New York State of Mind
Lady Liberty
Originally uploaded by ladyryokomuyoLast week was supposed to be my class reunion, which surprisingly, I was excited about. They'd already delayed a year, and overall the organization seemed pretty shoddy (it was going through the Development Office) so I wasn't too surprised when they canceled at the last minute. Since J and I had already planned for the trip however, and TC was expecting us, we decided to go to New Jersey for the weekend anyway.
I've been terrified of driving the PA Turnpike for years now, I remember traveling back and forth from Jersey to Ohio with my parents as kid and the drive was horrible. J and I popped in "Good Omens" book on CD, settled in, and made the trip in a little over eight hours with no real trouble aside from a bit of construction going into New Jersey. To say the drive was easy is an understatement, and I feel pretty good about it. Seeing how manageable the drive is, we'll probably visit more often, as the big weight of traveling has been lifted.
New Jersey/NYC itself was pretty fun. Its a good thing we pretty much had to walk 80% of the time because we ate a lot. Like, a lot, a lot; from ramen at Momofuku to French fusion at Le Bernadin. I also got to play tourist a bit, since there's a lot that J hasn't seen of The City. As a resident there's so much you take for granted as part of everyday life, that you rarely stop to really enjoy. Our last day there we took a Circle Line cruise around Manhattan, stopping to see the Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, South Street Seaport (which I'd forgotten about entirely) and several of the bridges connecting New York's boroughs. Honestly, I think the cruise is one of the best ways to really get a sense of New York, and how amazing of a place it really is.
There's a lot about it that I miss, and although I enjoy being home it feels so much quieter here than it did before.