from the looks of him, they had a fabulous time! So thank you Willy and Clark for showing Tom a great time and giving him a much needed guy’s night out!

China Town

Friends and meeting up with those from our past were the most important part of our trip this time around and although we did do some touristy things, for the most part we avoided the regular places we've seen numerous time. Times Square, Rockefeller Center, The Empire State Building and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral weren't really on the list this time; we really just wanted to see a more local aspect of the city, which I feel was accomplished. Although I still got to throw in some touristy fun by visiting the Morgan Library and New York City Public Library, you know if books are involved, I will be somewhere near the premises. Plus the Guggenheim, even though it tends to give me a bit of vertigo once at the top and looking down, is still worth the price of admission, especially when while you’re there and an exceptionally kind gentleman lets you know that in his opinion you are out shining the art; he might have been my most favorite New Yorker! Plus one must take a stroll through China Town, Little Italy and then be introduced to Knish by the best city guide ever, Heather! So thank you to all of our friends who made our trip to New York a success and kept me sane through all the craziness of adapting to full on city life!

The Guggenheim

City life was amazing and having access to fruit stands, fresh flowers and wine stores at every corner while awesome, was a bit overwhelming at times. Ethel hated it! She had to learn that concrete was an appropriate place to use the restroom, the copious amounts of people she wasn't really a fan of and not to mention all the sounds took quite a bit of adjusting for her; needless to say, Ethel is not a city dog! For me, the smells and the garbage were a bit rough, in fact I think NOLA was cleaner than the streets of New York, which is saying a lot; I never once saw a rat in New Orleans, but saw way more than I ever wish I’d seen in New York. Living in an apartment in the city was an entirely new side of New York than staying in a hotel in Time’s Square and while I agree there is no place like New York, it didn't quite win me over like I thought it would; I was prepared to visit this city and be all “This Is The Place” for us, but I was left wanting, now maybe if they can remedy the trash solution, I'll change my tune!

Little Italy

It wasn't all negative though, there are definitely some things that New York provides that a girl could really become accustomed to. Take Seamless for instance, we could literally have food, any type of food, delivered to our apartment; you want a sandwich from the deli, they can deliver that, you want scrambled eggs for breakfast, that can be arranged too. I would literally never have to cook again if we lived in New York! All in all New York gets a bad wrap, but in all honesty, I actually felt safer walking the streets of New York at all hours of the night than I ever would in Utah, people are up and around 24/7 in this city and I never once was concerned for safety, even when I would take Ethel out for her four o' clock in the morning restroom break; sorry Utah, but New York wins for making a girl feel safe, hands down!

The Morgan Library

Thank you New York for letting us see a  new side to you, for all the friends that we were able to catch up with, for the amazing memories and for celebrating life and love! You will be missed, especially the banana pudding from Magnolia's!

Beautiful Brooklyn

The Princes and the Tom’s friend Clark all live out in Brooklyn so in all fairness, we took the trek across the bridge to hang out and catch up with old friends, but in all honestly it was our pleasure to escape the bustle of Manhattan for something a little quainter and with a more of a sense of community; not to mention it gave us the opportunity of eating pizza at Juliana’s!

Now we could have taken the subway every time, but what New York trip wouldn't be complete with at least one walk across that famous bridge! Of course the day Tom and I decided to conquer the Brooklyn Bridge it was during a walk-a-thon, which meant the bridge was crowded with folks in matching attire, busy chatting and in no hurry to complete their quest across the bridge; which those of you who know me, know I am a bit of speed walker, even my slow walk has a bit of hustle to it, so these walk-a-thon people made me slow down, take in the view and practice my navigational ”Frogger” capabilities. Which to give them all credit, they did have to deal with my constant stopping to photograph the experience at everything one could possibly find charming about a bridge, so as they may have dramatically slowed me down, they tolerated my tourist side with ease.

Shot of some of the locks attached to the Brooklyn Bridge

In reality I wish we would have ended up in Brooklyn, I found it so much more appealing than Manhattan, the brownstones lining cobble stone streets have such a beckoning appeal to them. So any reason to escape to the other side of the river was a good reason, especially one to channel my inner child by hopping on a carousel with Heather and her two cute kiddos is an experience that had to happen! A carousel, I honestly can’t remember the last time I hopped on one of these charmers; it was true nostalgia and then to follow it up with ice cream was pure perfection.

