Day 1429: Australia booked!

The decision is made. Australia.  Sept 19 to October 2, 2016!  We'll be celebrating our 45th anniversary and Steve's seventieth birthday.  We seriously considered touring both Australia and New Zealand, because NZ is so close and the likelihood of returning down under is pretty slim.  It's just too much for this year.

We'll fly first to Los Angeles a few days early to see Colin and April. It will give us a break before the long twenty hour journey to Melbourne.  After three days there, we fly to Alice Springs and Uluru, then fly to Cairns where we'll visit the Great Barrier Reef.

The final flight will be to Sydney where we'll spend the last few days.  This is a dream come true for me cause Australia has fascinated me forever.  So many natural wonders and unique species!  Steve spent his R&R there while he was serving in Vietnam, but he never got beyond Sydney.

Mockingjay has eluded me completely this trip.  Three times we've tried to get tickets without results.  This morning we got up early to get to the 10:00 am showing and boom!  Sold out again!  The AMC Theater at 84th Street has reclining seats and every single one of them was full.  We opted instead for the new James Bond thriller and it did not disappoint.  Crazy woman loves action films, except for the car chases that give me vertigo.

We said goodbye to our sons tonight. It's been a wonderful week and I'm very grateful for all the time we had together.

Day 1428: Roosevelt Island

Another day packed full of activities!  Subway to 59th St., toured three displays at the Museum of Art and Design, crummy lunch in a small Thai restaurant, Tramway to Roosevelt Island, hiking through the Four Freedoms Park, subway to Brooklyn and dinner at a fabulous Japanese restaurant.  And back again to the upper west side.

Justin and Kaoru hosted dinner at an exclusive Japanese sushi restaurant.   She was very excited to share her culture and language.  The first few rounds were delicious.  Okra, eggplant, a veggie pancake, beers and saki, then shrimp and veggie tempura and soba.  So much food!  Then they added a huge platter of sushi and sashimi.   April has a bad sore throat, Evan was sick to his stomach, Steve doesn't like it and I'm allergic.  Kaoru was crushed to see more than half of the delicacies left.  We felt terrible, but what could we do?   Plus, the bill was huge.  We pitched in to pay and the waitress split up the leftovers in three parts.

Tomorrow is our last day.  We're going to Colin and April's to finish up their leftovers and say goodbye.  They are leaving for LA on Monday and we won't see them at Christmas.  It could be many months till we are together again.

Day 1427: Black Friday

No shopping for us today!  It was far too beautiful, sunny and 65 degrees!!!   Hardly seems like late November.   Instead we hiked all over the northern section of Central Park with Nancy.  Each day this week, her fitbit indicated we walked 8-11 miles.  It's no wonder we don't see many overweight people here.

Justin met us for lunch and then escorted us to the transit authority to get Nancy on a bus to Tom's River, NJ.  Four stories below ground and four more above, we would have had a tough time navigating that place without him.  Then we rode the train back over to Colin's in Brooklyn for a Star Trek marathon and leftovers.  We haven't seen Voyager in many years and really enjoyed watching it together.  Such a fun and relaxing day!

Day 1426: Thanksgiving Day 2015

This is my favorite holiday.  I  am filled with gratitude for the richness of my life.  Most of all,y husband and children.  Today, our son and his wife hosted dinner for eight.  They poured their hearts into the preparations to make it perfect for all of us.  Even their fur babies Drizz't and Oscar were cordial and cooperative.  Everyone contributed to the meal, prep and cleanup.  There was lots of laughter, stories and gentleness.

I am thankful I have two treasured sisters and two brothers.  I'm grateful my sister could join us for an adventure in NYC.  She's tired, but has enjoyed traipsing all over the city.  Next weekend, I'll have time with my other sister and brother.  And we are incredibly grateful dear Mary is healing.

I'm grateful for loyal friends, thousands of former students and colleagues.  I'm 66 and healthy!  What more could a girl ask for?

Day 1425: Something Rotten

An excellent day full of adventures and topped off by a very funny show on Broadway, Something Rotten.  The Bottom brothers of London are in direct competition with Shakespeare and are desperately seeking a new idea for a play.  The elder brother Nick goes to a soothsayer and asks for the next big trend.  Musicals! And so they write a twisted musical about Shakespeare's greatest work, Omlette.  Every song and dance was rich with literary references and swipes at current and past musicals.  Delightful!

The streets are packed with ttravelers from all over the world.  Threats from ISIS are having little influence on anyone except police and security forces.  The weather is gorgeous so no one wants to be confined.

Tomorrow, we are off to Brooklyn for our Thanksgiving feast!  May this be a peaceful, happy day around the country!

Day 1424: One World Observatory

Totally exhausted!  We hiked eleven miles through NYC streets and subway tunnels.  It was an amazing and moving day that we'll remember for a long time.

We've been to Ground Zero many times since 9/11 to witness the progress from total devastation to the completion of the Freedom Tower.  Steve served there just two weeks after the event and helped by serving the firemen on site.   On our first trip to the site together, sometime in the following months, there were still photos of missing loved ones hanging on the wrought iron fence around the church and messages of condolences everywhere.  For a long time, the objective was to clean up the site while designers, architects and public officials tried to figure out what kind of memorial to build.

Fourteen years later, construction continues in the area.  The Freedom Tower is finally complete and it is a touching tribute. The reflecting pools rest among a serene park setting that honors the victims.  Just a few weeks ago, the observation tower opened to visitors and we were able to book tickets for a tour.  The interactive experience emphasizes the contributions and commitment of all the workers.  I loved listening to their stories .  They were so proud to be part of this remarkable endeavor.

Lots more happened today, but I can't keep my eyes open.  Probably because a fight outside our door kept me awake late last night.

Day 1423: Paulaner Brauhaus

It's so sweet to be back in NYC with our family.  Traveling is always a challenge, but this trip was very smooth.  We arrived at JFK before 11 am and waited for Nancy who arrived at at 12:30.  Unfortunately, her luggage didn't arrive with her so we waited another hour for Delta to find it.  We took AirTran to the Long Island RR, which took us to Penn.  Then we got the subway to 96th Street.  So, eight and a half hours of travel.  The only thing we screwed up was the AirTran ticket, but that was easily resolved.

We had lunch at 4 at the Manhattan Diner next door.  Delicious soup and sandwiches.  Then we walked from 96th to 72 nd St.  Just to check things out along the parade route.  And made our way to Paulaner Brahaus to meet the kids.  Best part of the day, week, month and year.  Non stop talk, non stop laughter, great food and lots of love.  Our time together is so delightful!

Still haven't figured out how to get photos into the blog on the iPad so I will add them next week.