New York City
We made it to New York City! Robin was a champ. Woke up to enjoy breakfast with the family at an adorable restaurant called RYE. Had fresh squeeze grapefruit juice, homemade donuts, french toast with sausage, eggs and greens. Spent the remainder of the afternoon with Mitch’s folks before having to say good bye, they left early the next morning headed back home, but Kadin, Park, Mitch and I get another whole week in the city with the sibs! That evening Maura and her awesome friend Jen took us to World of Dance, a hip hop dance competition that tours all around the world. It was insane, the venue, the dancing, so much energy so much fun! The competition itself lasted over eight hours! So we decided to go to about five hours instead 🙂 It was held in an old warehouse building in Manhatten. The main stage was located on the lower floor, with three other floors of balconies with people hanging off the sides to get a better look. The music pumped through your chest with a rhythm that ignited an immediate excitement. During intermissions, circles would form in the crowds with mini breakdance battles taking place between attendants. As the show progressed the crews were getting better and better. It was amazing to watch how people can move their bodies so beautifully in unison with such emotion. Such a contagious atmosphere, we were all dancing in the streets to the subway on the way home.
Next day we woke up and headed over to Martin’s gf Kristine’s place to help Martin build her surprise birthday gift, a floor to ceiling cat tower for her feline friend, Tops. It was a team effort, and well worth it for how excited both Kristine and Tops were after the big reveal. Took a stroll through Williamsburg on this lovely sunny day with Kadin and Park. Walked to the waterfront and played frisbee on the green, watched the sun set below the horizon emphasizing the Manhattan skyline. Wandered back to Martin’s home to order in Thai food for all the siblings, squeezed together in the tiny NYC apartment, we laughed and chatted eating steaming plates of curry. Watched Take Shelter before crawling into bed with hopes of sweet dreams.
Memorial day morning, we were thrilled Martin and Kristine had the day off from work! Mitch picked us up some scrumptious bacon egg and cheese bagels from The Bagel Shop before Kristine picked us all up to play at the park for the day. Frisbee, football, slack-lining, siting on picnic blankets under a gorgeous blue sky in the middle of Prospect Park, you would never guess we were anywhere near the largest city in our country! Walking through the Park’s many faucets with ponds, trees, and activities, it is no wonder so many people were out enjoying the day with us. So many bikers and runners it felt like we were in a triathlon! Grabbed some refreshing italian icies to cool down and found a fun exhibit telling the tale of a single home who has seen every stage of life as the city around it grew from farmland to what we know today. Played on stilts and learned other games from the olden days. Later we headed home to prepare an epic BBQ on the roof top in Brooklyn. Maura and Jordy arrived, Jumbo Jenga in tow. Munching on perfectly grilled hamburgers, corn-on-the-cob, potato chips and veggie kabobs, the eight of us managed to build a 32 story life sized jenga as the sunset on the city surrounding us. It was surreal, and the best day spent with such amazingly fun folks.