In The Greatest City In The World

Friends, I am back from the most wonderful few days in NYC. New York is one of my favorite places ever, and it’s been so long since my feet touched those city streets. Life just happens sometimes, and it hasn’t worked out, but this was what I needed, and it’s not going to be another nine years before I come back. Brace yourselves: tons of photos to come!

Sunday

Cardio: 4.49 miles, walking

And a new week began. Every day just seems hotter and more oppressive, so even walks feel pretty awful. I still sucked it up and got out there.

That evening, we had a date night at our local cooking school. Mr. PugRunner has been enjoying more Mediterranean food, so we took a class where we learned how to make spanakopota, tzatziki, a Greek salad with homemade dressing, and a chicken dish. We enjoyed wine with the evening and had chef-prepared baklava for dessert. The nice part is that we got to take home our leftovers and all the recipes to use later!

Monday

Cardio: 5.14 miles, running

While my run was actually really good, I did almost get hit by a distracted driver, who tried to coast through a stop sign. People can be the worst.

The plan for the rest of the day was to hang at home and finish packing, but Mr PugRunner got an alert from JetBlue that our Tuesday flight might be affected by incoming storms. After some discussion, we decided to try to head to the airport that evening to see if we could get on a flight that night. It didn’t work out, but we did spend the night at the airport hotel, which was a little nicer since we had a 5:30AM boarding time.

I was so excited and anxious I barely slept a wink!

Tuesday

Cardio: 4.32 miles, walking

I absolutely POPPED out of bed that morning, and we were out the door to the airport bright and early. NYC, here we come! Fortunately, we got in before all the bad weather, and by 9:45AM, we had our suitcases stowed away at our hotel and were ready to start our day!

Since we hadn’t really had breakfast, our first stop was Liberty for rainbow bagels!

Then we hopped in an Uber to go to Brooklyn. I wanted to get the viral soup dumplings and Diet Coke, then walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and go from there. The dumplings were delicious with a side of chili oil, and perfect for our journey on foot!

Since we still had decent weather, we continued walking to Little Italy, where we grabbed slices at L’Industrie and cookies to take home from Ferrara’s Bakery.

Fortunately, we had umbrellas, because it was a three mile trek back to our hotel. At this point, we were dragging just a little, so it was amazing that our room was ready when we got back to the lobby! It was perfect for taking a little nap to recharge for the evening. We had dinner plans with our nephew! It was awesome!

We finally had to call it a night and Ubered back to the hotel for bed. I think we were both out in minutes.

Wednesday

Cardio: 3.91 miles, running + walking

And finally, it was The Lost Boys day!

Of course, I kicked things off with a run to Central Park, with a detour past Times Square and The Palace Theater. we didn’t have any solid plans so I wasn’t rushing too much. I got to see the the giant hot dog and all the people rushing for tickets to that day’s show.

We had another bagel for breakfast and then went to Hudson Yards to check out the Vessel. We saw some public art, and then walked the High Line, a gorgeous elevated garden, until we dipped out for coffee.

We got ready for the show, and grabbed lunch a block from the theater. I was absolutely buzzing with excitement, and it felt like forever that we waited in line to get in. Things were super efficient: staff came by with QR codes so we could order cocktails and merch in advance, saving us from waiting. It was perfect! We snagged our drinks en route to our seats, and my sweatshirt was waiting for me after the show.

Our seats were fabulous and the show exceeded every expectation. As a huge fan of the movie, I felt like the creators of the musical absolutely honored the source material. There were some big changes that really worked, lots of little inside jokes and nods to things in the original, and the cast was just exceptional. The two women sitting next to us had no idea what the show was about, so it was really cool getting their reactions (they asked me if it was based on Peter Pan, and they were absolutely SHOOK after the first few minute). I love all the music and the stage, sets, and special effects were absolutely mindblowing. I am so grateful I got to see it in its original theater.

We went to stage door after the show and I got several autographs, and even a quick selfie with Pierre Marais, who played David. I was just over the moon.

But that’s not all! We had dinner with Carianne! It was so great catching up and it was the best day I’ve had in a long time!

Thursday

Cardio: 2.84 miles, walking + running

It was in the mid 60s when I laced up and headed out, and it was the most glorious feeling in the world. I went straight to Central Park and back, resisting the need for any side quests or detours.

We packed up and got ready, and then we went out for a big breakfast! We wanted to check out the James Beard pancakes at Bubby’s, and I’m so glad we did.

Properly fortified, we made our way back to JFK to fly home. Everything was on time and we landed in Florida right on time.

Friday

Cardio: 6 miles, running

TGIF! Of course, Friday would be better in New York. Sigh.

We had a quiet day, and in the evening, we went to an 80s Synth DJ night with friends. The music wasn’t great so we bebopped around town a little bit to enjoy some other music. It was a great night, as it always is.

Saturday

Cardio: 3.55 miles, walking

I was up and out pretty early for a client, and followed it up with a little walk. Easy peasy.

We declared today as a couch day, with the exception of a little work. It’s good to set some time aside for rest.

Thoughts + Goals

Re-entry is a bi***. I feel so good when I’m in NY, or really most major cities. There’s just an energy that resonates with me, that I just don’t get anywhere else. It was good to come home to A and the pugs but I miss it, too.

We did a ton of walking and logged so many steps, so I didn’t have to focus on actual workouts. Even on the rainy day, it was good just getting out there to stretch our legs. And calories don’t count when you’re always moving.

Am I mentally planning our return? You know it! And next time, I’ll have to do it with a race involved. I haven’t done anything in New York yet, so it’s time!