New York - 10 Year Old Style

Day 1 - Friday…NYC, Here We Come

Despite being morning people, 3:15 am was very early for Logan and I. Nevertheless, we bound out of bed and got out the door by quarter til. We had a 5:20 am flight to Portland in hopes of making a REALLY tight connection to a nonstop to JFK at 6:25 am.

We were grateful to have our flight out of Eugene leave right on schedule. But the true test came in PDX where we had to RUN from the Horizon to the Delta Terminal. We were of the last 10 people on the plane. All sweaty (and yes a little smelly), they asked to check my ID. Problem is, I couldn't find it…at first. With Logan starting to panic, I found it flush with my the screen on my phone in my pocket. Whew!

So, we made it onto the nonstop (thanks, Aunt Malia!) to JFK and were on our way.

After a great flight, we got ourselves to our hotel just south of Central Park. 

Our first outing would be a NY Knicks basketball game.  I'd ordered tickets three days prior and they thankfully arrived at the hotel ahead of us.  After a quick meal in the hotel (it would be our last sit down meal and the last vegetables Logan would have for the next five days, as the remainder of his meals consisted strictly of vendor cart fare), we took in a quick trip to FAO Schwartz and other NYC-sized retail giants. 





The piano from the movie, Big was high on the list at FAO. The boy totally dug it, and I was glad to have seen it threw his eyes.

Then, it was on to our first subway train (the first of many) and headed to the game. They lost, but it was great to be there.

This was a day of many firsts for my boy…first big city, cab, hotel, subway ride, pro basketball game. He was enamored with it all. He'd soon settle in and think about taking up residence.

Day 2 - Saturday…Drizzle, World Trade Center, SoHo, Times Square Part One, The Hunt for Good Local Joe

First things first…a run in Central Park. This meant finding a bike rental for the boy. We managed to pull this off without much ado and mama got her run in. A quintessential NYC experience was had.

We rented L's bike at Central Park Bike Tours which was inside of a very PNW-like bike racing store. We got to know a couple of the locals and asked for the local place to get some good joe following our run.














We were referred to Fika Espresso Bar down the street where Håkan Mårtensson (Famous Guy) has won a number of local awards for his swiss chocolate concoctions and where the joe, staff and vibe were all very cool.  This is probably my top pick for local joe that we experienced while in NYC.  Logan, however, couldn't believe they didn't have whipped cream and voted his chocolate "not very good". It was true, there was a moat of chocolate left at the bottom when he was done, but man it was REALLY good chocolate. His pallet has yet to mature beyond Hershey's syrup. But, who am I to judge? You like, what you like, right?

Once properly caffeinated and showered, we shot down Manhattan to the Financial District to the site of the Twin Towers. Or, I should say, "the gigantic hole that used to be them". Not much to see there as construction of a memorial is underway. It was fenced off; a big construction zone. But, we were glad to have experienced it. The drizzly, foggy day, matched the sentiment felt when you were there.






On our way back uptown, we stopped in at SoHo which I would liken to an older version of Portland's Pearl District. It was dark at this point, a crowded Saturday night and we were tired from a very full day of walking. But my boy was a trooper as his mama drug him through a couple of boutiques recommended by Aunt M (our family's expert big city traveler).

We thought we were done after SoHo, but L caught a second wind when we got off the subway at Times Square. There's nothing like the place. We meandered around; L particularly in love with all the touristy gift shops as he searched for the perfect souvenirs for friends and family.



We did encounter a strange mystery during the walk back to the hotel that night.  There are a gazillion food vendors in NYC.  I know from both visual inspection and because after Friday's dinner in the hotel, Logan didn't eat anything but pizza, ice cream and pretzels from these carts.  But, on Saturday night as we crossed the street to our hotel at about 10 pm, we noticed that one particular cart had a line like 50 people deep.  My first thought of course was that the guys must be selling crack (because you know how I love the crack).  No question the chicken smelled awesome, but wasn't it late for dinner even by big city standards?  And it was "just chicken" (sorry, Nancy).  We couldn't figure it out, but were intruiged.  So much so, that Logan proceed to watch the line progression until midnight that night from our 36th window, above.  This continued into Sunday morning and evening and the line ebbed and flowed, but was huge over any meal hour. 

