6 July 2023

Two years ago, Rob planned a 60th birthday surprise for yours truly.

He arranged a birthday trip to New York City. My step-sister flew in from Amsterdam. A childhood friend was coming in from Philadelphia. We even had tickets to a Broadway musical.

Then two days before we were scheduled to leave, he tested positive. And two days later, I tested positive.

We were sick on my actual birthday.

So we’ve been waiting over a year to make this trip happen. (My birthday is in April.)

The day is finally here!

If you are reading this on the day I am posting it (6 July 2023), we are either on an airplane, checking into our room at the Lucerne Hotel, or shopping for some yumminess at Zabar’s.

Two blocks south and a block east, is the Intermediate School I went to, mostly.

A lovely walk across the park, a couple more blocks east, and 1.5 miles north and I can point out the apartment building where I lived most of my adolescence.

Imagine it. There was a library just across the street. How perfect for me, a person who always wanted to escape into a good book.

This trip, we are meeting my mother and stepfather for lunch after we go to the Frick Gallery. My childhood friend might be able to come to hang out for the day. There’s a wonderful flea market in the school yard of my old Intermediate School. We have plans to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and finally go to see the Broadway show we were hoping to see before it became a Tony Award winner.

This is our second trip to NY. I’ll tell you more about that trip in another blog post. And I’ll blog about this belated birthday trip when I get back. If you want to see photos from my trip, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and let me know. I’ll be creating a special list of subscribers who want to see 3-5 pics a day from my trip.

Hint: There are more trips coming. Which means, more pictures.