I just got back from an amazing, once in a lifetime trip. I
say once in a lifetime because I don’t think it is usually the combo trip
people are drawn to. I just spent 3ish days in New York City and then hoped on
a plane to Orange County, California where I spent another 3ish days. The
reason I did such a thing is that I had a “use or lose” flight credit on Delta
and these two places where the places I was deciding between. I decided to just
look and see what the price would be to do both – and it was only $30 more! How
could you pass that up?! Umm, you can’t. So I booked it!
I visited New York in June of 2002, just a few short months
after 9/11 so the city was still somber and in major clean up mode. I wanted to
see the city rebuilt and back on it’s feet – and also two of my closest cousins
live there and I have always wanted to visit them since they moved there years
ago. I got in late on Thursday (the day after treatment… cutting it close and
really pushing the limits) and we went to a great dinner a few doors down from
their cute East Village apartment. The next day I spent touring the city on my
own while they had to both work. I saw Grand Central station and the gazillion
people that pass through there each day. Amazing really. I then walked over to
Rockefeller Center and caught the last 2 minutes of the early part of the Today
Show, still pretty cool. I then walked into 30 Rock and saw the gift shop for
all the shows filmed there. I then hopped onboard the “Big Bus Tour” to see the
city from a double decker bus. These are my favorite in a big city or overseas.
You get to see so many things and learn about random things that you normally
never would. I covered lots of ground through out the city, way more than I
would on foot. I jumped off around Ground Zero so I could get a look at how
much it’s changed since the last time I was there. I popped into a Starbucks
and rested for a bit and recharged (cell phone and caffeine) before heading
into it all. Once at Ground Zero it was amazing to see how big the towers were
and just how many lives were lost that day. As I was walking around I came
across the “Survivors Tree.” This tree was found in the ruble, barely still
alive. People fought to keep it alive and nurse it back to health. They did so,
and it now is growing beautifully and was the only tree at the memorial with
any color left in its leaves still in the middle of the cold. As I stood there
looking at the tree I began to tear up and eventually lost it. This tree
represented so much of what I am going through. I will be just like this tree –
a survivor. It was an incredibly moving moment for me. After that I hoped back
on the bus and saw the rest of the tour, ending in Time Square as it was
getting dark and all lit up. Pretty great day. The rest of the time was spent
wandering through other parts of the city with my cousins, eating up all the
good things and all the ice cream we could manage (even though I think we all
could still have gone more!) I wish my stomach was bigger cause there seriously
was so much amazing looking places to eat! Just another reason to go back.
After my busy 3ish days in NYC I caught an early flight to
Orange County to see my best friend and her family’s new home. Once I got there
I was able to see her oldest daughter (almost 3 years old) perform in her first
gymnastics recital. And man was it adorable!!
The next day I spent some time at her work seeing what she does and then
enjoying happy hour with her. The next day the pacific ocean was calling me so
we went and spent some time there and ate some good local goodies. I love
putting my feet in the ocean – something about it resets my mind. I always have
to get a picture of my toes in the sand or water and this time there were some
additional little feets with me. So precious. Ash and I got to have a great
night out with just the two of us with delicious food and drinks, always a good
time. Then my vacation had to come to a
close and I headed home to rest and get into the Christmas spirit.
It was truly a vacation to remember and I hope to be doing
it more in the coming year for a couple reasons. For one, I hope to feel good
enough to travel a lot and two I have just been listed as a companion on
JetBlue for flight benefits and they fly directly to these two places! Pretty
great deal if I must say so! Hoping to use those benefits soon and often!
I am so lucky that I felt good enough after my treatment to
enjoy such a vacation – I am spent now though! Ready to relax a bit and enjoy
the holiday season.
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