New York

I mentioned that we were headed to the Big Apple for a weekend getaway so I'm here to tell you all about it!

Okay, so it wasn't just a vacation... Kevin and the BYU track team had a meet in New York City and I was lucky enough to hop on a flight and fly out with them.

New York is such an interesting place and so intimidating if you're alone and don't know what you're doing. Fortunately we had our good friends Mark and Libby there to direct us where to go and show us around. I can't thank them enough for their incredible hospitality and for letting me stay with them. Thanks guys!

We were so excited for our trip and had so many expectations for what our trip was going to be like. I guess I should mention that it was Kevin's first time ever in New York and my first time back since sixth grade. Here are our first impressions:

JFK airport: incredibly diverse.

Travel time: forevvvver! Mark and Kevin came to pick me up at the airport thinking it would be a twenty minute drive... two hours later they arrived at the airport and it took us another two hours to get home (that's how i know JFK is diverse--i waited in baggage claim for 2 hours!).

So we knew that traveling by car was out.

Subway: we loved the subway! public transportation all the way! although it was dirty and there were rats and weirrrrd people scurrying about the platforms, I was in people-watchers heaven. There was never a dull sight and we were always entertained. Kevin's favorite subway experience (perhaps the highlight of his trip), was encountering a Beatles cover band (if you will) consisting of seven old men and an asian kid. "They sounded just like the Beatles and they were having so much fun just playing in the subway." He couldn't stop talking about them that night.

Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Natural History Museum: overrated. We never made it there. (can you sense my frustration? there just wasn't enough time or money.)

We did, however, make it to a free exhibit at the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) featuring Tim Burton. It was weird! Tim Burton has a weird imagination and our feet were killing= not interested. Mark and Lib appreciated it way more than us.

(Kevin illegally snapped this shot just as the guard yelled at him)

Time Square: a total hit for the boys and their cameras+tripods. They ventured off taking pictures while Lib and I did a little shopping.

The Armory Indoor Track Facility: so nice, but so not important in the grand scheme of things--in reality it was just an after thought.

Mark and Libby's studio: so cute and cozy! It was so nice to come back after a long day walking around the city. Libby and I enjoyed soaking our feet in the tub.

Chinatown: hectic. I did a substantial amount of research and got a lot of advice on how to work it with the street vendors, but it didn't matter. We were totally out of our element! From the moment we crossed the street on to Canal the sidewalk was flanked with a mix of Asians and African men whispering "handbag?" "Coach, Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton?" in their deep accents. "Uhhhh..." was our only thought/reaction. In the end we figured it out and it was a success.
The weather: freeeeezing. We were totally unprepared. I can handle Utah cold so I thought we would be fine. Turns out New York is way colder.

New York in a Nutshell: amazing! We would love to go back as tourists (did you notice my peace signs?) anyyyytime.

We had an incredible couple of days in New York and are so glad that we could go.

ps. Dunkin Donuts owns New York. There is a store on every corner and we definitely ate there everyday.