Tuesday day 22

This is my last day with Adam and Katelyn. We have had such a wonderful time. I can't remember when I have spent this much uninterrupted time with my son. He is such a wonderful guy and really is devoted to Katelyn. I also think they have seen New York in a way that they will remember forever. We took a walk down Columbus Ave so they could get some last minute things. We walked down 59th and decided to have a light lunch at Mickey Mantles. Thought we would save some money by ordering appetizers, but the $7.00 beer put us over the top.. Since Adam wanted to go to Quicksilver we had to venture on over to 5th ave.....After getting what they needed we headed home by way of the park...It's funny how we are all drawn to this beautiful piece of heaven. Their Super Shuttle showed up a half hour early and they were off to the airport at 4:00.
After resting my feet a bit, it was off to the market for me to pick up some essentials. Back home to finish some laundry...sheets and towels...Went for a walk around the neighborhood and then home to be for an early night.....next....til tomorrow :)

Monday Day 21

Got up early and headed to Ground Zero. Took the subway and went to the Trinity Church first. No matter how many times I go there it takes my breath away. Walk pasat ground zreo and headed for the promenade on the Hudson. Got word from the cruise director last night to go to the second floor of the financial building and you can see into ground zero. Pretty impressive. Oh yea there is also a new museum across the street that shows what the Freedom Tower will be like. Made our way out to the plaza where everyone was eating lunch...it was packed and a beautiful day to eat outside. After walking aways on the beautiful promenade we stopped at Steamers for lunch. We sat on an the patio and had seafood....yum....I have the clam chowder and Adam and Katelyn had the mussels...finished the walk and went over to Wall St. from there we walked up to SoHo. Quite a long walk but worth it to see the city. We got our shopping in and then decided to go over to the meatpacking district to go see Highline Park. The Highline (as they call it) is an old elevated train track that is no longer in use. The city converted it into a park with a pathway down the middle of it. We ended up taking a cab there because it was way too far and we never would have found it..We strolled along and found a cart that sold gelato and sherbet......yum....the milk chocolate gelato was scrumptious.....nice treat on a hot humid day.
On ward on our marathon walk....I think my son just loved to wear us out....we were pretty tired....jumped on the subway at 34th and 7th...and it was home again....We decided to stay in and have left over Carmines from the night before....did I say we had take out!! Some stuffed artichokes and penne a la vodka.....great the second night too....til tomorrow :)

Day 20 Sunday

Got my wake up call at 7:15 from my sister who was ready to go for a run. Her boyfriend, Andy, picked me up and we headed to Northport to run the route that we will be running in September for the Cow Harbor 10K Race. Started at the junior high and it was off thru the streets of my home town. I must admit I have never really run these streets as an adult before.....It was really very exciting for me. We ran Scudder Ave to the end of Main st and then over Bayview along the harbor. Very narrow streets and bumpy sidewalks...but its an old town. Then we needed to tackle James st. This hill is so steep you can barely walk up it.....forget running it....but of course I tried...and tried...wow..Luckily I asked Andy to place some water not far from there....it was also extremely hot and humid....We recovered from the hill and the rest of the run went very well..along Ocean, (Beefy passed us by) down Eatons Neck to Waterside ( Beefy passed us again)....I think he was spying on us....and then up and down Main st ( where he passed us again). We finished our run of 6-7 miles at the dock...We were met there by Andy, Kelli, Joe and Rob....fun family times. Off to Donna's where she promised to make me a spinach omelet...
After a delicious breakfast she drove me home and I got cleaned up. Of course the kids, Adam and Katelyn were up and waiting for me....their activity director... They wanted to hang out in town for a while before we had to take the train back to the city. Northport is such a beautiful town and it was hard to leave....but I will be back for the big race in September.
Back to the city where we had just enough time to change and catch a cab to Pier 83 for the Harbor lights Cruise around Manhattan. Ship left the dock at 7 and we enjoyed 2 hours of enjoying the cool ocean breeze and a wonderful gentleman giving us a guided tour of Manhattan and neighboring areas....New Jersey, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Roosevelt Island, Governors Island etc...fantastic tour...the lights of the city came on and it was breathtaking...The Statue up close and personal....beautiful.....walked to the subway...and home again...long day!! til tomorrow:)

