On Valentine's Day, 2010, Pop Pop gave me a trip in a card. It was to be the get-away trip to New York City that I have been requesting for years and years.
And it was to be just around the time your Mommy and Daddy expected you to arrive.
But everyone knows babies don't come just when they are expected, so no probs.
The time came quickly for us - April 8th - no time at all....for your Mommy - a whole other story! She thought it took forever....she thought it was high time you made your appearance!
Pop Pop and I took the day slowly, we did odds and ends and savored being on no time schedule, and we didn't get to Hamilton train station until afternoon. The train ride to the city was terrific, we felt relaxed and a bit excited to finally be getting to the Big Apple. My secret thoughts included you - wondering if I would be home before you arrived.
We took a taxi from Penn Station and were really quickly whisked to our hotel. We stayed at the Manhatten Centre Hotel - and we would never want to stay anywhere else! What a super location and a perfect facility. We had what amounted to a little apartment of our own, microwave, kitchen sink, fridge....just across from Radio City Music Hall, just around a short corner from the famed skating rink, and we could just see a bit of St. Patrick's Cathedral from our window...(the place I have always felt God really lives on earth!).
Because we had missed lunch, we decided to get an early dinner and opted for the Terrace Restaurant in the hotel. Wow! were we glad of that choice! The Terrace actually has a glass enclosed section of the restaurant right over the street, as well as a small section which is open air - mostly used by smokers. It was very warm that day, so we chose to eat inside. The meal was amazing...I had lamb chops which were some of the best I've ever had, and Pop Pop had steak...says it was wonderful.
We took a taxi from Penn Station and were really quickly whisked to our hotel. We stayed at the Manhatten Centre Hotel - and we would never want to stay anywhere else! What a super location and a perfect facility. We had what amounted to a little apartment of our own, microwave, kitchen sink, fridge....just across from Radio City Music Hall, just around a short corner from the famed skating rink, and we could just see a bit of St. Patrick's Cathedral from our window...(the place I have always felt God really lives on earth!).
Because we had missed lunch, we decided to get an early dinner and opted for the Terrace Restaurant in the hotel. Wow! were we glad of that choice! The Terrace actually has a glass enclosed section of the restaurant right over the street, as well as a small section which is open air - mostly used by smokers. It was very warm that day, so we chose to eat inside. The meal was amazing...I had lamb chops which were some of the best I've ever had, and Pop Pop had steak...says it was wonderful.
Here's a view out of our window.
Our first meal in NYC
After dinner we took a stroll through Rockefeller Center, and snapped a few pictures. As it was not long since Easter, there were so many floral displays, lillies everywhere, and lots of bunnies and things. I was relishing the personality of New York, everyone was happy to be there, as were we.
After some sightseeing, we went directly to St. Patrick's and recaptured the feelings I've always had there, and have been able to share with Pop Pop. I recall being a very young girl and going there for the first time. I can still feel the sense that the presence of God is palpable, that you can almost hear the angels singing. I so love it there. My first stop was with St. Jude. The cousin of Jesus, he has always been my go-to "guy" and he has always seemed to help me with my "impossible" causes. I talked to him about our cousin Rita who is in a fight with cancer, and about all my family. As we proceded through the church, we discovered that the Blessed Mother's Chapel was open - I don't know that I have ever gotten back there before, so we stopped there and I had a chat with her about Rita, and I asked her to be with you and your mommy as you were about to enter this lifetime...to bless your family and to help you grow strong and bright and beautiful.
During the time we were in the Cathedral, of course we had our phones turned off. Shortly after leaving, we turned them back on and discovered by a text from your Daddy that you had gotten things started on your birth just as we'd been praying for you! We were very excited, although I have to admit, I'd have liked to be there when you were making your entrance. But we both sent you lots of love and were happy that mommy was going to have her little girl in her arms very soon.
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