Day 11 - New York City

Next to San Francisco, I think New York is my most visited US city. It's certainly my favorite. I'm not sure what it is. The cool spring weather? Gorgeous parks? The sprawling & comprehensive subway system? The amazing variety of restaurants? The architectural diversity? The endless activities? The helpful people? (Don't believe what you read about New Yorkers being unfriendly...they're in a rush, but they're as helpful as any other city.)

Our first day in the city, the kids, my brother Jon and my parents went to the Statue of Liberty.  We booked their tickets very early, so they scored tickets all the way up to the crown. And apparently, Keni and Riki hiked up the stairs twice. Since we'd just done it last year with Ryan, and the ocean looked less than flat...we opted to wait on shore with Joey.

We killed time at the Native American Museum (which is right next to the Bankruptcy court, and always an opportunity for us to harass and shame my chronic car-buying brother.

We tried Yelping a few cool places to have brunch in the area, but we were so cold we ended up ducking into Au Bon Pain (which I do love) to warm up and kill a few hours time.

Once the boys were all done, we took the subway up to midtown so we could show them our favorite stops in the city... First stop? Grand Central Station...they boys checked out the main terminal and the train tracks...so we also went downstairs to take them to Magnolia so they could try a few sweets (key lime pie, cupcakes, etc).

From there, we hopped back on the subway and took the boys to Dylan's Candy Bar. They were each allowed to fill up a small bag of treats (they had to be small bags, because they were still almost $25). :-| I guess it's the price for the ambiance!

From Dylan's, we walked over to Central Park so the boys could rock climb. On the way, we passed a school that we always joke we're going to leave Ryan at. We tried the same joke with the three boys. :-)

From there, we walked over to the Original Soupman to get Rich his beloved piping hot lobster bisque for dinner. If you can imagine, two (not so) large containers of it cost nearly $50. At that price, I was hoping for a live lobster in the soup.

Our apartment was located in Harlem's Hamilton Heights, a gorgeous neighborhood that I think we all quickly fell in love with. It was only about 20 minutes from mid-town on an express train. I loved the rows of brownstones, the churches and college our apartment was next to. And best of all, real estate there is still fairly affordable compared to the rest of the city...so my brother is already plotting his move there. ;-) I would be over the moon if that happened, so fingers crossed that he can afford a 2-bedroom unit someday.

As much as I'd love to be there more often, the truth is...I've shelved my plans to move there now that we have Ryan. We love it there, but the city's vulnerability to terror attacks (and of course, the cost of living) are huge obstacles.

I think five out of the seven trips we've made there, the city has been on 'high alert' because of a local or international incident. The amount of NYPD on the streets is not comforting to me, it's alarming. Every time we've there in the last few years, I feel like I'm holding my breath until we leave. It's terribly sad, and I hope and pray we can visit the city someday and not worry about why there are so many police, or have to listen to PSAs instructing us to be on the lookout for suspicious person(s) or parcels.

I suppose many people who live there have learned to stifle the fear that has crept into the heart of every American post 9/11. I suppose if I lived there, I might too. But at this point, it doesn't seem like a very easy thing to do. To be honest, I experience great fear and anxiety on nearly every trip we take- during a take off, turbulence or landing. When we're walking around a predominantly Muslim community and see "Death to America" spray painted on a building. Whenever we sudden yelling or screaming around us and we can't understand the language.

I guess at this point, we're focused on the odds, and the odds say that we're in not much more danger traveling than hopping in our car and driving a mile from home. So to me, the reward has always been greater than the risk. But I'll also admit, that as I age, I am increasingly aware of the risks, and often tell Rich, "Maybe once we've seen X, Y and Z...we should just lay low, you know? Count our blessings and just relive the memories." But then inevitably, I see a picture of a place that gets me so excited that I have to add it to the mental bucket list...and the list just gets longer instead of shorter. :-)

So there you have it. I am not nearly as fearless or adventurous as I once was, and am twice as anxious as I once was. But I have a child now, and as all parents know, that changes everything.