New York, Part II

Well, I am finally ready to give the New York report! I will post pictures separately, probably this weekend. Our flights, both going and coming, were uneventful; we were on time and had no problems. On the way to NY, the kids and I left Tuesday afternoon and drove to a hotel near DIA. (Otherwise we would've had to leave home at the crazy hour of 3am. And it's been a long time since I've parked in short-term parking and I didn't really want to "expiriment" in the dark, alone, with 3 tired little kids--so I did what I know best.) The kids were pretty excited to stay at a hotel and eat at a restaurant. We went to bed early so that we could get up at 4:15am to get on the 5:00shuttle. I didn't sleep well, but we got to the airport, checked in and paid our bag fees (I really hate those! I wish the airlines would just charge us a little more up front. What a hassle.) and cleared security and got to our gate--all within an hour. At the airport I bought Einstein bagels and a smoothie--delicious, but the kids were so keyed up (and so tired) that they wouldn't eat. I had to beg them to drink the smoothie! We had a long layover in Atlanta, which turned out to be a good experience for two reasons: we found a restaurant that sold fruit, and McKenna learned that "all of those black people are actually really nice, mom". We arrived in Albany at dinnertime and found my parents, ate, and arrived at their house around 8 pm. (6pm in Colorado, but we'd already been awake 14 hours.) Somehow Isaac found enough energy to roll down my parents' lawn (hill), jump off the big boulder in their front yard, and then explore the house for an hour before settling into his new bed. The next day I wanted to lay low, but my energetic kids were ready for adventure,so we went to "the Lake". Lake Luzerne is small, maybe 1/2 or 3/4 mile long and probably 100-150 yards across. It's directly across the street from Hadley-Luzerne elementary & high school, and it's where my mom now teaches kindergarten. The beach was small, quiet, and not at all crowded (30-40 people), and all three kids loved the lake, just as they did Bear Lake 2 summers ago. So, we went almost daily. Exceptions were Sunday, when we attended church, and Monday, when we visited my uncle's new lakefront home on Glen Lake (this uncle lives in Salt Lake, but loves his childhood home enough to build there). On Monday we also ate Pizza at Uncle Conor's pizzeria. (New York-style pizza: paper-thin crust with veggies and dollops of ricotta cheese on top. I don't even LIKE ricotta and I thought it was good.) Church on Sunday was nice--I really loved seeing my former bishop, my favorite YW Pres (one of the most influential peole in my life), and some wonderful families and friends who fellowshipped me & my family during my youth. Uncle Al and his family was there. One strange thing was when someone said, "Oh, you're the Bishop's daughter!" Sunday afternoon my "southern cousins", Rena and Lauren Droddy and Rena's husband, Mark, came to visit. My dad's only brother (Isaac Andrew, named for both of my grt-grandfathers) moved from Vermont to South Carolina with his family when I was eight or nine. I hadn't seen Rena & Lauren since 1989...Wow! I had a great time getting acquainted with them. They are friendly, pretty, athletic and deeply Christian ladies and I'm glad I was able to see them again. On Tuesday, our last day, Uncle Conor had the day off and we went on our last lake outing, this time to a state park on Lake George. Roger's ROck is a neat park! It has a nice beach, with a dock do dive off of and a marina nearby, and the beach backs up onto a a nice grassy area with MASSIVE boulders (house-size). So there is swimming, boating, tennis, picnic places, and a playground. We saw lots of parasailers, and again the kids enjoyed the water, this time with Uncle Conor. He's a wonderful uncle! I enjoy visiting New York, but I do like the west (though I never thought I'd end up HERE). HOme seemed more like a vaugley familiar place than like home, which is okay--my home is here. I really was impressed by the scenery on this trip! Everything is so lush, and I love the piney forest smell, the way the ground feels springy beneath my feet when I walk in the woods, the rolling mountains, finding acorns and wild berries, seeing moss grow on the north side of EVERYTHING, and the water...water everywhere! Did I mention the Hudson River? It's visible in every almost every town and is a constant companion on every drive. And the waterfalls are beautiful! I was impressed with the smooth rocks that dot the landscape, and enjoyed seeing lots of beautiful rock walls & fances. It's fun to see things with new eyes. I suppose I still do love New York. I'm glad to say that I grew up in Stony Creek, and I'm more glad to be a Droddy! Thanks for reading this whole post.