Heather and Her Oldest, Drake

Now Heather and I have a way of finding the most peculiar of situations when we are together, and on one adventure to DUMBO area, we ran upon a jumper on the bridge. A guy thought he had been abducted by aliens and was being talked down from his fateful jump by the NYPD, and as good fortune would have it, we watched them pull him down from his perch, take him to safety and hopefully to the nearest mental hospital. It was at that moment I felt like a true New Yorker, having witnessed a jumper seems like some sort of rite of passage when it comes to living in “The City!”  Now I am not making light of the situation, it was sad, scary and something I wouldn't have wanted to see end any other way, but the idea of making ones misery such a public display seems much more like a cry of attention to me, not to mention the vast amounts of tax dollars that went into his rescue; the Brooklyn Bridge entirely shut down to traffic for hours, the boat patrol prepared in the water, the Brooklyn police and the NYPD all in position to negotiate a safe talk down and the rescue if needed, all at the ready; I can’t even imagine the cost of this rescue, money that could have such a profound impact on so many of those less fortunate, than by saving one person from jumping.  But alas the end of the day, a life was saved.

Police Boats in the Water in Jumper Preparation

On the brighter side of Brooklyn are the Botanical Gardens, and I had the privilege of yet another fantastic Heather adventure. This time accompanied by her youngest on a rainy day through the flower gardens and cherry orchards, ah the smell or cherry blossoms! The gardens where lovely and another perfect escape from the city, especially when you virtually have them all to yourselves on account of the weather. It was perfect rainy day, not to mention the fabulous pictures and as Heather would say, sometimes inclement weather makes for the greatest photographs!

Family Tree

We played tourist big time in New York City, but does it really count as being a tourist when you’re researching for family member names on the walls at Ellis Island? Or does that make it more of a research mission? I’m going with research mission, because I really dislike looking like a tourist, especially when it means I feel like the cattle in a round up, being herded through crowds of people, the pushing and shoving because they want to be one person ahead of you. The boat was tough, the mass of tourists a little harder to handle and I don’t know if it was because I have my New York hustle on already or if I really just don’t like large groups of people, I’m going with hustle, my New York hustle, this city really gets my need for speed walking, tourists, not so much.

Taking the boat to Ellis Island was one of our “must do’s” while here in NYC and a win-win because it also meant we got to throw in Lady Liberty as well while out to sea. Lack of planning on our part and not knowing that we needed to reserve crown view tickets three months in advance only allowed us access to climb the stairs to the pedestal, but still the views of the New York skyline were spectacular.

Looking out from Battery Park to the Statue of Liberty really doesn't do her justice. She looks small, it isn't until you are there, clouded by her majestic shadow that you get the true experience and ambiance of what she represents; Lady Liberty casts spirit and hope into those that set eyes upon her. She is iconic Americana and I can only imagine what she meant to those immigrating to America as she came into view from their ship decks, after months at sea. The excitement and nerves bursting at the surface and then seeing her, having Lady Liberty as their anchor, a symbol of freedom and a new beginning to life; she possess such iconic symbolism, so much greatness.

Seeing the Statue of Liberty was just the prelude to exploring Ellis Island, experiencing a fraction of elation that the immigrants must have felt before touching ground on Ellis Island, their first steps as Americans. Today, 40% of Americans can trace an ancestors back to Ellis Island, somebody that stepped foot here on this country before them, enduring the medical and legal inspections before being sent on their way to their new beginning.

Tom’s great grandfather Salvatore Compagno came over from Sicily on one of these boats with his family, including his grandfather Anthony Joseph Compagno as a young child; both of these men have their names engraved on the walls of Ellis Island and searching them out was such a thrill. I only wish I could have known these men, heard their stories and the experiences of their great journey and their new start as Americans. It is something I wish they would have written down, to read what they felt and endured to experience it through their eyes would be such a great family history to carry down for generations. If only they could have had blogs back then, sigh!

Salvatore Compagno, Tom's Great Grandfather

Anthony Joseph Compagno, Tom's Grandfather

Watching Tom search out names, taking pictures and looking out over the wall was such a treat; I loved seeing him so excited to search out these men’s names, to document them for his parents and siblings, it was so worth the cattle round up and something I would happily do again, just to see that smile of his!

Sailing, Takes Me Away...

