on the highest note.

the only fancy date we had planned was a new york steak in new york city. we got relatively dolled up, and set out on our last night in town for a small french steakhouse not too far from our hotel. 

the restaurant was beautiful, and so was the food. (not pictured). judd got the filet mignon, and i got the new york steak. we also got this garlicky shrimp thing, a lovely red wine, and non-alcoholic beer (hey, it was a special occasion!).

the next morning we packed everything up, tidied our room, checked our bag at the front desk, and headed off to a diner we passed on our walk home from our fancy restaurant. mid-way through breakfast, judd received a call informing him that our flight was canceled due to wind. 

rather than panicking, which some people might do, we knew we had family and friends scattered throughout brooklyn and manhattan. our first choice, of course, was to stay with robert, kristin, wilsie, and wyeth again. we weren't sure if that would be their first choice (what with a new baby and it being a weekday and all) but i left them a message letting them know that we had other options, but that we'd love to see them again. they called right back and said they'd love to have us crash @ their place. we were overjoyed! we headed out in the pouring rain to see the getty, and then to get our bags and take a towncar to see our family in brooklyn.

it was seriously raining. pouring! and everyone in new york seemed to have all facebooked each other and said to wear big rubber rain-boots that day. i didn't get that message, and neither did judd. and we ended up pretty wet. 

by the time we got to brooklyn the storm had still not let up, and lightening and thunder had only increased. kristin and the kids watched with curiosity through the window in the ceiling. 

what with the rain and the wet feet and the screaming cold air, we decided (after hours of debate) not to venture to restaurants far away, but rather to stay in and order a pizza.

and make a monster parade out of play doh with the wilsie.

drinking chimay was on my things to do before i'm 35 list. so... take that!

... come to think of it, so were a lot of those NYC museums....

we ordered great pizza. this is one on a whole wheat crust with mozzarella, prosciutto, and arugula on a whole wheat crust.

wilsie loved it. this is one photo of about 100 that i took because her expressions during the eating + lightening sensations were amazing. i could do a blog entirely on that... but... won't.... yet.

thunder bolts!
and lightening!

very very funny.
she was very ready for her close up. i honestly cannot get over how much she looks like my cousin lauren. she looks like robert, and kristin, i can see that, but in her most honest and unguarded moments, girlfriend looks like lauren.

we woke up refreshed, and very happy. it was starting to feel like a much-needed family vacation, and i hope we didn't wear them out too much. we packed up our stuff, sent wilsie off to school, and headed out for one last day in brooklyn (williamsburg? something).

we had a very lovely time in NYC. we could definitely live here, at some point in our lives, and maybe we will. judd may get an MFA, i may get a PhD someday, there are a lot of literary magazines there-- things to be edited, classes to be taught. lawrence kansas is the next stop, and who knows what's after that. but for now, yes, it is a very lovely place to visit.

we left, as usual, feeling like we could use not just another few days, but another few years. we were fortunate to have things to look forward to coming home (record release party!). i did, after all, buy a dress @ topshop for the record release. and we have family here. and we have to pack to move. but we knew we would miss new york, and there was so much we didn't get to do or see. but there's a lot of somedays comin' up.

before going to the airport we came home to play with the family a little more. this is wilsie tackling robert-- "42-42-hike!"

see i told you. EVERYONE in new york knows about those rain-boots. fortunately i bought some just like wilsie's at the salvation army moments before this photo was taken.

this is probably my favorite photo of the trip-- wilsie and robert chasing our car as we drove away to the airport.

and with that our new york vacation ended, but on the highest note.

i only cried a little.