For those of you who did not read my last post, Cody and I recently went on our first actual vacation. Yes, we once went to Little Nashville for a weekend, and our honeymoon was just six short months ago, but this was the first instance of Cody and I making sure we had everything we needed in two carry-on bags, going to the airport, and flying somewhere fabulous. This is less of a post about the problems associated with living apart five days out of the week and more about the sweet respite of being with each other with no work, school, or social obligations.
First, I absolutely loved getting to go to Manhattan with Cody. New York City is my other love, and being able to share this beautiful location with Cody was magical. Seeing him get excited over seeing the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building as we were landing, watching the awe on his face over the architecture and sheer massiveness of the city, and being able to impress him with my never-present-in-Indiana navigation skills are things that I will always cherish.
Cody and I left Crawfordsville at 3:00am on December 28 after getting about two hours of sleep. My sister, Kelsey, was kind enough to take us to the airport. I had not yet flown out of the new Indianapolis airport, and aside from the having, "An alarm has sounded. Please move to an adjacent area until the situation has been investigated," resounding over the loudspeakers for the first ten minutes we were waiting in line to print boarding passes, I was thoroughly impressed by the architecture, organization, and amenities. Cody and I then enjoyed a coffee and breakfast before entering the security checkpoint. During this time I encountered what is quite possibly the most white trash tattoo ever--mudflap ladies tattooed on a man's calves.
The flight was uneventful; I tried my best to sleep but was unsuccessful. Once we got close to Newark, Cody and I watched for his first glimpse of the Manhattan skyline. We both looked forward to getting a small nap before taking the train into the city--but that was not to be the case. We visited with our friend and his girlfriend until she had to be taken to the airport to fly back to Indiana. We then made ourselves look less like sleep-deprived Hoosiers and were off into the city. I remember thinking during my two-week stay in New York in 2009 that Manhattan was the only city in the world that made me feel short, overweight, and underdressed. Remembering this, I spent my first day in New York in a beautiful black sweater dress, cable-knit tights, and black booties.
After arriving in Penn Station, Cody, our friend, and I took the 6-line to the South Street Seaport in order to see Bodies: the Exhibit. We nearly froze in line, but my neck was rescued by a kiosk selling five dollar scarves. (I am now in possession of a "fauxberry" scarf whose plaid pattern is pretty convincing. The "100% Cashmere" sticker is not.) Once we entered the exhibit, all three of us were amazed by the preservation process and how intricately everything was dissected. There was even a complete circulatory system! The preserving polymer had been injected into the vessels and the rest of the body was eroded with a mild detergent. This visit was especially poignant for me for a couple of reasons. For those readers who do not know, I have a cavernous angioma--a vascular malformation in my brain. Being able to see the cross sections of a brain that had hemorrhaged was an awesome and sobering experience. Being able to hold a human brain at the end of the exhibit was a dream come true.
We finished the day by walking near the National September 11 Memorial (see subsequent post coming soon!) and through Wall Street. The police presence was astonishing due to the OWS movement. We were treated by our friend to chocolate from La Maison du Chocolat and treated him to sushi that night back in Summit, New Jersey.
Our second day, we drove into the city in order to stay at the Sheraton New York Hotel, which was also housing the Iowa State football team for the Pinstripe Bowl. I expected a run-of-the-mill chain hotel, but it was beautiful and still decorated for Christmas. We walked through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ate lunch at a lovely Irish pub, and traveled downtown with a dear friend of mine who was kind enough to take the subway from 181st St. to the southern end of Manhattan to meander through the streets searching for good pubs. We finally stopped at Swift's, piquing our mutual literary interest. Upon returning to the hotel at around 3am, I had the brilliant idea to walk the five or so blocks to see the Rockefeller Center tree lit up at night and the boys were willing to accommodate my childhood desire. The tree, unfortunately, was blocked off for New Year's Eve preparations, according to one of New York's finest.
The next morning, Cody and I left our friend to sleep in the hotel since he had been awake for a solid twenty-four hours by the time we were all ready for bed. We walked to Times Square in order to see the preparations underway for the New Year's Eve party and to allow Cody to take in what is in my opinion the dirtiest, most crowded, seizure-inducing area in Manhattan. After walking through Times Square, Cody and I found Rockefeller Center and its beautiful tree, with which I have a love-hate relationship. Its size and beauty are breathtaking, but I hate that the city has a 90-something year old tree cut every year for the sole purpose of decoration.
As we walked away, I thought of all of the things that I still wanted to show Cody and still wanted to experience myself. At this point in our last day in the city, I had come to the sad acceptance that I would not get to see the Diego Rivera murals in the MOMA (a mere two blocks away from our hotel) or indulge in the deliciousness of a red velvet cupcake from Magnolia Bakery. Manhattan, however, never lets me down. I had forgotten that Magnolia Bakery has a location near Rockefeller Center. I walked past the store window, happened to turn, and very nearly shrieked with excitement. I pulled Cody into the bakery to order three red velvet cupcakes. He devoured his, of course, but I savored every bite as we sat at the edge of a fountain decorated with huge, red and silver Christmas ball ornaments. We also stopped at a cart for a hot dog. Then my wonderful husband asked me if I would like him to go back to the hotel, pack our things, and check out of the hotel so I could see the Rivera murals. I have never felt unsafe in New York (unlike in Los Angeles...), so I nearly skipped to the museum, waited a meager twenty minutes in line, and allowed the depth and honesty of Rivera's murals to envelop me.
Upon our return to New Jersey, we ate lunch at an amazing Indian restaurant. This was only my second time to eat Indian food, and it was much less intimidating with our very knowledgeable Indian friend telling me exactly what to try. I fell in love with sojji, a semolina-based dessert with cashews and golden raisins. After we got back to our friend's house, our worn-out, sleep-deprived selves lounged and watched Captain America with some delicious pizza for dinner. We were too tired to go to a restaurant.
We fell asleep about nine and woke up at four to go to the airport. We talked over parfaits, muffins, and coffee in the terminal about possibly moving near the city after we both have doctorates and our mixed feelings about leaving--happy to be home in our comfy queen bed instead of mattresses on the floor, but sad to leave the city. Cody might just be having a love affair with New York as well.
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