I'm in a New York State of Mind (I [heart] NYC)

I don't actually know how old I was the first time that my Dad and Lisa took my sister and I to NYC. I was definitely young. We drove into the city and stayed for a weekend. When we arrived in our yellow Lincoln Towncar (yes, yellow - like, banana/nilla wafer yellow - agh!), we had our sunroof open, and one of my most vivid childhood memories is this... We drove down to Lower Manhattan, as my Dad wanted to show us the "tallest buildings in the world," as our introduction to the city. It was a cloudy overcast day, and as we drove "under" the buildings, as it seemed, my Dad told us to look up through the open sun roof. "Look up, now, now!" he said. There, we saw them, the Twin Towers. They were so tall that they ascended up through the could line, to a point where we couldn't actually see the tops of the buildings. I was amazed, awestruck, and in love with NYC.

Going forward in my life, countless trips to NYC have followed. The city is just one of those places that truly captures me; my imagination, my energy, my love of people and different cultures, tolerance, incredible food, color, and music. Whether it's the ethnic vibe that you can't escape, the fact that - as someone who often wakes in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep - you always hear something (honks of horns, people laughing, doors shutting, sirens, planes overheard, helicopters, motorcycles, horses clomping along shouldering a police officer or carrying a carriage, and so on) and therefore never feel alone... Or if it's the endless lights, the signs on Broadway, the music coming out of alley-hidden clubs, kids running in a tree-ed park, old men walking beside young women walking beside a new citizen walking beside a tourist from Europe who always dreamed of coming to NY... It's just - the most vibrant place I could EVER imagine experiencing, even after all my many travels.

And thus - I had to introduce this magical place to my beloved Yeats Valentine. Early, and often. Last week presented this opportunity, as Loveybear (Jeff, for short) had a project @ the UN, and needed to be there for two days. We decided to extend our trip into the weekend - but, as luck (damn the luck! EFF!) would have it, luck went missing that day, and Hurricane Irene rolled in, cutting our trip to a day and 1/2, as we had to catch one of the last Acela trains back to DC. SAD :-( Nevertheless, we went, and we got one night and one full day to do with what I chose, while Jeff worked. Yeats V has seen the Big Apple for the first time! :-O!!

One of the most magical trips I ever, ever took to NYC was as a child. In 8th grade - when rugby shirts & slouchy socks from Britches were in, and so was rolling the ankles of light-colored jeans [shudder to think!] - we went to NYC for the Thanksgiving holiday. We had front row "seats" on a key sidewalk to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade IN PERSON (a dream at 13-years-old!), and we stayed at the beautiful, storied Waldorf Astoria Hotel. My twin sister, Tyler, and I got our own room - which was really the sh*t, is how I felt at the time, and I cannot tell you the love I felt for this city during that experience. I still think of that trip and how lucky we were to go there, to have that experience, to see that parade in person, and to stay at that gorgeous establishment. File this under "things I do not take for granted from my childhood."

And so, this is where we stayed for Yeats Valentine's first trip up - the Waldorf. And again, it was lovely. They have the same pine-scented soap they had when I was a child, and as such, my olfactory & memory senses were in overdrive. The W has the zen feel, but this trip was an Introduction :) and so we had to go old school.

Taking the train to NYC is an experience all to it's own, and we LOVED it. I thought I'd read my book on the way up, but instead, looked out the window for the better part of the ride. Small towns, shanty-towns (hello, Baltimore's inner city...wow!), tiny, pretty little on-the-water towns, dilapidated mills and factories, farms, rivers, and so on. I just love getting to see a tiny bit of Americana on the way to the big city :) I tried to point things out to YV as we went along. Sidebar: yes, I know she's 8 1/2 months, & probably won't remember these things, but I want to expose her to everything wonderful & worth knowing about in this great and sometimes scary world, and I am getting started early! My prerogative. :)YV seemed enthralled at first, but I then realized that, b/c of the humidity, she was seeing her reflection on the train windows in an extra enhanced manner, and she was most excited at seeing herself in the now quasi-mirror. ;) I tried!

We had a wonderful day & 1/2. YV got a crib in our room, and I set it up for a while by the window...she looked out at the view from the 22nd floor, and seemed memorized. Everything must seem so big to her, I thought.

Navigating getting around the city by myself with 1.) a baby, 2.) a baby bag, 3.) my pre-req Smartwater, and 4.) a BoB jogging stroller, is just REALLY relaxing, let me tell you. Esp in 90-degree weather. When it's raining. But I digress. I went for a walk and found a random diner, where I sat and had a delish Greek salad with chicken-gyro meat (different and much lighter, of course), and then we (me + baby + all our above accouterments!) grabbed a cab, sans car seat, to the Natural History Museum. Holding my baby in the back of a speeding cab, sans car seat, was...a little intense. But it was also so endearing to me, and one of those things I'll never forget. Mostly b/c I was buckled in, and holding onto YV for dear life, cradling her head and praying we didn't get in an accident. Ahhh, life in the city. :) We made it there and back safe. AMEN.

We had drinks in one of the hotel bars, and then had dinner at Dos Caminos. Delish salsa, but not an amazing Mexican restaurant. I LOVED the tequila and design-your-own marg list, and the vibe was very cool. YV pretty much fell asleep the second we got there. SA-WEET! We made it a fun night, knowing we had to go home at 2 p.m. the next afternoon to escape [

the bitch hurricane] Irene. :)

Sharing these experiences with my sweet girl is absolutely priceless to me. I can't explain it...being able to share these places and people and experiences I so loved with my daughter - and Loveybear (!) - is just one of the most emotionally and personally rewarding experiences of my life, and it just keeps getting better. I am SO thankful to be able to do these things, and it makes all of the juggling of THINGS, and our efforts to expose Yeats to more and more, so rewarding. For us, and hopefully for her as well :)

Can't wait to return to NYC again...soon...for more time! I'm in a New York State of Mind.