Day 3 - Sunday….The Weather Breaks, We're becoming Veteran Mass Transit Traveler's, Times Square Part Two, Bryant Park, Rockerfeller Square Part One, Statue of Liberty, More Local Joe Searching

We were rolling at this point. Today was more local retail and another walk through Times Square (it would be our last; just to crowded for this mama) and a trip to the Statue of Liberty.

We felt so blessed by a glorious day weather-wise for our trip see the Statue and Ellis Island. We opted to simply enjoy a ferry ride around both rather than visiting the islands. It was so fun to see how much Logan appreciated two of our nation's premier monuments. We had a great time.

My search for local joe took all day today.  In hindsight, the wise move would've been to have found some BEFORE waiting in line for and taking the ferry around the monuments. But, after we finished, we got off the subway at Bryant Park where stumbled on a Saturday Market of sorts (open between now and the holiday) where we got to take a break from mass market retail and enjoy more local wares. We found a great hat for Elise and finally some decent joe at Wich Craft; a company that has seen success by creating unique panini sandwich combinations. They also do coffee and treats come to find out. A little trendy/touristy for sure, but good nonetheless.

Bryant Park (left) and Rockerfeller Center made for the end of a great day.

We saw the ice rink at The Center (behind L at next left), Dean and Deluca (very nice and decent food on the run) and the Rockerfeller Tree covered in a shroud of scaffolding as it's being prepared for the annual tree lighting festivities. We were a week early for the annual tree lighting.

Day 4 - Monday….The Neighborhood's Tour, Empire State Building, Rockerfeller Square Part Two

This was our last and my favorite day of them all. We were veteran NYC traveler's by this time and another warm, sunny day made for a light-hearted, fun day. Today's route was all about getting away from where we'd been and into the surrounding neighborhoods; meeting interesting people and taking in unique and interesting sites.

We took the subway all the way down the southeast side of the island. We got off at Essex and Delaney Street in the East Village and worked our way back up to the Empire State Building.  Yes, that is a Starbuck's I'm holding.  It was worth it to have it first thing.  They're on every corner like McDonald's.  Crazy.

Our first stop in the East Village was a vegan and sometime gluten-free bakery called, Babycakes NYC. I had picked up Erin McKenna's cookbook this summer in Eugene at Passionflower and given a couple of copies as gifts. Her local haunt is a total hole in the wall (below, left and right), but the products are of excellent quality and so yummy.

The staff at Babycakes recommended Bluestockings Bookstore and Coffee down the street and our local tour was off and running. Once at Bluestockings, we had decent joe and enjoyed more really helpful and interesting folks

Left is Logan as we headed out of the East Village toward Soho enroute to Union Square.

Our trip took us through Union Square's Farmer's Market and NYU's campus.

Enroute to the Empire State Building, we happened by Madison Square - cute little urban park (at left).

We stopped at Max Brenner's (the bald guy's) chocolate restaurant/shop. Logan and I each chose a special, bite sized chocolate.  His mama followed with instructions that this was not the Hershey's variety and that he must not be eaten in fewer than four bites. He managed to comply, and his first truly quality chocolate experience was had. He even reprimanded me for eating the second half of mine later in the day in only one bite (a total of three). Mom, seriously. I smiled.  Dude, was right.

We arrived at the Empire State Building at 3 pm; right at the time the website said would be a good time relative to beating the crowd. Plus, it was Monday. We were rewarded with NO WAIT TIME!

This is a site that on beautiful fall day, should not be missed. We got tickets for the 102nd floor observatory which is inside, but is as high as you can go. Worth it. We dropped back down to the 86th floor which has an outdoor observatory and was also quite awesome. We took lots of pictures, took our time and enjoyed the lack of crowd (my NYC standards, anyway).

