NYC Reunion 2008

What a nice weekend for a trip into the city. At the last minute, the boys decided they wanted to come with me - so my night alone in the city turned into a family fun outing. Off we went!

NYC Skyline
The view from the ramp to the Lincoln Tunnel.

Lincoln Tunnel
Tunnels make me nervous, but it's a pretty cool way to get onto an island. Nothing like the thought of the entire Hudson River flowing right over your head...ulp.

Times Square NYC
One street over from our hotel. For an Easter Sunday, I didn't expect these heavy crowds. Times Square was hopping!

Check out that view
We checked into the DoubleTree right in the heart of Times Square. What a view! We couldn't tear Max or Tyler away from the windows.

How cool is this?!

Mesmorized

I met up with Liz at her hotel where we grabbed a table in the hotel bar to chat for a bit. We had time to kill before our dinner reservations. I had the camera with me (the old Canon PowerShot, not the new one) but it just never seems like the right time to ask for someone to take our picture. Really, we were too deeply engrossed in our conversation throughout the evening anyway.

We took a taxi to Craftbar for dinner. It's not often I have the chance to eat food like that. We shared a baby beets with artichoke hearts, blue cheese and candied walnuts salad, followed by an shared appetizer of warm pecorino fondue with acacia honey, hazelnuts and pepperoncini. We split a glass of champagne (Liz thought we had reason to celebrate) and then moved on to the main course. I had veal ricotta meatballs and Liz had short ribs with farro and tokyo turnips. With that we split a glass of yummy cabernet. Dessert? You betcha. We shared a dish of homemade butterscotch pudding with gingersnap cookies. Everything we ate was amazing. Such varied flavors and intensities, my taste buds were in happy shock. A far cry from hamburger helper or spam and beans, eh? ;-)

We lingered over our dinner and wine, chatting about a wide range of topics. My mother doesn't share any of the same interests with me, so it was a nice change of pace having someone to talk with who does. It makes Liz feel more like a friend than a mother figure, to me. She had me so young, in the grand scheme we really aren't that far apart in age. I currently have a few friends her age so it's odd to think of her in "that way". She made me. I wouldn't be here without her. And we have many similarities. It's nice to know where it all comes from. I've always felt different and out of place in my family. I know they love me (and I love them too), but getting to know Liz has really filled a deep void that is hard for me to explain.

Meanwhile, back at our hotel, the boys ate McDonalds for dinner and played video games on the hotel TV. They also paid a visit to M&M World across the street (John bitched about the crowds). Liz and I dropped by after dinner so she could meet the boys, and after chatting for a while longer, she headed back to her hotel to prepare for her busy week (she was in the city on business).

After she left, Tyler came over and gave me a hug. "So, that was your birth mother? The one you met in Second Life too?" My jaw dropped. I was working on the assumption that Tyler just thought Liz was a new friend of mine. Apparently, John decided to brief Ty about who Liz was before we arrived. I was worried that he would be confused, but no. He took it in stride. He knows about his own birth mother, B, and how he came into this world. He seemed pleased that Mommy arrived the same way. One mommy to make us and one (with a broken belly) to love us and raise us. The ultimate act of love and sharing. Life is good.

After getting the boys settled in for the night (which wasn't easy), we all slept fitfully and woke at dawn. After a nice room service breakfast, John and Tyler hit the big Toys R Us again, while Max and I hung out and relaxed. Then it was time to check out and head for home.

What's Playing at the Biltmore
A short drive through the theater district and into Hell's Kitchen and we were on our way.

Hell's Kitchen Park
This park made to do a double-take and dwell on the irony. I still remember the Hell's Kitchen of old (when it was too dangerous a neighborhood to even drive through, never mind play in).

Terrific Tenements
In Hell's Kitchen...this made me bust out laughing. Ironic black humor, is there anything better?

What an Easter this was. Hope you all had fab weekends too.

Comments

I am too envious.

Sounds and looks like a wonderful time!
Chris said…
Brandi over at Something New was just in NYC last night but she didn't get to do an overnight, the flight was only there for an hour. How cruel is that?

Glad that you got to see the sights!
Donna. W said…
Awww, I wanted to see a picture! Do you resemble your birth mom?

I'm so happy for you. And I love how wise Tyler is.
Shari said…
What a fantastic way to spend Easter! I'm so thrilled that you got to meet your birth mom!
Anonymous said…
Sounds like a wonderful Easter. So happy for you.
Anonymous said…
Gave me goosebumps reading this :o) I'm so glad that you all enjoyed your weekend, and thrilled that your and your birth Mum hit it off so well.

Loved the pics by the way, especially the one in the tunnel.

Sara xxx
Anonymous said…
What a great weekend for you all.
How nice for you to be able to spend time with your birth mother.
Anonymous said…
I am happy you got to spend time with Liz. Do you look like her at all?
I love the picture of Max looking out the window, he looks so amazed.
Sounds like you had a great time.
Barbara
Becky, I have goosebumps. I am so glad you had such a good visit with Liz, and perhaps now know a bit better why you are who you are. Sounds like a great weekend for the boys, too. Grat pics of the boys looking out the window! Love, Margo
Anonymous said…
oh wow, how exciting, what a big day...i love NYC what a great place to have gotten together with Liz and how nice the kids were with you too. super photos too... :) netti

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