We got what we wished for (and more): a wintry Christmas (stuck) in New York! Tim and I planned to celebrate Christmas a little early in New York for our last East Coast winter and we saw all the Christmas sights:
Macy's was a first stop. Tim even wrote a letter to Santa. (He wants N to get better). Good thing we went on Saturday because on Sunday Macy's caught on fire and had to evacuate the mass of shoppers. There were at 15 firetrucks surrounding the world's largest Macy's store and it was MADNESS trying to get past.
Then we hit
Rockefeller Center for the first (of many) visits. Conveniently located next door is Anthropologie, so we had to spend some time there. Their window display made it into our collection of favorites (see slideshow).
Finally we wandered to Broadway to catch our Mary Poppins matinee. We were caught up in the magic. It was supercalifragilisticexpialidotious!
When we got out, it was snowing! We checked in to our secret Republican women's club banquet hall hotel across from Rock Center! The room was nice but drafty. Some snow accumulated INSIDE our window. We stayed on the Lincoln floor. We tried crashing the three weddings that were going on, but kept blowing our entrance. "Oh, this isn't the pool, honey...."
Sunday we awoke to clear skies and a beautiful white blanket covering the city. We actually ventured off the island of Manhattan into Brooklyn. The neighborhood around Carroll Street was sooo cute. We attended St Paul's Episcopal Church where Sufjan goes in hopes of finding him (and of course in honoring Christ in a worship service!!). It was VERY liturgical and fun to be in Brooklyn with a few faithful families on a snowy, sunny Sunday morning before Christmas.
We wandered through
Soho for lunch and window shopping (boo compared to other areas) and then up to
Central Park for the real highlight of the day. Windows with cool Alice in Wonderland themes, FAO Schwartz chaos, and a sunny park stroll for with local sledding frenzy. We wrapped up our walk at an artists market with hot cider and fresh, 'local' gingerbread cookies.
So Tim kept his cool and we called a friend to have him check my email to confirm that yes, our bus had been canceled with no rescheduling. We checked Penn station for train service to Boston, which was running, but running at $220 a person!!!! Yikes!! So we walked up to Port Authority to buy the next Greyhound tickets out of town, which were for Monday morning. What to do in the meantime? We didn't know any friends in NY but we did know that secretive Republican women's club from the night before. They don't advertise on the internet and even with 20 dinky rooms they had room for us. Downtown Manhattan on the night after the storm, all transportation cancelled and everyone in the city looking for lodging. They had rooms! God knew our need. On our way back, we stopped once more in Times Square to soak it all in...pretty cool but also kind of ridiculous and materialistic. We are so thankful we have each other!
We dined in style with cold Chipotle burritos and water in our room, watching remnants of Pixar movies and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and reminisced over a classic Manhattan at a nearby bar. It could definitely have been worse. I even made it to my Monday night final (which means 3 weeks off of school, and only 2 more classes to go until I graduate!!!).
God has truly blessed us, even in storms and uncertainty He provides and delights us with the greatest gifts. This season we are so thankful for the gift of His Son in this world.
"Anything can happen if you let it!"
