New York, New York

I'm back with another weekend travel update (warning, this is a long one)! It took the rest of the last week and this past weekend to recuperate but I'm finally feeling rested and back to normal! The weekend following our California adventure, I boarded a plane for NYC to visit one of my absolute favorite people, Amanda! I got up in the wee hours of the morning on Friday morning and landed around 8:00 a.m. with the day ahead of me. Amanda had to work all day so I about 9 hours to kill on my own until she made it back to her apartment. After arriving at her apartment and getting some much needed rest (I'd been up since 3 a.m.!), I headed out to conquer some of my to do list. First up on my list was the 9/11 Memorial. It's so surreal and emotionally moving to stand there at those reflection pools. I had previously been to the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial and gone to an exhibit at the Newseum on 9/11 that included the media tower from one of the Twin Towers. Those were both moving in their own right, but this was so much more and something I'm glad I did. I did forego the actual museum due to time as the line for tickets was about 150 people long when I arrived but one day I would like to make it back there. After the memorial, walked over to Wall Street. Wyatt's family discusses the stock market on the regular so I decided I'd head over by the NYSE to snap a picture or two to send back to him to show his Pa. At that point, I had to eat so I ventured to Madison Square Park to get Shake Shack! I just had to do it. After my delicious lunch, I did some shopping in the nearby area, stopping at the Strand Bookstore, Fishs Eddy, and The Flying Tiger before jumping on the subway and making my way back to Amanda's apartment via Times Square.

St. Paul's Chapel

The Survivor Tree

NYSE

Federal Hall National Memorial

Union Square Park

The Strand Bookstore

Fishs Eddy

Fishs Eddy had a section just for political themed items.

After Amanda got home from work that evening, we hung out a little bit before getting ready and heading out for dinner. She had suggested this place Burger and Lobster for dinner. The menu consists of a burger, a whole lobster, or a lobster roll and everything is served with a side salad and fries! We both got lobster rolls and they were so delicious! After dinner we went to Empire State Building to go up to the observation decks and see the city at dusk/sunset. I had never been all the way up to the 102nd floor so that was a new one for me.

ESB was lit with various team colors for the Olympic Opening Ceremonies so I snapped this one with red, white, and blue!

On Saturday we spent the very hot and humid day wandering in Central Park and walking the High Line. Since were were up in Central Park, I talked Amanda into going into the Madison Avenue Lilly Pulitzer store! I had seen how cute it is from pictures online and just had to check it out! Amanda even bought her first Lilly dress! After lunch and a quick cab ride back to Amanda's apartment to drop off our bags and a brief reprieve from the heat, we walked over to check out the High Line. We walked up it a ways before getting off and checking out the Samsung 837 store. It's less a store, and more a venue full of experiences. We did the Gallery where you plug in your instagram account and walk through a tunnel of screens that displays your life in social media. It was so cool! There were a few other experiences you could participate in as well as a cafe upstairs. We made a quick walk through of the Chelsea Market and then stopped at Story. This store changes themes every month or so. We just so happened to stumble into the one in which they partnered with Nickelodeon for a throw back to our youth! We were obsessed with everything in the store! We went to a nice dinner (dressed in our Lilly) at the Marshal. The neighborhood it was in seemed to be bursting with cute little restaurants. We had a loaf of bread for the table and shared the polenta with white cheddar and tomatillo and the corn on the cob sides. Amanda got the meatloaf and I got the braised lamb shank with parsnip and turnip puree. It was melt in your mouth good. I'm new to eating lamb but this was seriously one of the best meals I've had all year!

On Sunday we decided to have a low key day. We did some light shopping in the morning before heading back to her apartment and ordering lunch in and binge watching some Daria. Amanda made turkey meatballs for dinner and we ate up on the roof. It was such a nice evening and the perfect end to the weekend! Monday morning Amanda got up and left for work and half an hour later, I was headed back to the airport! I landed back in Indiana just in time to run into Wyatt's parents and grandma getting ready to board their flight headed out to the Outer Banks! They were at the gate just down from mine.