in a flash

Thanksgiving is tomorrow.

When did that happen? I could have sworn yesterday was Halloween… and is this passage of time starting to be a theme in my blog posts? Perhaps I need more to talk about.

Honestly, it seems like just yesterday we were in New York City, but it’s been over a week since we got home from that trip. I was ready to go back as soon as we got home. I’m not eager to leave the green of the PNW, but I long to discover new places and new neighborhoods. Each turn down a street was an entire adventure in itself. All of those tiny neighborhoods melting together to form Manhattan. That’s not a unique thing, but it feels different there.

On the first day of our vacation we found ourselves wandering into The Bowery. Is that right? The Bowery… or is it just Bowery? Hopefully the New Yorkers who read this blog will forgive me for not really knowing. There were record stores there to check out, and sights to peep at along the way. Bryant Park for the Holiday Market, Harold Square for the Macy’s store front, fancy Italian groceries at Eataly, Legos at one of the better Lego stores we’ve seen, and a Veterans Day parade being staged at each block. The energy was high and the weather was beautiful.

We stumbled upon McSorely’s Old Ale House once we reached our destination (determined by the fact that our feet just couldn’t carry us another block without a break). It wasn’t planned, we’d not heard anything about this place before finding it, but there was sawdust on the floor, a bar packed with boisterous customers, and only 2 ales to choose from.

Light.

Dark.

Served in smaller mugs, with lots of foam, and each round included 2 mugs per person and they only took cash.

We did what the locals did and got a mug of light and a mug of dark and headed out to a table on the street. Our very young server amused us with the history of the bar and the origins of the hotdogs we ordered in the very best of New York accents… praising us for picking the proper condiments to accompany our sausages (kraut and mustard, of course) and continued to bring us small mugs of ale, with lots of foam, and honestly, it might have been one of my favorite memories of the weekend (concert at Madison Square Garden included).

From there we headed out in search of records… dropped in to a Russian restaurant for pate and infused vodka (as one does at a Russian restaurant) and walked back to the hotel for what was going to be a brief rest before dinner. The brief rest before dinner turned into going to bed early and calling it a day. Hey, I think that’s just how post-pandemic vacations are going to go for a while.

The rest of the trip was equally magical. We played tourist for a bit, stopping in front of the apartment front used in Friends, posing in front of Carrie’s stoop (any Sex and the City fans out there?), and stopping briefly to listen to a piano player in Washington Square before heading back to get ready for the concert on Friday… and Saturday we braved the rain to check out Rockefeller Center and the surrounding area before, once again, heading to the concert… and Sunday off to peruse the shop fronts on 5th avenue before ducking into Tiffany & Co to do what one might do at Tiffany & Co.

Buy jewelry.

And since I’m not one to brag (too much), I’ll leave it at that.

But it sure is a gorgeous ring.