NYC!!

The good news is: 1) I am alive and well writing this right now, meaning that I survived a weekend in NYC with Billea and Cassie and 2) I did not loose any shoes! So I Friday morning I got up and drove to the Franconia-Springfield metro station, left my car there, and headed into the city to catch my bus to NYC . After a long (and ugly!) bus ride through several states, I made it to the city where the bus dropped me off a few blocks from our hotel where Cassie and Billea had just checked in. I got there and we immediately went to Junior’s (a Brooklyn restaurant famous for their cheesecake) where we got dinner and carrot cake cheesecake and devil’s food cheesecake. Best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten in my life! After that we walked around Times Square for a little while then headed to see what tickets were available for 9 to 5 that night. Turns out there were three seats together in the center of the fourth row and we decided to splurge because who knows when we’ll ever be back there again! The show was hilarious and it was the original cast since it just opened in April—Dad, I definitely recommend we go see it if it ever goes on tour.

Saturday morning we got up and prepared for a day of shopping—we hit up Chinatown, Century 21, 5th Avenue, and some stores around Grand Central Station too before we headed in to rest for a while. We decided we wanted to see another show, so this time we got in the tkts line since it was shorter than on Friday and got half price tickets to see Mary Poppins that night. We got hot dogs and pretzels from a street vendor then changed and headed to the show, which was also really great. As far as Broadway spectacle goes with big dance numbers, fancy costumes and set pieces, and good special effects, Mary Poppins had it all, so we were really glad we decided to see both shows and get a taste of two different types of musicals. We headed to get food and dessert after the show and then went to a place called the Mad Fiddler where we met a group of charming Irishmen who we danced with into the wee hours of the morning, especially considering that Cassie and Billea had to get up at 7 to share a cab to the airport/back to St. John’s University where Cassie is staying. They got up and headed out while I got to sleep in a little while longer before getting up and wandering around Times Square for a little while and then heading to catch my bus back to D.C. Another fast and furious weekend, but so much fun! Did I mention that we went the whole weekend without a map or guidebook? We wanted to see if we could do it, so we just used our Southern charm and Texas twang to make friends wherever we went (which we were very surprised about since we thought everyone in NY was supposed to be very unfriendly!) and were very successful and never got lost!

Momo Does D.C.!

So on Thursday evening after work I went to the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station to pick Molly up! We made it back to Dumfries/Triangle where I showed her “my” Panera and Starbucks and took her to Five Guys for dinner. Then we got some baking supplies and baked some cookies in the woods—I was going through baking withdrawals! On Friday morning we got up and went hiking for a little while in the woods by my cabin and then showered and got ready and went by my office before we headed to Franconia-Springfield again to leave my car there for the weekend. We took the train in to D.C., checked in to our hotel and then went shopping and to dinner for the evening! Then we headed towards the White House and did all the monuments/memorials behind the Washington Monument (Lincoln, Vietnam, WWII, and Korean War) because we knew we’d probably be too tired to get there on Saturday (which was true). Saturday we got up and took the metro to Eastern Market (a flea/food market in Capitol Hill) and got breakfast and shopped around before we spent the rest of the day hopping between all of the museums on the Mall. Sunday we had to get up and get on the metro after breakfast so Mo could get to the airport in time to catch her flight, but I got to ride with her there since Franconia-Springfield is just about 15 minutes on the train past the airport! It was a fast and busy weekend and we both thought our feet were going to fall off on multiple occasions, but it was well worth it and so fun! Also—great news—I did not loose any shoes. Let’s hope this stays the same after next weekend: NYC with Cassie and Billea (one of our sorority sisters from Tulsa!). Love and miss y’all!!

Independence Day!

Well, needless to say this weekend was an eventful one! On Thursday after I got off of work I drove to the Franconia-Springfield Metro station (about 25 minutes away from the park), left my car there, and took the Metro into D.C. to meet my friends Colton, Tim, and John from TU who were all there for their fraternity national convention. When I got in Thursday, we headed towards U-Street where we stopped and ate some Salvadoran/Mexican food and then went to a bar to meet some other KAs from around the Oklahoma area. Friday morning we got up and got breakfast and then the guys went to convention stuff. I wandered around downtown shopping until they got done after lunch and then we went to the mall and to some museums for a while. That night while the guys were at their closing banquet, I walked a few blocks and met up with Cassie where her bus from NYC had dropped her off! Then we headed out to a place called McFadden’s near George Washington where we danced the night away—me with just one shoe. In the rush to get on the Metro to while we were leaving, a young KA gentleman stepped on the back of my favorite pair of flip flops and when he went to grab it, knocked it into the gap between the train and the platform—sadly, it was my beloved leather Rainbows that cost too much for flip flops and only get better with age as they mold to your feet. In actuality I was just glad it was not me or my phone or my camera that had fallen off the platform so I got over it quickly because obviously this would make an awesome story to tell later. No stores were open to buy a replacement pair so yes, I did spend the whole night with only one shoe and sustained no injuries, just a very dirty right foot! Worse has happened, ya know?!
Saturday we got up and had a very American lunch close to our hotel/the White House, then headed towards the mall where we bought ice cream and American flag bandanas and went to the see the Star Spangled Banner at the American History Museum. It was pretty crowded, but definitely not unbearable. After an obligatory bandana wearing group picture in front of the Capitol, we signed a piece of the 9/11 memorial that will be a part of a new museum within the next few years. Then we headed back to the hotel, got dinner, and rested up before we ventured back into the crowds for the firework show from the Lincoln Memorial. We made it through the throngs of people all the way to the Washington Monument where we watched the amazing firework show and when we finally made it back to the hotel through all the people we waited for the crowds to die down and then went to a late night bar and grill close by before heading in for the night. This morning our friends had to leave at 4:30 am to get to the airport and they were nice enough to let Cass and me sleep there for the rest of the morning. We got up and got breakfast and then went our separate ways and now I am back in the park, where there are nowhere near as many people! It’s funny to think that last summer we were in Paris, France for the Fourth and this year we were in an almost polar opposite place to celebrate! It was probably my most memorable Independence as of yet and it was great to be able to be reunited with Tulsa friends and Cassie! Next post: MOMO DOES WASHINGTON D.C.!