New York, New York

Our summer of travel culminated with a weekend trip to NYC. We celebrated Sid and Carol's 40th wedding anniversary and 60th birthdays with Pat, Blaine, Tony and Lisa (and of course Sid and Carol). We stayed at the Desmond Tutu Convention Center which had incredible architectural features like 150 foot ceilings! At least that's what Aksel thought. When we arrived on Saturday afternoon, this Reid family was, of course, starving. So we found a little Italian pizzeria just down the street and had a brick-oven pizza. Then the rest of the family showed up.

The next stop was the Chelsea Market which really reminded me of downtown St. Paul...back when downtown St. Paul had activity past 4:00. While most of the extended family wanted to walk to the Hudson, this Reid family and Blaine decided to go to the American Museum of Natural History! We saw Dum-Dum who wanted some gum-gum but never saw Atilla the Hun Hun. A stroll through Central Park provided music and dance entertainment in the forms of random singing and roller skating exhibitions. The "best" skater was this 75 year-old man who decided that a shirt was optional. He talked smack to the bystanders about his skills and proceeded to shimmy around a bit, dropped his cane, cursed, and then he decided to go to a different area to showcase his skills.

Our six-hour drive home (which should be only three) allowed us to reminisce about Lachen and Aksel driving the horse-drawn carriage through Central Park, taking in the first morning session of the US Open, eating at Carmine's, taking a long tour through Manhattan and the continual neck strain of trying to see the top of all of the skyscrapers. The best part of the trip for me was a nice walk through NYU, then stopping for appetizers and drinks at Slane's. I think it is wise to expose the boys to the pub scene at an early age, particularly when it's open to the street with loads of interesting people milling around. The bartender made Aksel a juice concoction while Lachen scarfed down chicken fingers. While us three boys watched the Mets on TV, Anna found the bag she has always wanted at a little boutique a few doors door. We topped off our time on Bleecker and Macdougal at a creperie: nutella, strawberries, and whipped cream, anyone?

So, summer is over and now the school year begins. Our fall athletes arrived a couple of days ago. We had three full days of faculty meetings and are back in the swing of things.