Angela’s Saturday Essay
On Saturday morning, we woke up early and jumped on a train to New York City! We were so excited! Well-known international journalist and our dear friend, Scott Rose, was waiting for us to arrive. The train ride was, thankfully, uneventful (well, except for the woman at the station who called the police when the station employee refused to give her a ticket without an I.D.). In case you’re wondering, no, she did not get on that train! (Who tries to take a trip like that without I.D. on them?)
Anyway, we arrived in New York City and ventured outside to the taxi line. Max’s eyes were huge, looking around at the huge buildings and the myriad of people. We had to explain everything to him, from the taxi line to the young men playing instruments on the sidewalk to the man loudly soliciting “donations.” He soaked it all in and was very comfortable with it all, even though it was so very different from our town.
It had been chilly that morning and it was now over 90 degrees outside. While I held Mason in what we call “the baby pack”, the woman behind us in line asked, “Don’t you think your baby is overdressed?”
Well, I had to admit she was right. He had on a t-shirt, thin pants, and socks. I removed the socks and smiled at her.
We got into the taxi and embarked on a very exciting ride to our hotel! The taxi driver dodged other taxes, busses, and people, ignoring lanes and even the occasional red light. Wow!! Max was too busy looking up at the buildings and electronic billboards to notice that his life was in danger.
We arrived at the hotel and immediately called Scott, who said, “I’ll be there in 12 minutes!” He lives near Central Park so we got a hotel room very close to his place. He arrived soon after and we laughed and hugged and immediately bonded like old friends even though we’d never met face to face! Even Max and Mason treated him like family right away. Mason only gave his shy, eyelash-batting-glazed-stare for a couple of minutes.
We set off for Central Park, our destination being the penguin exhibit at the zoo. It was hot - oh so hot - and we stopped for drinks several times. Mason had three snowcones that day! Boy, those things sure can get messy when it’s 90 degrees outside.
At the zoo, the penguins were adorable! They’d swim right up to the glass and look at the children, nose to nose. It was so cute! Mason rubbed his hands on the glass and smiled and talked to them in his own language. Max laughed and pointed and talked to them, too. After we were sufficiently cooled off, we ventured back outside, squinting at the offensive sunshine. We saw a huge polar bear who was sitting in the water, staring at the visitors. Max was very impressed with the size of that teddy bear! We saw monkeys and sea lions and more and drank even more water and ate some ice cream. Scott was a sport and carried Mason at times, too. Mason’s very snuggly so I’m pretty sure he didn’t mind. Mason didn’t mind at all! He was having a great time with his new friend!
The air was starting to cool off a bit when we left the zoo, heading back to the hotel for a cooling period before dinner. The walk went by quickly and we were soon sitting in air-conditioned bliss. Richard checked his email and I fed and changed Mason while chatting with Scott, who was an excellent tour guide, by the way! He knows everything about that city!
Our dinner reservations were at 7:00 p.m., so we left shortly after 6:00. Max enjoyed watching Scott hail a cab (he did that for us a lot over the weekend).
Dinner was at ______________, where we had Dim Sum. We ordered an assortment of goodies, ate with gluttonous bliss, and then ordered all over again! It was delicious and so much fun! Scott has been to several countries and speaks three languages so there was never a lull in the conversation. He’s led a fascinating life so far and we were eager to hear some of his stories. Max, on the other hand, was more interested in Scott making him laugh as we’d told him how witty Scott is.
We left a pile of empty plates as we waddled out of the restaurant. We headed down the block, trying to burn off just a few of the calories we’d consumed.
After about half an hour, Max had to potty….bad. He never tells us when he first has to go. He waits until he REALLY has to go. We found a little cafe and were going to beg to use their restroom. However, from the sidewalk, we could see a display case just inside the door that contained a variety or homemade desserts. Yum! We walked in, sat ourselves down, and asked for the dessert menu (after racing to the bathroom with Max, of course). So, we ate and ate some more! I had ordered an iced coffee with caramel and it was delicious! I loved how the globs of caramel kept coming up the straw with the coffee. I know it sounds funny, but it was like eating my drink. Yum!
We left, singing the praises of that restaurant, and Scott hailed us another cab for the hotel. We were full and exhausted, but feeling very rested. Real vacations are great!