Thank goodness for mom and dad’s timeshare!  They got it specifically to entice their children to vacation with them and so far it continues to work.  They only book where they think we’d like to go and then we join them, it all works according to their cunning plans.

This summer’s adventure courtesy of mom and dad took me, Andrew, and the parental unit to New York City and a beautiful hotel right next to Central Park.  The first night there we went for a walk in the park.  The sun was setting and a jazz musician was playing his trumpet in an open field.  The place was magical, it was actually twinkling!  Then Andrew burst the bubble and pointed out the sparkles were only fireflies.  But still, I’ve never seen so many in one place.  As we wandered through the park we came across ballroom dancers, beat poets, a hip hop party, and lots of ice cream vendors.  Fortunately the park was cooler than on the streets as the biggest heatwave in 10 years thumped the city.

Despite the heat we all walked everywhere we could, mostly because we love walking and it’s a great way to see the city, but partly because we’re Mennonite and therefore cheap.  At any rate I was impressed with how my parents, firmly in their 70s, trekked everywhere we did.  No naps, no moans of aches and pains, just a willingness to see everything there was to be seen.

Over the course of the week we went to the Carnegie Deli for the grossest sandwich I’ve ever had in my whole life.  5 pounds of gross meat between two papery slices of bread.  Ick.  We watched the Fourth of July fireworks on the Hudson River, ate cheesecake numerous times, went to the U.N., checked out the Guggenheim (depressing), the MOMA (depressing too) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (stunning).  We did the Circle-Line cruise of the island, went to the top of the Empire State Building, cruised through Rockefeller Plaza, walked to Brooklyn and back over the bridge, and ate at the Olive Garden 😦  Why?? when there are so many great restaurants to try… (obviously a sort spot for me)

I had an extra day in the city as my flight left after everyone else so I headed to the Garment District to check out the fabric shops.  Coming from a city where there are only 2 1/2 fabric stores to really choose from, I was overwhelmed at the colours, quality, and infinite styles to look at.  I left the first shop after 20 minutes because I was overwhelmed.  I calmed down at the spandex store though, that’s a whole lot of ugly to bring you back to earth.

Thanks again to my parents for making sure we are still thoroughly entertained and well taken care of!