What a week!
I dropped off my Dad in CT Sunday night and Monday morning, I picked up Abbey and Jonathan and we headed toward New Jersey. Abbey with me in the Kashi mobile and Jonathan and Dad in the convertible. It was a HOT and HUMID day and we ended up getting stuck in traffic for 2 hours on the GW bridge. Nice for me and Ab, being in the Kashi car - it's a hybrid so it turns off when we're not moving, but poor J and Dad were cooking in the hot sun waiting for traffic on 95 to move. When we arrived in NJ, we were starved up and had a quick Kashi cracker and cheesy, and then we headed out to the pool. We spent the next two days at the pool, playing croquet, eating goodies my Aunt created and playing with the little children - my cousin's kids. We all had a really nice time, and thoroughly enjoyed introducing more of our family to my new brother-in-law. I really have such a wonderful family, which is always remembered when I introduce important people into my life with my family.
Wednesday afternoon, after a long and competitive game of croquet, which I won with flying colors (we played poison, so once I finished, I went back and killed everyone before they could finish - I rocked it out!!!), we drove into NYC for the evening. I booked the Marriott Marquis for us because Abbey and I used to ride the elevators there and dream about being able to stay there. After driving through the Luncoln Tunnel, being hailed by hundereds of New Yorkers and tourists alike, we pulled into the hotel in Times Sqaure in our bright yellow Kashi mobile. We were forced forward by the valet guys because they thought we were a taxi (many o the taxi's in NYC are actually the same car - a Toyota Hybrid Highlander). Angry that the driver (aka. I) would try to drive up to the entrance, they came up to my window, realized we were guests and put on a huge smile display for us. Ha!
We rode up the elevators that are located on the outside of the walls and entered into our room, which looked right over Times Square.
By late atfternoon we got in line at TKTS, and within 15 minutes we had already purchased our tickets to South Pacific, playing at Lincoln Center. We walked through Rockefeller Center to 5th Avenue, through Central Park and over to the Upper West Side touring Jonathan around. For dinner we stopped at Josie's (an organic restaurant on Amsterdam & 74), had a healthy dinner and spectacular dessert and then walked 7 blocks south to Lincoln Center. South Pacific was wonderful! Very entertaining and joyous music. Abbey and I grew up on South Pacific because our father would frequently rent musicals for us to watch before bedtime. It was a real treat for us to see it performed live. Broadway never disappoints.
On the walk back home we re-entered Times Square. Jonathan was a bit shocked by all the ridiculous lights. He asked me when they turned them off at night and was a bit flabbergasted when I said they never did. It's really unbelievable how much power we use that could be supplying a whole country in just 7 blocks. That's New York for ya! $$$
The next morning we enjoyed breakfast on the top of the hotel with a lovely view of Times Square and read the paper. After riding down the cool elevators, we walked to the Empire State Building, Grand Central Terminal (whispering in the corners) and the NY Public Library (I love the Rose Reading Room - where I used to write my best papers for college). Then we hopped in the car and drove to the Brooklyn Bridge, a view of the Statue of Liberty at Battery Park, WTC site and Greenwich Village.
This NYC trip was my treat to A & J to celebrate their marriage. Since J had never been before, I thought it was a nice idea. I think it was pretty eye opening to him, especailly in this heat. I'm glad he saw it. It was NYC at it's best and at it's worst, just like every day in the city, really.
We met Giovanna at W 4th St and hopped on the highway toward Newark airport.
After dropping the kids off at the airport, Giovanna and I drove to Baltimore. Blah!
I'm not the biggest fan of Baltimore, so I did what I needed to do - fedex, whole foods, site check and then got to bed. Boy, did I sleep deeply. I had no idea how tired I was until I could barely wake up. I think all this wedding hype of Abbey and Jonathan coming home was more than any of us could understand until after it was all over. Not so much physically exhausting, but emotionally and mentally - planning, planning, planning. My mother mentioned it to me when we left or Jersey, because that was the end of all this craziness for her then, but I still had A & J for 1 more week, and didn't agree with her until Thursday, when I dropped them off. I love my sister and seeing her married and happy, but working a full-time job on top of enetertaining can create a lot of anxiety and exhaustion. Ah, but it was fun, too.
The event was alright. Not the best. I was a little nervous because we were right, and I mean, right at the end of the peir and we weren't sure if the hurricane was going to hit Baltimore or not. So, we really weighed the tents down as best we could and each night I prayed for low winds. It poured both nights, cleaning off our tents beautifully, and we didn't loose anything in the water, which I am ever-grateful for, but man - I wouldn't ever want to set up that close to the water again. The beach is one thing, on a pier is another.
People in Baltimore don't know much about Kashi, so we had a lot of work to do in terms of educating our consumers on healthy lifestyles. Lots of people had never tried Yoga before, either. So, I thought Baltimore was a great place to be for our little tour. But, if I never had to go back there... I wouldn't.
We are now on our merry way to Atlanta. :)
But first, Camille and I are headed to Hilton Head for the week for a little R&R.
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