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| A boat ride is perfect on a hot day |
Out of the blue my big sister, Mary, called and said she was coming to visit. Really??? I
said, with a note of skepticism.
Who could blame me, after all her last visit was over twelve years
ago. I’ll be there this week, she
added. Right on, email me your
time of arrival and I’ll pick you up at the airport, I said cheerfully. Oh my, I was so excited, but then again I didn’t want
to get my hopes up!
The day before she
was scheduled to arrive I still wouldn't let myself believe she would be coming. That night she called and said “I’ll be
there at 6 pm tomorrow”. Whoa!!!
She was actually going to visit us!!! I had to get my butt in gear and clean my
house, even though my housecleaner had just cleaned. I quickly realized that I would be cleaning all night. Therefore I
called my back-up-cleaner (see why here) who, lucky for me, was available the
next day. I also, had to call my handyman to do a few things around the house, touch ups and stuff. I changed the light bulbs and wash all
the towels so they were all soft and fresh. There was a flurry of things to be done before picking her up at the airport.
I took the day off from work, and although I wasn't planning to take my holidays, yet, I decided to take time off for her visit.
Then she called to
say she missed her first flight.
What??? I spoke to her that morning hours before her flight and she was packed and almost out the door. What
happened, I asked? Apparently, she
decided at the last minute to grab a muffin and didn’t hear the final
call. They called three times but
she didn’t hear and the plane left without her after they removed her
bag. And, all I could think of
was, YES! That muffin may have cost her
$150 in change fees. But, missing her plane
gave me a few more hours to prepare for her visit. Everything was perfect when she arrived, I think.
My son, Andrew had
an appointment in Montreal. He
suggests we go to New York from Montreal.
It is only a short drive, he says, and we all know Andrew loves NYC. What the heck I thought, this
would be a wonderful experience since my sister had never been there. And besides the pool still was not
completed. Hubby went on line and made reservations for us at the New York Helmsley Hotel. It is closer than where we stayed before which is across the Brooklyn
Bridge at the Marriott Hotel. I
suggest hubby fly down to meet us Friday night after work (some of us can’t just
take time off!) He agreed. Now to
find a place for our dog, Bohdi, on a long weekend, which we did! He was excited to stay at Tails andTrails Country Pet Resort.
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| The Fort William Henry Hotel |
We decided to take
our time driving and stopped over night at Lake George, a picturesque lakeside
resort. We stayed at a lovely hotel, The Fort William Henry Hotel. There is much history in lake George and we enjoyed a lovely
evening there. The next day in the parking lot we met a guy who is a ghost guide
who said that there are several ghost in and around the hotel. Thankfully, we were leaving, yikes.
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| Mary, first night in NYC @Osteria Laguna! |
I really got to appreciate the in car GPS, which made
driving in NYC a snap. We arrived in time for dinner, which we had at Osteria Laguna Restaurant directly across the street from our hotel. You know what it's like when you first arrive at a place you're excited about, everything taste amazing. Osteria didn't disappoint. My insalata caprese was simply delicious!
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| New York from Empire State Building! |
Of course, we tried to do all the tourist stuff we could in the three days we were there, and had a
wonderful exciting time. However, nothing made me more excited as when we found a place that made fresh green juice and smoothies on Lexington, which is just around the corner from our hotel. I so missed my fresh juices. Score!!! We also, went to Hell's Kitchen flea Market where I bought a lovely zen singing bowl. Yeah!
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| Porgy and Bess |
It was
difficult, but we even managed to get some tickets on Broadway to the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, which was playing at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Andrew wanted to see Harvey, but we couldn't get reasonable tickets. With only a limited time, it was too bad we missed it because andrew is a fan of Jim Parson from The Big Bang Theory.
The only complaint, if I could have one, would be that we decided to visit NYC in the middle
of a heat wave, (36 Celsius) made walking in this heat not pleasant!
But what is summer about, if not to be spontaneous, huh? It's a good thing Andrew didn't pinch my sister every time she said, pinch me, Andrew! Otherwise, she would have been black and blue. lol. All in
all, this impromptu trip is one to be treasured.
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Not quite Thelma and Louise, but we had a blast!
Thank you, Mary!!! |
