New York, Part II

Porter and Coop found a pretty awesome apartment just blocks from Steph & Kenie and it even has a backyard, which is great since they have two dogs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t fenced in so the dogs couldn’t be contained back there. Tuesday morning while Coop was a physical therapy and I was sleeping Wes and Porter started to build a fence because we all just got tired of coming home to find poop in the apartment. No one likes that.

After fence-building and breakfast we all headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge. Wes and I had flirted with the idea of walking across it but when we finally got there and started mapping out the day we realized that we just didn’t have enough time. Instead we parked the car a few blocks away and got some pictures of the city line and the bridge.

Next we drove a little closer to see the bridge from below and watch my brother & Wes nerd out about how cool this thing is. Admittedly, it’s pretty cool.

Brooklyn Bridge: Sponsored by Verizon

While were admiring the bridge our ferry into Manhattan pulled up and we had to head into the city. We ended up near Wall Street so decided to do the tourist thing and check out the Bull. Of course there was a line of 20 in order to get a picture. Of course we waited.

From Wall Street we headed over to the World Trade Center Memorial. It started pouring just as we arrived at Ground Zero and though we usually pack rain jackets when we’re out, we had left them at home. We did the tour in the rain anyway.

I wish I had something intelligent to say about the memorial, but I don’t. We walked through buildings where people were working and getting lunch and going about their day, all while listening to survivors tell their stories. Every time I started to cry I would see another worker walk by on their way to something so normal. Signs of life going on were everywhere, which is what happens in the wake of tragedy. No one is standing around Honolulu, unable to do anything because of Pearl Harbor so I don’t know why I was expecting anything different. The memorial building was built, at least the outside. And the new World Trade Center Buildings were underway, preparing for the 10 year anniversary.

When we finished the tour the rain got worse and I think we were both a little emotionally exhausted. We popped into Century 21 to buy umbrellas and called a couple of hotels to see about getting a room for the night since we were celebrating our anniversary with The Book of Mormon later that evening. We decided to not pay $300+, though, and trudged on through the rain to Hell’s Kitchen for dinner.

While it seemed like we had budgeted our time well, by the time we got to dinner in Hell’s Kitchen, we were running a little behind. We ordered a bottle of wine and dinner and then changed in the bathroom so that we wouldn’t look like drowned rats for our celebratory evening.

The play was great and I’m so glad that we spent the money to see it. We had incredible seats from the second mezzanine because the venue was so intimate. During intermission we decided we needed a little pick-us-up after downing a bottle of wine with dinner. The drinks were, as expected, expensive, but they were worth it. Heavy pours and they came in an adult sippy cups. Don’t worry, we saved them.

After the play we contemplated dessert but decided to head back to Brooklyn to meet Porter & Coop for a drink at a wine bar a couple of blocks from their apartment. We were there until after midnight, so of course, I started celebrating my birthday.

We headed out as the bar started to close. Wes and Coop went to bed but my brother and I stayed up for another beer and a little sibling time. At 2 am we decided to call it a night and get ready for tomorrow’s activities: Rockefeller Center, Ben’s Deli, Times Square, Grand Central Station, and the Yankee Game.

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