The day began with a quick meeting in Union Square as Heather, her youngest and I met up for a day of schizophrenic weather and a much longer walk than either of us ever intended. We strolled through Greenwich and the West Village giving our umbrellas a workout as the rain couldn't make up its mind; stopping for pastries, play, potholes and lunch.  Yes, potholes, there was a garbage can size pothole in the middle of the road, so Heather being the concerned citizen that she is called 311 to report it, and they transferred her to 911. Now this pothole was a concern, but I’m not sure it warranted a transfer to 911. With all the hoops the city of New York needed in order to report a pothole, I feel as though Heather and I should have personally dressed up as street cones and directed traffic; seriously, it would have been easier than making a phone call.

Being Fancy in a Fancy Park

Once our civic duty was complete, we continued to stroll, landing upon a Mexican dive where we relaxed and enjoyed some sangria - a visit we stayed a little too long for, unaware we created mayhem for ourselves by fully enjoying lunch and visiting.  Who knew we would need to run 2.5 miles across Battery Park, Heather pushing a stroller and myself in a low cut dress and flip flops causing a lot of people to turn their heads our way and stare, we were quite the spectacle, but we had a pirate ship to catch dammit and we were going to make it, swoob and all!

Did we make it? Yes and no! The plank had been pulled, but thanks the slow boat in front of us and that adorable little guy of Heather's, the Captain had the crew set out the gangplank and let us cross. Seriously, who would tell one of the cutest two years old's ever that he couldn't go for a boat ride? And yes, we were those people, but we made it, a bit of a hot mess, but we got to go sailing nonetheless!

Heather and Grant

Sailing along the New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty was amazing; watching the crew work the sails, taking in the view and cooling down with the ocean breeze after our arduous run was the perfect end to our self-inflicted chaos! Completely worth the sweat and the stress and I have the pictures to prove it! So enjoy because we sure as hell did! 

All Things Met

New York City and the Metropolitan Museum of Art go hand in hand; you can’t visit this great metropolis without seeing The Met, in fact I think it is some unspoken tourist code to grab a cup of coffee, pop a squat on those famous stairs, and contemplate the wonders of life and art. We downed our energy juice, trust me, we needed it in order to support our hours-long stroll through the vast halls; then a perfect end to an already great day, we basked in awe and wonder from the rooftop garden, glass of wine in hand, relaxed, and took in the serenity of Central Park from above and marveled at the city’s amazing skyline!

The MET holds art ranging from modern to ancient, from Egypt to China, and Renaissance to the Medieval, basically you name it and they have it; Tom and I easily spent half a day roaming the halls and we barely scratched the surface of what this place has to offer. While we roamed the halls, studying the Rembrandt's I had an epiphany that these portraits are simply old school selfies; I know it sounds horrible and the art community is going to hate me, but think about it, it’s totally true!

The Adorable Ms. Heather and the best New York City Tour Guide

An extension of the Met is The Cloisters and I was privileged enough to take to the outskirts of the city with our beautiful friend Heather, to bask in the beauty of this medieval working monastery. We browsed the unicorn tapestries, the genealogy of Jesus and the exquisite gardens The Cloisters boasts. I am not a religious person and maybe we were blasphemous by pondering the thought of Jesus's "being" instead of just “believing”, but the genealogy of Jesus kind of threw me for a loop; don’t they teach Immaculate Conception? So there is no genealogy, unless he was half human or full human? Now you can all be as confused as Heather and I and to see the genealogy only confirmed my beliefs he was as human as Buddha, Gandhi and Muhammad. I know now I have struck a chord with the Christians as well as the art community; I am two for two today. 

Post Cloisters, and in deep thought about weird unicorn tapestry depictions of marriage confinement and fertility, Heather and I popped over to the New Leaf for a little wine and deep thought - okay, that is a lie, lots of giddy conversations. We were even more giddy as we learned the value of a great napkin origami hat by all the seniors in the restaurant.  Apparently the tent top and cloud cover weren't nearly enough sun protection. In all reality I shouldn't laugh at this still, because in truth, I'm pretty sure this is exactly what my future holds.  

I feel I should give Heather some introduction, since her and her family will be a large aspect of my posts in regards to New York. Heather is a sorority sister from ZTA, from the good ole' SUU days, she worked with Tom at Matrix - and her husband, Willy, was none other than Tom's boss. So we all go way back, in fact I am pretty sure Heather is my kindred spirit and we have a ton of wonderful memories from back in the day. Also, do me all a huge favor, and next time you see Tom, ask him about the time he came to New York for the Rolonda Show! I promise, you'll want to hear all about this, its a story you'll want to know! 