View from the 102nd floor indoor observation deck.

Logan and I from the 86th floor outdoor observation deck

I couldn't resist this picture.  There were a number of beautiful old churches in New York and this was one of the few I got a picture of during the.  We did go into St. Patrick's Cathedral which was amazing, but it was at night and the outside was under construction.

We thought we were done after the Empire State Building; planning to continue north back to the hotel!  But, on a lark, we juked all the way back down to the south of the island and just over the water to Brooklyn.  While there, we enjoyed Grimaldi's ; a classic pizza joint near the Brooklyn Bridge.  Our goal was good pizza and a walk over the bridge.  This was totally worth it and a great time.  Sadly, it was well past dark and there are no decent pics to share.

Day 5 - Been There, Done That

Our flight out of New York has in the middle of the afternoon.  This left us with a leisurely morning and time to go for one last walk.  I've been asked why no museums or shows were had on the this trip.  I certainly would've appreciated both, but the boy was interested in the big, major sites he'd been studying as part of his school state's project and I figured we'd stick with the stuff he REALLY wanted to see given the cost and time.  Next trip.

The good news is that on our way back to the hotel to retrieve our bags and check out, we did solve the mystery of the "crack vendor".  We started by asking a guy at the end of the line who said, "all I know if that he's one of the most famous/popular street vendors in NYC, but I'm not the guy to ask".  A nice couple about half way forward basically said the same thing.  I'm still thinking crack, of course.  But then I see a couple of local cops at the front of the line (Actually not really in line at all.  Must be a perk of the job.) and I asked about what was up.  They informed me that the vendor made the best chicken and rice.  That's it?  No crack?  Nope, just chicken.  Really good chicken.  We'd have tried some if Logan hadn't been stuffed with pretzels and have a plane to catch!

So, the best street vendor in NYC is supposedly the guy on the corner of 53rd and 6th Ave. (or thereabouts).  Check it out.

Our time came finally came to an end and we were treated to the most perfect flight home.

Great trip for me and the boy.  Perfect amount of time.  A memory maker for sure.

Say

My friend Nan posted a status on FB recentlly illuding to a John Mayer's song "Say" that stuck with me.  It is about saying what you need to say and it being good to do so even when it's hard.  Remembering liking the song myself, I downloaded the song from iTunes and it's continued to stick with me.

I've been pondering what a blessing it is to have friends (and if you're lucky, family) with whom you can, "say what you need to say".  Those who with their hearts and ears somehow manage to listen to us.  To the good, the bad, the happy and the sad.

I think of how FB let's us share the simple things we need to say and how much our close knit group of friends appreciates this vehicle to stay in touch during this busy time in our lives.  I think we sometimes forget that we're sharing with more than 5-10 of our closest, but I think God uses this.

I think of how friendships from long ago can be rekindled.  And even when we don't know when we'll connect next, we give each other the freedom to just, "say it" and we are gracious enough to "hear it".  Like in the old days, but better because I think whichever end you're on in the moment, we appreciate the gift more now.

I thought particularly of this concept as my friend Nan called every couple of days to touch base with me while running up and down I-5 to tending to her ailing sister.  The calls would be short; the years under our belt requiring very few words.  But, there was no doubt that we could "say" and it was safe; a touchstone for us both during what at the moment are very hard times.  I treasured these moments with my friend Nan.

I am blessed to be able to "say what I need to say" and hope to never stop working on listening with love and graciousness.

Erin.

Gratefulness - The Great Heart Changer

I've said more than once it's been a tough year or so in parentland.  Nothing profoundly earth-shattering; just time catching up with me and coming to terms with my own sinful nature.  It's all very humbling (and frustrating, enraging, annoying, and, and, etc.).

I've found the Podcast!  Yes, instead of getting the new Nano that comes with an FM Tuner (for the news), I'm trying NOT to go out and buy the latest and greatest; to be satisified with what I've got.  Enter the Podcast. 

