03. The Big Apple… and a Rainbow Bagel or Two

First up… New York.

So we kicked off this big ol’ trip by spending 4 days in New York, eating too much and walking a million miles in the abnormally high heat.

Yep, we left Tulsa to escape the heat, only to be greeted by hotter weather in NY! At least we all have AC here in Tulsa! NYC, not so much. We survived the first night in our Brooklyn AirBnB apartment with the windows open (Man, are cities loud when the windows are open!), then promptly texted our apartment contact about that picture we’d seen on their AirBnB listing of a window unit in the apartment. He was awesome and said that he’d install it while we were out exploring the city that next day. Whew. At least we cooled off each night after a hot, sticky walk around the city.

First on the schedule, of course, was a rainbow bagel from the creatively-named The Bagel Store. It was a five-minute walk away from our apartment. Unless you get lost. Then it’s 10 or 15. Maybe 20. Don’t tell the boys.

Play-Doh, anyone? Aidan ate one of these for four days straight.  Eww. With Funfetti cream cheese, of course. He tried a toasted one, an untoasted one, one with black streaks in it (Alice Through the Looking Glass, vanilla flavor)…

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We spent most of the day in Lower Manhattan, riding the subway, visiting Battery Park, looking at the Statue of Liberty from a distance... ( I completely forgot that you could take a free ferry ride to Staten Island and see it up close without paying the $130 charge to take a boat tour. Boo! Factor that into your next NY trip and learn from my mistake!). And we logged over nine miles of walking!

After lunch (Chipotle. Don't judge. We missed our Mexican food already.), we headed to the World Trade Center and 9/11 Memorial Plaza...

(On a completely unemotional and modern technology note, the plaque area with the names on it apparently has water running through it to keep it cool. Such good thinking!)

  It was definitely an afternoon of being thankful for our family and one of prayers and hopes that the families directly affected will continue to heal.

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We spent the afternoon at Central Park, where Aidan was able to use his parkour skills. 

After over a year of 3-4 days a week of parkour and natural movement instruction, he is in love with climbing, balancing, jumping... And I still freak the heck out every time I see him somewhere he "shouldn't" be. :-)



Dinner? Katz's Deli, of course. Call it touristy, call it overpriced (boy, is it!), call it what you will... but it's just one of those things you have to do in New York. And it's really good, too!
Two sandwiches, one potato knish, free pickles, two cans of pop, and two beers.... $84 and change... before a tip. What the...? But it was just like I remember it tasting 15 years ago, the last time we were in NY. So it was worth it!

02. A trip of a lifetime...

We’re back!

Three weeks, six countries, five modes of transportation, four different time zones, sixteen people….

Alas, pitiful WiFi and phone service during much of the trip threw a wrench in my plan to blog along the way, but now we’re home and we’re ready to share our experiences!

01. three decades in the making...

Once upon a time, an Air Force 2nd Lieutenant packed up his family and moved them across the ocean to a small village in Holland.  Those next four years were filled with what are still some of the most vivid, poignant, and life-forming memories and lessons of our lives. If there ever was a childhood place for this military brat to call home, Holland would be the place I’d name in a heartbeat.

 And now we get to return… together… along with our own families now. Sixteen of us, meeting for a week in Holland, retracing our steps and sharing the experiences with our spouses and kids. I can’t wait!