Home Sweet New York

Street View of Our Apartment

Damn, the Big Apple made our move here really tough; pouring rain, no place to park near our building and a car loaded to the brim of stuff to unload and carry up a flight of stairs, but I still thought  we are in "The City," the city where dreams come true and all I would immediately become all nostalgic, so yeah it was hard, but so worth it! Tom was truly a white knight through the whole scenario, grabbing as much as he could, trekking across the street and up the road in the crazy rain, then climbing up the flight of stairs to the apartment, all while I kept watch out over the car, our belongings and hoped to sweet Baby Jesus a cop would not issue us a ticket for parking in front of a fire hydrant. Luggage was unloaded quickly, especially considering the circumstances, a legitimate parking space found, a change into some dry clothes, a bottle of wine opened and all was well with the world once again!

This is our fifth rental from Airbnb and so far this one has proved to be the most difficult and complicated one yet; in fact up until we arrived we weren't sure if we were actually going to be staying here or in a hotel. A few days prior to arriving they had sent us a lease agreement separate from Airbnb and after reading it and the information they wanted from us, well we wouldn't sign it; seriously it's a holiday rental, why would they need my social security number? Or wanting us to sign off on a property inspection before we actually even saw the property? But we do have to give Airbnb some serious props here because they handled the situation like a boss, calling the landlord and letting them know they were violating the terms of Airbnb and we didn't have to sign it and promising to find us a place to stay if this one didn't work; the way they handled everything and their follow through totally put us at ease, which we both really needed, I can't speak for Tom, but I was in mild panic mode for a bit.

This Upper East Side, walk-up apartment is small; seriously if you blink and you will miss it and it has plenty of little quirks; my least favorite place so far and the most expensive, but hey, that's New York, right? We've been pretty spoiled, especially after the DC place, so when there wasn't an iron, paper towels, garbage bags or even a coffee maker I was disappointed to say the least. Oh and the funniest part, you have to unplug the fridge to plug in the microwave; this didn't fly with us, so by day two the table from the living room had been moved to the kitchen and the microwave moved to the other wall; I don't like to think I am high maintenance but I really do like the simple things of life to work smoothly and with little effort. Plus side, there is a coffee shop right around the corner and that held us over for a couple of days until I could find a non-glass french press (non glass so it won't break during the travels); thank God I had the sense to tow along our tea pot with us for the past five months, seriously, functioning without coffee is not an option for this family.

I am becoming an expert at hand washing dishes at this point, that's right, we are back to no dishwasher! Oh the crime! This is also our first place without a washer/dryer unit in the home, so I have to go to the laundromat; I know most New Yorkers send their laundry out, but I air dry so many pieces and I am a little freaked out by a stranger handling my delicates, so I make the trek a couple of blocks and Ethel and I hang out and read, well I read, she chills on my lap while we wait for clean clothes. While others call it laundry we refer to it as quality mom and fur daughter time.

We are located on the Upper East Side, sandwiched right between Central Park and Carl Schurz Park which makes up for the myriad of flaws the apartment holds; knowing that within a ten minute walk I can be at the Met or strolling along the East River, the location is absolutely perfect. Plus, Ethel has a doggie daycare on the corner, so it makes picking her up and dropping her off quick and easy while we are out touring the less dog friendly aspects of the city. My favorite feature of the location and Tom's worst nightmare, we are right off of 5th Avenue; I promise I am going to try like hell to not break the bank while we are here!

Which speaking of breaking the bank, parking tickets! We didn't even make it 24 hours before we received our first one for parking too close to a fire hydrant. Plus the whole moving the car four times a week for street cleaning, let alone finding a place to park to begin with was kind of freaking me out. In fact I had a minor meltdown when I went out to the car to grab a few items we had left in the night before, found the ticket, hopped in the car with the hopes of finding a a new, non-ticket spot to park and had to drive in this crazy mayhem; I hit my breaking point. Poor Tom receives this sobbing call from me as I am scouring the neighborhood in search of anywhere to park and as I pull up to switch and give him the driver seat, a spot right in front of the building opened up. Yay Universe for throwing me a bone right when I needed it! Needless to say, having a car in the city was way too much for either of us to handle and the amazing Anne and Aaron offered up their driveway in New Jersey and we were elated! Seriously, our lives became so much easier without having to stress about making sure the car was moved and in the constant search of a parking space; Aaron and Anne have kept me sane and for that I am so grateful! Thank you to both of you!!

View From The Fire Escape

We've been here almost a week now and we have settled in nicely; adjusting to city life, the hustle and bustle and really enjoying catching up with friends. I promise lots of exciting adventures this month and I can't wait to share them with you all, so stay tuned for all our Big Apple adventures!