New York, New York!!!

What an incredible weekend!!! As you probably already know, Mike and I spent the weekend in NEW YORK CITY!!! This was my first time going and I am so happy that I was able to share that experience with Mike. We had a fantastic time! The journey was part business and part pleasure. Mike had a chiropractic seminar at the Westin hotel in Jersey City so we took advantage of an opportunity and spent all of our free time in the Big Apple.

A synopsis on our brief trip:
We tearfully left Dallas early Friday morning (leaving Lacey never gets easier!!) and arrived in Jersey just before noon. (Side note--I got to watch one of my favorite movies on the plane-- "Julie and Julia." Just as delightful as the first time I saw it!) Took my first cab ride to the hotel (yep, those drivers are a bit crazy!), checked in, and jumped on the train to the city. We made our way up to Times Square to do some sight seeing and shopping. There is definitely a palpable energy to NYC! We thoroughly enjoyed walking around, browsing, eating the typical hot dogs, pizza, and baked goods (and gaining 10 pounds in the mean time, I'm sure!). We walked through Macy's, Toys R Us, the M & M and Hershey's factories, and other random stores in the area. We meandered through Bryant Park and up and down Broadway. Lots of fun! Hopped back on the train and headed back for the Friday night session of the seminar.

Saturday was a full day on training for Mike. While I usually spend that time with him, I opted for some personal time this go around. I actually stayed in New Jersey and walked around a nearby mall for a bit, then had lunch with Mike, and found a salon where I could finally get my hair done-- something that I've been trying to get to for a couple of weeks but hadn't found the time. (Note to self: next time, WAIT until you get home! It's so hard to find a stylist that I trust, and this experience reminded me of why. Against better judgement, I let someone else do it and now I'll have to return to my sweet Erica to fix the brassy mess that Anna created. Gr. Oh well.) She did give me a very pretty up-do for our big night to the theater. Haven't done anything like that since, well, our wedding! Went back to the hotel to complete the look and then Mike and I made our way back into the city to see Lion King. AMAZING!!!!!!! I cannot speak highly enough of that spectacular show! The sets, the costumes, the acting, the effects, the music-- all just breath-taking! I cried throughout the opening song, partly because of how amazing it all was, and partly because it was just such a dream to be at a Broadway show with Mike. I've wanted to do that for a very long time and it was well worth the wait. I'd see it again tomorrow if I could!

On Sunday, we woke up, packed, checked out of the hotel and then went back to the city for our final few hours of fun in NYC. We made our way to Central Park and just loved it! We had limited time so we opted for a bike tour of the park. It was a great way to see a lot in a short amount of time. We thoroughly enjoyed it! It was such a beautiful fall day and there was quite a lot to see. Mike was particularly entertained to see the Friend's fountain while I enjoyed seeing all of the runners, quietly kicking myself for leaving the running shoes behind. Next time, I'm running in Central Park! It's just beautiful and totally worth our final hours in the city.

Clearly, we didn't have much time and only scratched the surface of all there is to see in NYC. We agreed, though, that it was the perfect little glimpse of the city and we look forward to future little glimpses. For now, it was another great getaway for the two of us. I am SO grateful that Mike and I have these opportunities and that we have wonderful parents who help with Lacey. She stayed with my mom for the weekend and it sounds like she did great. We are so so so so grateful that she was so well taken care of and that we didn't have to worry about her while we were away. We missed her terribly, of course, and were so excited to get home to be with her again. It's great to get away here and there, but it's wonderful coming home. Now, time to jump into the holidays!!

New York Trip