Tuesday, September 02, 2008

A quick and far from thorough recap

Landed at home last night and we're still adjusting, our whole beings feeling like eyes that just stepped into a dark room. I'm rather discouraged how quickly my renewed determination to keep my home in order fizzled. Anyone know where I can put in an order for more energy?

But truly, as somebody who usually has just Sir O for company all day, it was divine to spend a whole week with two of my favorite friends from college. Lots of late nights talking, which may have contributed to my current lack of energy. (Walking 5+ miles most days probably didn't help much either).

Tuesday we arrived in NYC, found a magical parking spot, and headed into Greenwich. We sampled the cupcakes and key-lime-pie cheesecake at Magnolia Bakery, then wandered around Chinatown. We found a surprisingly yummy spot for dinner (my little eggplants with garlic sauce were SO good), then Mr Renn, Sir O and I crashed at the apartment while Christina and Taylor headed out to see Wicked and have a night on the town.

Wednesday we perused the Met (Christina and Taylor also managed to fit the Guggenheim in), then went to one of the last games in the old Yankee Stadium. (Where there were so many fights in the stands that almost nobody actually watched the game).


Thursday we caved and tried the Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity (which was really yummy, but hardly worth the snootiness of the staff and the $8.50/head minimum purchase), then stumbled upon Dylan's Candy Bar (super fun.... we found gummy-teeth!) then play for hours at FAO Schwartz. We made the mistake of going inside Carnegie Deli (another per head minimum, this time $12.50 each), where they tried to count Sir O as an adult and our waiter never once checked on us. (Parties of 5 or more have gratuity added on automatically... plus they charge you $3 to cut your sandwich in half). So after challenging that tab, and leaving no tip whatsoever, we did have to admit that the sandwiches were huge and the cheesecake really yummy. Next time we order at the counter to-go.

We then got to see a few exhibits at the Natural History Museum (we found out too late you needed a seperate ticket to see their special exhibit on the Horse....), and see a tiny corner of Central Park.

The next morning we packed up and I nursed some crazy Braxton Hicks action, then we drove 3+ more hours up to Boston to see Ari.

Even though Ari is sort of in-between homes now, I love being where she lives because she's one of those people that exhudes pleasant hominess. I tried to pick up some tips, but so far it doesn't seem to be working. Sir O was instantly in love with Baby Kai and tormented him every chance he got.

We took the train from her house into the city on Saturday, and got to see some fun sights in one of my favorite cities. (Boston is just so CLEAN) Mike's Pastries and the U.S.S. Constitution were some definite highlights. Then Ari and I hurried back only to miss our train and have to wait for 3 hours at the train station with a toddler and an 8 month old. Yeah, you're jealous.

Mr Renn stayed in town with friends from school we had met up with, he got to spend 10 minutes walking to the top of the Bunker Hill monument and go to a Red Socks game at Fenway Park. He says it's an incredibly fun ball park to see a game at. (They play "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond every game and everybody there sings along...) Then he drove up to the coast of Maine to see lighthouses on Sunday while Sir O and I laid low at Ari's house.

(P.S. hot cocoa made with steamed milk and sprinkled with cinnamon = heaven on earth, thanks Ari!)

Sunday evening Ari and I took our little men to the shore to let them play in the sand. Slightly chilly, but great fun for Sir O.


That night we picked Mr Renn up at the train station and then had a REALLY late supper.

Monday morning we were hoping to go sailing, but the wind was not looking friendly for a boat with so many small children and amateurs on it, so instead we raided Mark's parents' garden and brought home a great bounty of tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. The yellow plum tomatoes are SO YUMMY!

And now we are home, Mr Renn is trying to get caught up in school, Sir O is bored out of his noggin, and I have just finished unpacking and am starting in on the new messes Sir O has made already. It's going to take all day to upload all of our pictures, but it is good to be home, just the same.
FYI our New York trip photos and videos are here and our Boston trip photos and videos are here.
Sir O's fan's will especially enjoy the videos of him in FAO Schwartz (imagine his speech impediment colliding with an entire aisle of toy trucks....)

6 comments:

Chantele Sedgwick said...

It looks like you had so much fun! I hope I can go to at least a few of those places someday!! It sounds like sir O was a very good boy as well!

Ashley said...

Oh, I love NYC. What a fun trip you had. I LOVE the frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity's. When we were there Sally Struthers ate right by us, funny huh? I enjoyed all the pitures so much! I have done the walk all over NYC pregnant also and I feel your pain!
P.S. Didn't you want to see Wicked??? I want to see it so badly!

amyorr said...

Serendipity is my favorite! I agree with you about the staff though. snobs. I have been to carnigie deli and I was dying at the prices! The minimum and you can't share. What a super fun trip. DO it all while you can!! You be graduating before you know it!

aLi said...

how do you eat a sandwich like that? That is crazy!
It looks like you had waaay too much fun for a pregnant lady. You look so cute, btw. I am thoroughly jealous of all the cool things close by. I need to take advantage of all the cool things here in the midwest!
I am not jealous of your wait at the train station. I bet that was awful.

Kori said...

Wow! I would love to go to NY. So many things I would love to see. Still fun to see them through other's vacations! Thanks for sharing.

Chris said...

Em! when were you in Boston!?! Let me know the next time you are here. (Oh, did I tell you I moved to Boston?)

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