Sunday, September 29, 2013

New York City

I'm a little in love with New York City. I love the hustle and bustle, the ever changing crowds that I could sit and watch for hours on end, the ease of public transportation, endless food options, and the Yankees.

This spring, we snatched Yankees tickets for one of their last home appearances of the year, which landed on a weekday and on my birthday. Up until the week before the game, we had no plans or reservations for the entire trip, knowing that the only important event had been booked for months. We ended up driving to the city and staying in a great little B&B in Brooklyn, walking distance from the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. We enjoyed a stroll through the borough and the gardens, although many of the flowers had bloomed and died as the days grew shorter and the nights grew colder.



We decided to head to the game early to watch batting practice and get to see some of the players up close, since our seats for the game were out on the bleachers, far away from everything but the bullpen. We arrived shortly after 5pm when the gates were supposed to be opening, and were met by a crowd of people waiting. Long story short, they didn't open the gates until 6, due to an issue with that night's giveaway. Needless to say we missed batting practice, and got to our seats in time for E to start an award worthy meltdown. She had been completely content for the 50 minute Subway ride and the hour wait in line, but she was done! We decided to get her some food in hopes of distracting her from her misery, and Chou went off to see what he could find. He returned shortly with an Italian sausage sandwich loaded with peppers and onions. My dear 22 pound, 21 month old daughter ate the whole entire sandwich, bun, peppers, onions, and all, and then continued munching on fries for the rest of the game. I guess that meltdown was merited. Unfortunately, the Yankees lost miserably and we didn't get to see Mariano come in and save the day one last time. However, the Yankees rock and we get a free ticket for a game next year thanks to the bobblehead disaster. I'll take it!







The following morning, we enjoyed a hot breakfast at a cute landmark diner in Brooklyn. Breakfast as a family with no rush, no schedule, and no looming to-do list is nearly unheard of in my house, so our little diner breakfast seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we cherished every moment! We spent the rest of the morning checking out the memorial at Ground Zero, and then headed up to Times Square to have lunch with one of my college roomies.







I'm now ready to up and move to Brooklyn, but Chou, who just started a new job that he loves, is a little less convinced. I'm sure next year we'll stay a little longer, enjoy a free Yankees game, and I'll let NYC romance Chou.