Living With Boys

Thursday, July 11, 2019

NYC Day 4

I’m finally used to the horns honking, the bad smells, and the diverse people, and of course it means we have reached our last full day in the city. We took the subway to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Because we were stationed in Germany when it happened, there are several aspects of that day in history that I missed for not being on American soil. I was transfixed by the museum. It was so well done!

This tree was found in Ground Zero in 2001 charred and damaged, but it was uprooted and sent to a nursery. Once it recovered, it was transplanted at the 9/11 memorial. It still carries the scars of the violence but serves as a symbol of hope and resiliency.

From here, we took the subway to Coney Island. I was a bit skeptical of Brooklyn as the train got closer to the stop, but it ended up being a quaint and fun place. Think Virginia Beach-esque. If it hadn’t started to rain, we would have stayed a bit longer soaking up the sun and riding amusement park rides at Luna Park.

Speaking of rain. We had a few drops fall on us during our Big Bus Night tour. The rain fell like pellets anytime the speed increased above 5 mph. Luckily, the traffic was so bad, we rarely got that fast for too long. I wouldn’t have minded being soaked if our tour guide was actually any good, but he pointed out Macy’s and the Addidas store. I wanted history and facts; I can see the names of the stores on the buildings. Keagan was none too happy to be wet, chilly, and sitting on the top of a bus. I wish I had pics but I couldn’t risk drowning my phone.

Tomorrow we are Amtrakking to Boston.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

NYC Day 3

We started our third day in the Big Apple at Madison Square Garden. Keagan would have loved the tour even more if the arena had the basketball court down, but it was prepped for a concert instead.

After a quick sandwich, we headed to The Music Box theatre to see “ Dear Evan Hansen.” This is the part of the trip Keagan has dreaded (art, music...they just aren’t his thing), but ten minutes into the show, he turned and whispered, “This is good, Mom.” Good does not do it justice; it was fantastic! Just fantastic! It will be the highlight of the trip for me.

We then walked through Times Square and ran into the Naked Cowboy and some naked girls. Keagan didn’t bat an eye; he just kept on walking.

To clear our eyes, we walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was stunning!

Across the street was the Atlas sculpture.

And to make my blood boil, we just had to walk to Trump Tower.

Meanwhile, Evan is either loving his time at Fordham and can’t find the time to text us or he’s hating it and doesn’t want to admit it was all a mistake. Tonight his two word text to me was written in Spanish, and since he uses Spanish only when he’s in a good mood, I’m going to believe he’s having the time of his life.

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

NYC Day 2

Evan texted us this morning; he received a gift from a foreign exchange student at Fordham learning English. He reports his roommate is “good” and he’s having fun.

Here he is for opening ceremonies.

Wes, Keagan, and I spent the morning at The Natural History Museum.

Then we rented bikes and rode the perimeter of Central Park. You would never know we were in the middle of a huge city! We picnicked on hotdogs from a stand and fruit popsicles.

My butt is bruised from the bike seat and my legs are jelly. Fat girls should ride more often. Tomorrow should be fun waking up.

Our evening adventures took us to Angelo’s Pizza, Top of the Rock and Times Square.

Twelve hours later and none of us can move.

Monday, July 8, 2019

New York City

How in the world is today only 18 hours old? I’ve never done so much in one day.

My alarm went off at 4:00. At 6:00 all of the trucks were loaded with household goods, extra food, cleaning supplies, and bedding, and after six years, we said goodbye to 1587 Edgewater. We drove to Fort Campbell to store the trucks/goods behind a locked gate and headed straight for the airport.

We drove down 24 with, surprisingly, no incident and made it to the airport just in time. At 1:00 we landed in New York City! We took a taxi to Fordham and got Evan registered for his summer seminar.

We unpacked his clothes, made his bed, and ran off campus for some great pizza! Gosh I hope this experience is positive for him!

After good-byes, Wes, Keagan, and I took the train to Grand Central Station, took the subway 47th street, and walked the block to our hotel. I so lucked out with this Priceline deal! Our hotel is just perfect! Keagan took a short nap, Wes studied the subway maps, and I was just so darn happy to not be pulling a fifty pound bag up stairs, down stairs, and across town.

We grabbed sandwiches for dinner and then took the subway to The Empire State Building for views of more tall buildings.

I will be honest and say I was underwhelmed. We window shopped at Foot Locker (Keagan is with us after all) until the sun set, picked up cakes at the corner bakery, and toasted to a great day one.