Day 19 Saturday

Woke up to a house full this morning, but we all got out pretty early. Headed to Northport with Dale driving. I really like taking the train, but this was definetly more convienent. We stopped off at the Deli again and picked up egg sandwiches to eat at the dock.....again...Then made our way over to the marina to board Beefys boat. Took the boat over to the dock and visited with nephews Willy, Joe and Dale. I just love seeing all these guys. After visiting we made our way from the harbor to Northport Bay. We moared the boat out at Sand City and hung out for the day. Good food, good friends, good times.
We headed over to Centerport to attend a benefit clambake put on by the Centerport Fire Department. We visited with my brother Jim, his wife Leigh Ann, and nephew Chris. We spent the night at their lovely home just up the hill....I think we had the most relaxing day so far....til tomorrow!! :)

Friday, Day 18

Up and ready early....bagels for breakfast and off to the Museum of Natural History for the day. What a wonderful place to spend the day...I would highly recommend this to everyone going to the city. I think my favorite rooms were the dinosaur exhibits....so interesting.. We left the museum about 3:30 and headed over to Central Park. I wanted to show Adam and Katelyn Strawberry Fields, which is the memorial set up across from the Dakota Apartment Building where John Lennon lived and subsequently was killed. Upon entering that area of the park a guy was playing John Lennon songs on his guitar and everyone was singing along. Then a guy came along with a bouquet of flowers and with a lot of flourish placed the flowers on the Imagine sign in the shape of a peace sign. He said that he has done that everyday for the last 9 years and on the anniversary of his death completely covers the Imagine sign. Beautiful!!
Dale and Molly came in to the city to hang out and after some wine at home we went over to the Firehouse Restaurant for dinner. We put Adam and Katelyn in a cab to see The Addams Family and we stayed and visited. We met them at the theatre when the show was over and since the bars were so crazy busy came home and hung out here. Molly and Dale spent the night instead of driving back to the island....great day!! til tomorrow:)

Thursday, Day 17

Adam called at 7 am to say that his plane had landed at Kennedy, so I went for a quick run in the park. They actually passed me on the street as I was running home, cool. After a brief time getting ready we headed out to explore the city. We headed down Columbus to check out the boutiques and the details for the museum. We were then on a search for some new sandals for Adam. That was probably the only problem we were all having, finding comfortable shoes. We went over to 5th avenue and found a comfy pair at Niketown. We then headed over to Times Square to meet my brother and friends at the Marriott Marquis for a drink on the 8th floor....Unfortunately on the way we encountered the Singing Cowgirl.....Yuck, nothing like a 70 year old topless woman to ruin your evening.:(...After a drink we headed out to dinner to the Red Eye Restaurant.... a bit pricey for us...but good otherwise. Adam and Katelyn wanted to walk home, which was 30 blocks so we took a shortcut thru the park. Great idea....it was hopping!! There were kickball tournaments, softball tournaments and then we actually got to see a croquet tournament. Everyone was dressed in white....it was like being sent back to the 20s...pretty neat. Headed home...the kids had been up for more than 24 hours...til tomorrow:)

Day 16 Wednesday

Said goodbye to Molly, who needed to go to the fashion district to buy fabric and meet a friend. The girls, Nicole, Amanda and I headed to the park to walk around the reservoir. Beautiful walk, with a few drizzles.....ha ha...We noticed how foggy it was getting downtown...but quickly realized it wasn't fog, but rain.....So for the third day I got caught in torrential rain. We ran and we laughed and we got soaked all the way to the bagel store...ordered some breakfast and made our way back home.....We cleaned up, had breakfast, and decided to check out the boutiques on Columbus Ave...after a great walk for about 20 blocks we had lunch at Stack Shack, burger joint. A walk back home so the girls could finish packing..but..they needed one last walk thru Central Park with cherry Italian Ices before the Super Shuttle showed up to take them to JFK for their flight home...Very sad to see them go.....:(...
So .....cleaned the sheets, towels, bathroom and floors....ready for another round of company...My son, Adam and Katelyn arrive at 7 am...Whew.....better get some sleep:) til tomorrow :)