We did so much over the weekend, and saw so many places; it was overwhelming. I had to write it all down each night, because I couldn't have kept up otherwise. Actually, I barely kept up with mom and Cari. Cari walks so fast, I guess it's just part of being a New Yorker. Mom kept up (mostly, except when she stopped to gawk at something and got lost in the crowds). I trailed behind, hoping for an excuse to stop and take a breath. The problem is that the other two would stop to wait for me to catch up. I'd get excited, thinking I'd get to stop and rest, too. But as soon as I caught up, they'd be off and running again. My only breaks were the times mom got lost in the crowd. (I learned to point out things to mom to distract her just so that I could get that brief rest.)
Friday morning mom and I woke up at 3 am so that we could get to the airport by 4. (Our flight was at 6 am.) The plan was that we would get checked in, then enjoy coffee and a bagel while waiting for the flight. Unfortunately, the check-in didn't open until 5 am. Then we had to wait for the security to open up. By the time we got to our gate, there wasn't time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. On the plus side, we were allowed to bring our Starbucks coffee onto the flight with us.
It was such an early flight, we actually got to watch the sunrise along the way. I tried to get a photo, but it just isn't as gorgeous as the real thing.
In New York, Cari met us at the airport and took us back to her apartment. I love her place. It's just like you would expect a New York apartment to look. Very cool. Very Cari.Then we were off and running. (Did I mention that Cari walks very fast?) First we went out to the financial district. We visited Ground Zero, although with the construction there wasn't much to see.
Somewhere along the way we stopped for lunch. Cari took us to one of her favorite places for curry. It was very good, despite the guy who talked nonstop into his cellphone in a very loud voice. I was glad to be inside, though. It was very cold outside. I've been in Florida too long, and just wasn't prepared for the chill. Even Cari had to put on a winter coat, and she's used to the cold weather.
While in the area, we also got to see the stock market (from the outside), and the bookstore that Cari used to work at. We passed Trinity Church, and debated a stroll among the cemetery. Some of the stones dated from the 1700's. I did get to see Alexander Hamilton's grave. But we decided that there were too many other things on our list to do, and we're saving a tour of Trinity Church for the next visit.
We also got to stop at Seaport Yarns, Cari's favorite shop. If you didn't know to look for it, you'd never know the yarn shop was there. You have to go inside an office building and up the elevator to find it. Once inside, though, it's definitely the place of yarn fiber dreams. I managed to walk away with two skeins of yarn. (Souvenir yarn doesn't count as stash, right?)
Would you believe that the day wasn't over yet. Our next visit was to South Street Seaport to see the tall ships. We also checked on getting tickets to a Broadway show, but the price was just a little more than we wanted to spend. Maybe the next time.
The view of the Brooklyn Bridge was great. Cari's apartment is on the far side of the bridge. She offered to take us walking across the bridge, but I vetoed that idea real fast.
Our final stop for the day was the Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village. We went early, and got a really good spot to watch the parade. Which was good, because it turned out to be very crowded. The parade itself was worth going to. Lots and lots of people and groups in costumes. This is already a long post, almost as long as our day was, so I won't go into details. But even mom said she'd like to make it an annual trip to the parade.
The group doing the Michael Jackson "Thriller" dance was amazing!
By the time we made it back to Cari's apartment, mom and I literally fell into bed and were asleep before we finished saying goodnight. Cari, being Cari, stayed up a little longer. (But even she admitted that she was tired.)
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