My favorite so far has been the stuff from Focus on the Family. Usually 10 minutes podcasts on a wide variety of family and parenting subjects.  I wasn't crazy about having to stop every 10 minutes while running to go to the next one (anyone know how to move through them without having to select the next one?), but they've been "that good" that it's been worth it.

Gratefulness was one of the recent topics and it hit me where I needed it this week.  At first it was, "I need to make sure my little people 'get' grateful".  Nice, huh?  Oh, yeah and maybe I should get on that train to.  So, I pondered some more.  I went to bed focused on grateful; despite being a little sad and very tired. 

Grateful for friends and family who are constantly giving me grace and understanding.  Grateful for a God who walks alongside of me even when things are so very hard.

I woke up this morning with "grateful" on the brain.  It wasn't easy.   It was morning afterall, and followed 6 intermitten hours of sleep.  It was a choice.

I chose to say thank you to my people for remembering and doing their chores.  I apologized for often asking for more instead of thanking them for what they do. 

Getting out the door to school can be nightmare and sadly, the nightmare can become a pattern. 

Today, we got out the door to school in a different way because mama's heart was in a different place.  Because by the shear Grace of God and making a choice, chose to be grateful instead of otherwise.

Gratefulness - The Great Heart Changer.....

Love to you,

Erin.

Three Generations

E, L and I waited all day for the rain to clear.  Then, we got a surprise visit from Grandpa Bob.  I guess we were supposed to wait today because we finally found our window of blue (enough) sky around 5 pm and then we were three generations, two bikes, a dog and off and running.

I was grateful today for my dad and my children who are both amazing and humbling reminders of how I got here and how I'm getting there.  They are patient with me and gracious to me as I stumble along trying to become the woman God put me here to be.  I hope I remember to be the same with them in return.

I love that I still get to run (and have to work to keep up) with my dad who turned 63 this year.  I love that we share a love for being outside and particularly running.  I love that my children get to see this. 

I'm glad our blue sky came late today.

Some running articles I dug this morning

Here are some links that I enjoyed this morning and thought you might also:

My friend H and I were talking about her experience running daily doubles this summer.  My first thought, was "no way", "don't have the time", etc.  But, the more I thought about it and occassionally tried it, there were things about I really liked.  Here is an article that discusses some of these points.  However, once school starts I'm sure it's "game over" in this arena.  But, maybe we try it once or twice per week through the fall before the winter kicks our behinds?

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Double-Up-Your-Daily-Runs.htm

For those who like a plan, don't have lots of days during the week to run and are early in their running development (or not), I like what Jeff Galloway is saying in the article below:

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/How-to-Double-Your-Endurance-in-6-Weeks.htm

And finally, two articles on strength training.  I started doing Jillian Michael's "Cutting it Up" routine with great results back in April.  Stonger, leaner and fitter I am for the things I like to do.  However, it's circuit approach which focuses on keeping your heartrate up and moving between upper and lower body assumes it's a complete workout with very little extra cardio.  I like to run about an hour a day and found it was making me super fatigued.  My solution was to cut way back on the lower body strength stuff while I'm running so much this summer and boost it back up this winter while continuing to do maintain upper body and core strength through two workouts per week.  That said, I'm still fine tuning the lower options as I don't like to completely eliminate lower.

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/3-Reasons-Strength-Training-Will_Benefit-Your-Run.htm

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Strength_training_for_runners.htm

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Reach_your_best_running_weight__Strength_train.htm

Run on friends.

Consequences of Freedom - Nike Free's Part Three

This is the third post in a series on my experience training in the Nike Free's.  As discussed in previous posts, these shoes are intended as supplements to your existing running shoe.  But, in true E form, I walked for 1 week instead of 3 and ran 5, then 6 miles on consecutive days when I was supposed to try running a single mile. 

My bad.  Really.  I've got this nice pain in my glute which is running down the middle of my hamstring.  And like my long ago sciatic issue, I'm not 100% sure yet if it's muscular or nerves shooting junk down my legs from my lower back.  I suspect it's the latter, but honestly I go back and forth.  For now, I'm running through it hoping it'll go away.  Stop laughing.  You've done it. 

