New York City

Claire delivered Emerson to us at the PHX airport on Thursday afternoon.  We flew to New York for her “Lulu and Papa trip.”  We arrived in Newark at 11:30 PM, and took the train to Penn Station, then a taxi to  the Warwick Hotel in midtown.  It was a late night!

We slept a bit late on Friday morning, had breakfast near the hotel, and by 10, we were off, with a walk through Central Park to the MET.  We roamed through the Egyptian exhibits, Arms and Armor, the American Wing, and Modern and Contemporary Art.  We enjoyed all of it!  We had a snack from a street vendor, then walked across Central Park, stopping at Belvedere Castle to climb to the top.  We continued on the American Museum of Natural History, where we enjoyed the Hall of African Animals, the Hall of American Animals, and spent most of our time on the 4th floor seeing the extraordinary dinosaur exhibits. We had lunch at Shake Shack at Columbus/77th, and walked by Whitney’s old apartment on our way to Levain Bakery for cookies.  It was a busy few hours!

We came back to the hotel by 3, took a short rest, and then Emerson and I walked to the American Girl Store and the Lego Store on 5th Avenue.  She bought a box of Legos to build a yellow taxi.  We crossed the street to visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral, then walked through Rockefeller Center.  We returned to the hotel, showered, and got ready for the evening.  We walked to Times Square and had a snack before going to see the Lion King at the Minskoff Theater.  The Lion King was terrific, and we couldn’t help ourselves from singing along a bit.

Today, Saturday, was another action packed day.  We had breakfast near the hotel, then took the subway to the Staten Island Ferry by 11.  It was a beautiful day, and the views toward Manhattan, Brooklyn, Jersey City, and the Statue of Liberty were amazing!  We rode the ferry back to lower Manhattan, then walked past the bull of Wall Street, and to the 9/11 Memorial pools.  A fitting memorial in a hallowed place.  We then walked across town, through Chinatown and Little Italy, with a pizza stop along the way, and to the Angel Orensanz Foundation for Emerson and me to attend a New York Fashion Show.  Papa left us at the Fashion Show entrance and taxied back to the hotel.  Emerson and I had an interesting experience!  Afterward, we took a taxi to the Harry Potter store, but the wait to get inside the store was 4 hours, so we passed!  We stopped at Eataly for snacks, then taxied back to the hotel.  We had an early Italian dinner.  A good day!

Catalina State Park

We hiked in Catalina State Park yesterday, first to the early 1000’s Hohokam ruins on the site of the Romero Ranch house, dating to the mid 1800’s.  We then hiked up Sutherland Wash, running from snow melt.  Lauren and Taylor had fun playing in the wash and all of us enjoyed the hike.  The views of the Santa Catalina Mountains in Catalina State Park are especially beautiful.

Happy 40th Birthday, Audrey!

Today is Audrey’s 40th birthday.  Papa and I are happy she and her family are staying with us in Tucson.  It’s been a low key day, with the girls doing their school work.  Audrey and I went on a nice walk.  We had a family Zoom call at 5, dinner at 5:30, and we played Azul after dinner.  We were grateful to spend the day with family, and to celebrate Audrey’s life.  Happy Birthday, little Audrey!

Morning with Friends

This morning, we visited our friends, Jennie and Jovita.  Jennie went to school with Papa.  They have known each other since kindergarten and graduated from high school together.  Jennie pulled out four years of high school yearbooks and asked Lauren and Taylor to find Papa in each one.  We all had fun with the search!  We also noticed that Colby favors Papa!  Jennie had more fun thing planned in their back yard, looking for rocks and making bubbles.  It was a fun morning!

We stopped after leaving Jennie and Jovita’s, to hike on Tumamoc Hill, an 860 acre ecological reserve and US National Historic Landmark, established by the Carnegie Institute in 1903, as a research facility of the Sonoran Desert.  Tumamoc Hill is the site of the earliest known trincheras village, with 160 foundations of round stone structures and perimeter walls.  Over 460 petroglyphs and a prehistoric garden are evidence of the ancient Hohokam people, who lived on the site over 1300 years ago.  The views of the surrounding area, from Tumamoc Hill, are extraordinary.  

More Family Time

Claire drove down from Phoenix on Sunday afternoon, with Emerson and Colby, to visit with us and open holiday gifts.  They arrived late afternoon, and four cousins were very happy to see each other!  Lauren, Taylor, Emerson, and Colby played for hours, running around our yard, all smiling from ear to ear!  We ate dinner on the back patio.  With Audrey’s 40th birthday just days away, Dan decorated her dinner chair and we sang to her, wearing party hats that belonged to Great Papa.

Claire and kids stayed at Westward Look overnight, and came back for breakfast and more play time.  They left just after lunch.  We enjoyed every moment of family time during their short, sweet visit.  

Hiking the Finger Rock Trail

After repeated calls to various stables, I found a riding club for horseback riding lessons for Lauren and Taylor.  Their lesson was yesterday morning.  They joined three other kids on horseback in the arena.  The lesson seemed a success!

After lunch, we went on a hike, on the Finger Rock Trail.  The big surprise was that water was running in the creek!  It was a beautiful afternoon and we enjoyed the hike, with Lauren and Taylor leading the way, and Papa taking a short nap on a rock.