The Big Apple

Can I just say how much I love New York? We had such a fun visit. We did all the "touristy" stuff, like the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building, Metropolitan Art Museum, Central Park, Natural History Museum, etc. We walked EVERYWHERE! I'm talking about 5+ miles per day... That's my theory as to why New Yorkers are so thin...They WALK! It was great. NYE was way too cold to go to Times Square, so we met up with a friend of a friend, and she and her boyfriend took us to a party at a club! It was fun--I felt like a local. We went over to Brooklyn one night to have dinner with my sister Sharon's friend, Karen. She took us to a "real" Italian restaurant...and it was amazing! The server/owner even gave us a round of shots (and he did one with us!) We saw Arthur Miller's play "All My Sons" on Broadway...It starred John Lithgow, Diane Wiest, Katie Holmes, and Patrick Wilson. They did a great job, and it was so awesome to see "real" actors up close. The weather up there was cold, but we had a blast. It was a much needed vacation! Now, at times, I did feel like I was in a foreign country, but that's the neat part. At any given time, walking down the street, one could hear five different languages being spoken!! You won't get that here in the Lou...

However, on the flight home, I did overhear a couple of "native" New Yorkers talking, and one asked the other why on earth he would be going to St. Louis... I mean...she asked as if he were going to the middle East or something! And then I overheard them talking about how midwesterners have "typical" male and female roles, and all this other stuff... I just wanted to turn around and let them know that we don't ride around on covered wagons these days, and that we even have cable TV! I mean these people think us midwesterners live in another century or something! Is it the traditional family values that bother them? Or the slower (relatively) paced lives we lead? I don't know, but it really kinda bothered me. But, alas, it did not take anything away from the awesome experience I had in the Big Apple. It's a fantastic place to visit, but I'll take my town anyday!