(It’s July 8th.)
Waking up from some of the most satisfying sleep ever is so hard. In fact, I’ll go a step further and say that it’s one of the worst things ever. First world problems, right?
We went to a luncheon this morning to end the wedding weekend and it was, of course, lovely. After we ate breakfast, we toured the grounds of the estate. It had nature trails that tunneled in and out of high grass and woods. There was a rock path, a raised wooden trail, an amazing tree house, a vegetable garden, tennis courts, and beautiful flowers tucked away in the secret forest. I felt like I was lost in a secret garden. It was nice, then we came back to the real world…
Goodbyes were in order and Brad and Betty were kind enough to drop us off at the train station to catch the train back to Grand Central. We took an express train, and after some mass seating confusion, made it back to the city in about 30 minutes. We met Nathan to drop our stuff off and ate some Felini’s-esque pizza right down the street from the apt. While Ning was at church, Karen, Charlie, and I walked around, got a iced chai latte at The Bean, and found a park to lounge in.
We watched the dogs in the dog park for awhile. They were seriously funny. Then we set up camp (aka spread out our blanket and kicked off our shoes) on the lawn and waited for Nathan so we could play Spades. Our game. After half a game, we decided to go get dinner (Chinese dumplings!!!!!!!!) and dessert…which was going to be Banana Pudding and ended up being a McDonald’s ice cream cone. Nothing like an ice cream cone on a hot night.
When we arrived home, there was a major jam session. Like 2 hours. Full of guitaring, singing, and learning new songs! This was followed by more Spades and a Jack Daniels on ice nightcap. One of the best afternoon to nights ever. Well, one of the best I can remember!
I don’t want to leave NY! It makes me really excited and reminds me why I want to move here. This trip has been truly wonderful. Getting to hang out with friends, spend time with family, and learn about more of the city. It is quite a beautiful thing.