And no Emily, I did not take blog worthy pictures. I did take these however.
I love NY. It is such a fun place to visit. Bob took Rachel and Sarah when they were 15 and 14. I stayed home for some reason. Can’t remember why. I was very nervous about them going and being on their own. So I gave them some boundaries – Central Park to Time Square, 5th Avenue to Broadway, or something confining like that. When I talked to them the next day, I asked what they had done and they told me they had gone to Brooklyn!!! So much for boundaries. I guess I just had to cease worrying because they seemed to be OK. NYC is the safest big city in the World. I guess we can thank Guliani for that though New Yorkers I have met say "No, not really".
Anyway, we arrived in the Big Apple late Thursday night and checked into our overpriced, under-loved hotel – the Sheraton NY. The rooms are tiny, the bathroom is tinier, the carpets and wall paper are very worn and the TV channels are few. The movie selection is OK, but you can’t start a movie anytime you want; you have to wait until it spools again. What is that about?
Friday, we went to the LDS Temple. I am sure I have never been in a more beautiful place, nor a more peaceful setting. The spirit is so strong and you can’t hear anything from the outside world. It is quite compact with a limited schedule, but always seems to have something going on.
Afterwards we went to a German restaurant on the Lower– Upper East Side (85th St. and 2nd Avenue) – The Heidelberg. The food was great, but the best part was the gay, Mexican waiter in Lederhosen and an elf hat. I wish I had taken a picture, but that might have been rude.
After a nap, we took a rickshaw/pedicab to a dinner with other attorneys sponsored by the AAJ – the organization formerly known as ATLA. I think it was just an excuse to drink a lot of wine (not us). We never really talked about anything specific except law and what I thought of Mitt Romney and why everyone thought Mormons were so odd. They were a very nice group, but I suspect they are all Clinton supporters.
Next morning, Bob went to meetings and I went to Harlem!! We saw the new Harlem renaissance. A lot of middle class and upper class families are moving back into Harlem because no one can afford homes in Manhattan. The old brownstones are being refurbished and selling for hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. I wonder where all the poor people are moving to? The is the biggest problem with gentrification. Donald Trump wants to buy a bunch of the projects and tear them down and replace them with luxury condos. Again, where do poor people, and just working class people go. We stopped by the legendary Apollo Theater,
the Jumel Mansion – George Washington really did sleep there,
and when one of the tour leaders found out that I was from Utah, she just had to take us by the new LDS Chapel in Harlem. It is on the corner of 126th and Adam Clayton Powell Drive (actually, I think that it may be 8th Ave. – but the street has been renamed.)
We had a wonderful soul food lunch and dessert at a jazz club. I will need to go back because there was so much to see.
That evening, I ran to China Town to buy purses, of course. We then met Joy Kaler from Advocate Capitol for dinner – and no we didn’t eat the entire time we were there. I selected Spamalot for the play we went to see with Joy. I am so sorry I chose that one. It was exceptionally vulgar – more vulgar than Monty Python usually is and uncomfortably irreverent. They added lots of things that were not in the Holy Grail movie and then just went on way too long.
Speaking of way too long, I will end this entry by stating that we went to church the next day, I flew home, Bob drove to Oswego, emptied the storage unit and flew home on Tuesday. All in all, it was a great trip, but next time, I don’t want to do so much with other people.
P.S. -- Over the last 2 weeks, I have lost 3.8 lbs.