I haven't given up on Freedom, just going back to the original plan.  Back to walking in them for now.....

Love my ASICS GT-2140's.

Run on friends.

These are the days to remember....

I've finally mastered (using this term loosely) the "art of pre-positioning" with my children.  After years of carefully pre-positioning possible outcomes with clients so as to make a future experience occur without surprise and/or incident, I've finally started to take this approach with our kids.  For example, one approach might be, mommy comes downstairs in the morning and says, "we're going on a bike ride (while mommy runs), so saddle up (please)".  On the other hand, something like (at the beginning of summer), "you need to plan on being on your bikes an hour each day so that daddy and I can get our runs in this summer", while met with initial groans doesn't come with any immediate consequence and so passes quickly in the moment.  But, the seed has been planted.....

Of course we didn't make them get on their bikes everyday this summer.  But, when we have asked them to do so a couple of times a week, it's come as no surprise and with little to no whining.  Plus, we've found lots of ways to make it fun along the way.  In fact, as the summer has progressed we've found these outings to be our very best times.

Tonight Logan and I had time just the two of us.  He has enjoyed some additional freedom he's earned this year by getting to bike to and from places solo or with his best buddy, Van.  To and from their houses they've gone or to and from soccer practice.  The sense of freedom has been a thrill for them both.  But, I digress.  Off he and I went tonight for what ended up being a 9 mile bike ride to dinner, dessert and then a ride home using headlamps; a fun little adventure in total.  We chatted along...as the pace and time not trying to do 10 things at once makes room for lots of questions, comments, jokes and laughter.  Great gifts, indeed.

A couple of days ago, Logan and Van joined me on their bikes for a 9 mile run.  Yes, I'm not above subjecting my friends' kids to the insanity.....At one point during the run, they seemed to be lollygagging up ahead of me and my first thought was, "The gig is up.  They have finally figured out that they can outpace me on their bikes and are going to start getting bored with these outings."  When I asked Van if I was slowing them down, he responded in his true philosiphizer (This is a word, if you know this boy we love) with "no" and then something about bike gearing and pedals that I didn't understand for the life of me.  I was so relieved.  Maybe it's that they've biked with me since they could and only gradually gotten to the point where they could so easily leave me in the dust that it didn't even occur to them to do so (they always wait a ways up ahead which I think is really sweet) and/or were so enjoying each others company and chatting away as we went that it didn't matter.  But, regardless; the experience was pure joy.  The quiet rhythm of the park, the river and the pace; the carefree chatting and biking I got to watch (and even sometimes got to join in) which comes from years of being best buds.  Another great moment.

Our kids bicker.  Yes, it's shocking I know since I'm sure they are the only ones that do.  Mark and I do not enjoy this.  Get them out biking while one or both of us run along and they generally do this less.  Maybe it's the lack of confined space or the fact that they are otherwise engaged.  But, other than the occasional "she cut me off", I find these outings to be a nice reprieve from the silliness.

I've mentioned before that I dig hills.  I like that it's hard to get up them and how great it feels once you've caught your breath.  My little Elise has become a hill monster.  I asked her to join me last Saturday morning on the run that I try and do as regularly as possible with my sister.  With sis out of commission last weekend, I thought I'd see if she'd join me so we could have some one on one time; figuring competing with Saturday morning cartoons would be a futile exercise.  But, along she came.  I was so glad to have her along.  I told her ahead of time that in the middle of the run there would be three small hills; two a little steep, but all pretty short (notice, the pre-positioning? ;>).  It was so fun to encourage her up them all.  Despite needing a little push here and there, there was no whining and the victory was all hers.  She felt like a rockstar!  Big smile and yes a big cookie for us both at the end!

So, if it's not completely obvious by now, I love having active kids.  Kids who can get into a rhythm with me and spend quality time doing something that we all enjoy and that's really good for us on so many levels.  Who knew that lacing up a couple of shoes and pumping up a couple of tires could do all that?