Monday, August 8, 2011

Here's to New York!

This is Chris' 3rd year working in Nyack, New York for a client and my 1st year to be able to go and visit for a weekend! His NY trip typically coincides with our annual conference at work, but this year our conference is pushed back two weeks. I flew out on Thursday night and spent Friday sleeping in while Chris finished up his work week. Friday night he gave me the tour of the little town of Nyack he is working in. Nyack is about 45 minutes north of Manhattan, and sits right on the Hudson. These are a few photos of the seminary he's auditing, absolutely charming historic campus.


This is a view from the seminary, overlooking the Hudson valley.


They had pretty neat benches with "Nyack" carved in the metal...


After a tour of Nyack, we drove to Piermont which is a town just 10 minutes away. The little town is situated on a peninsula that jets out into the Hudson. We had an authentic italian meal at "Confetti" on the patio.



Saturday ended up being a slow day - I woke up that morning with a pinched nerve in my back that caused my leg to be in a lot of pain. We visited Urgent Care and filled some prescriptions for medicines. I ended up spending most of the day in bed, which was unfortunate since we were in New York, but necessary to feel better.

Later on Saturday we gradually made our way into Manhattan to our hotel. Our hotel was in the Upper West End, just a few blocks from Chris' cousin Shannon's apartment. Sunday morning we met Shannon and her boyfriend Kellen at this great local chain called "Sarabeths" - we enjoyed a basket of muffins and homemade preserves, along with our own picks for entrees. I had homemade lemonade too - which is becoming a tradition. (I have a favorite place in Denver for homemade lemonade - The Deserts Bar aka "D Bar" -  so anywhere I go that has homemade lemonade, I always get it so I can compare, and reassure myself that D Bar does still indeed have the best lemonade!)

This is a pic of Chris sitting on the steps of Shannon's apartment building. The style of rows of apartments were so unique - you would never see architecture like this in the midwest!


This is looking down Shannon's street toward Central Park, which is just one block down.


Breakfast at Sarabeth's




We also found this gem right around the corner, and enjoyed a delicious dark chocolate/cocoa milkshake - I think they call it a "Chocolate Shake" but the flavors were so much more complex than just a chocolate shake!


This is a photo of our hotel


On Sunday we also drove past where the World Trade Center once stood. This was very memorable for Chris and I because the first time we saw this site was in 2005 when we visited New York with a group on an "Alternative Spring Break" trip - during that trip we worked at a homeless shelter for 3 days and then experienced the city for a day. I remember seeing the WTC then, just 4 years after September 11, 2001 and I can recall the huge pile of rubble and hole in the ground, which left you speechless to see such destruction. It was neat to see the WTC site today and see the new structure being build, Freedom Tower, now, 10 years later.





Next we drove to Coney Island - home of the famous hot dogs!




Chris of course had to get a hot dog, and we're proud to report that it was delicious.


Coney Island is also home of the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest - you'll see on the sign they have a countdown until the next contest... yikes!



We also sought out a famous restaurant, dear to Chris' heart - the "Restaurant" featured in Seinfield. He was very, very excited to see this first hand.



Overall, we had a great weekend - it was oh so romantic to be back in New York, where we once spent time together as good friends, and then now as husband and wife. We half-jokingly say that this is the city where we fell in love! We feel so fortunate and blessed that we're able to make memories like these together.



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