All in a New York Minute

 

Dave and I went to New York for a few days last week. He had some meetings and there were two "spouse events" so I tagged along. Here is what I did while he was busy...
*Went stand-by to Regis and Kelly. Found some nice people that helped me get in and two of them happened to be members of the Church. Saw awesome guests: Jennifer Lopez, Brooke Shields, and Cirque du Soliel

 

*Went in to see the temple.
*Got together with a great friend that I met in London who now lives in Manhattan.
*Went on an interesting tour at the UN.
*Went to the 8th floor of Saks Fifth Avenue and tried on a pair of $1,000 shoes. Really, $1,000. And they were the cheap ones!

 

*Went to the school where I taught 17 years ago and caught up with the teachers who are still there. Great to see them again after all these years

 

*Took the bus down 5th Avenue to give my poor feet a break.
Then, when Dave was free, we...
*Ate at Peter Lugers (#1 Steakhouse for the past 25 years!) to celebrate our 17th anniversary.
*Saw Blithe Spirit (Rupert Everett and Angela Lansbury)
*Went back to Saks to show him the amazing floor of shoes.
*Went to Canal Street and FINALLY found the orange bag I have been searching for.
*Went to Mon Petit Cafe for lunch...it was a our favorite French restaurant 17 years ago and it is still there!

 

*Went to Ground Zero and saw the amazing 9-11 memorial museum. I was so moved, I cried...it is a great tribute.
*Walked around Battery Park City where we lived when Andy was a baby, and again when Alaina was little.
*Had my first ever Starbucks hot chocolate!

*Went by our first apartment, only to find it is now a nice salon instead of a rat and roach infested hole.
I think that is all...
Then, we had an eventful airport experience. After waiting for one hour on the tarmac, we found ourselves back at the gate where the captain informed us that a suspicious battery had been found, along with a "threatening note to one of the passengers". So, we deplaned and waited two more hours. They finally had to get a new plane for us because they couldn't rule out any foulplay, so we boarded the second aircraft and had to wait in line for take off for another hour! We ended up getting home four hours late, but at least they gave us each 10,000 bonus miles for our inconvenience.
What a great trip!

We Survived Some Scary Fun!

I have always loved suspense. And exhilaration. So when we went to Moaning Caverns I was anticipating a little of both, but had no idea how amazing it was going to be. We walked into a little shop where they sell very expensive tickets and rocks and trinkets, then we saw the cave opening...right there in the tiny store. Andy and I rappeled down 165 feet through the center of the dark cave while the rest of the family climbed down the 16-story metal spiral staircase and met us at the bottom. Andy went first and I followed just above him. Everything was fine until we had to go bottom first through a tiny hole (I though I was going to get stuck!) and then I heard Andy call out, "What do I do here? My legs don't reach the side anymore!" Being the encouraging mother that I am (and thinking that sometimes Andy can be a bit alarmist) I called back that he'd be fine and to just keep going. Suddenly I reached the spot he must have been talking about. Yes, I was just hanging there, about 80 feet down from entrance and 80 feet up from the end of my life. And no, they don't send a guide with you or someone to ask questions to if you need a little advice, like how shall I proceed without dying.
Since Andy had already passed this point, I knew I could do it (it wasn't the first time he has helped me like this!) so I held my breath and kept pulling the rope. After a while I could see little ants (that would be my family) waiting for us to finish our descent. Such relief I have never felt as when we were back on firm ground! It was the most exhilarating feeling and I loved it.
Then, we did the 1,500 foot long zip line. Dave and Ryan watched as Andy and Alaina went solo and Becca went tandem with me because she wasn't quite big enough to go alone. After two regular zips, we were ready to go "superman style". One by one, Andy, Alaina, and I jumped head first from about 60 feet off the ground and flew down the line. It was awesome. What a fun day!


A view of the starting point from the end.