East Coast Bound, part one.

Vacation. Was. Awesome.

We don't go on holiday all that often.  By our last count, it's been about four years since our last week-long trip ... including our honeymoon.  Needless to say, a trip like this was a long time coming, and it far exceeded expectations.

We left bright and early from St Louis.  We were excited.  And incredibly over-packed.  

We had a plan.  We'd land in Newark, drop our two checked bags to be held at the airport, and scuttle off through mass transit to Brooklyn to meet up with Kenny's cousin Alison. Only it didn't go even half that well. First, we found out (while standing in the middle of the airport with our ginormous, over-packed bags) that they can't hold bags if you don't pick them up on the day of departure.  Onto plan B.  We made it from Newark to Penn Station without a hitch.  And then all hell broke loose.

In case you've never been to Penn Station, which neither of us had, it is huge.  I knew it would be large, to say the least, but I had no idea what we were getting into really.  I had directions, including a couple of iphone apps and Google maps, but I was completely overwhelmed.  

We stopped to get our bearings just in front of the Long Island Rail Road stops.  This was the worst possible place to do so.  Shortly after our pause, four trains were called simultaneously.  Kenny and I stood there like baby deer in a herd of wolves as the crowds surged around us.  Insane.  From there we finally found the subway platform we needed, but it was there I faltered again.  One set of directions said one train, another said something different.  Have you ever had a whisper fight with a significant other?  You know the type.  You're frustrated, you're upset, you're in public.  Yep, that was us.  At that point I just decided to commit to the next train that arrived and go with it.  And that's how we got to Brooklyn.

I loved Brooklyn.  Kenny's cousin, Alison, and her husband Greg live in the Ft Greene area.  We took a little tour, grabbed some lunch, and got ready to go to dinner. I think what I love most about a city like New York is all of the history around every corner.  If there is any place I can appreciate, it is one with a past.  There's something to be said for being able to experience it with someone like Alison, a New Yorker by heart if not by birth.  She is one of those people (and her husband too) who love their city completely and thoroughly, and they love to share it with people who aren't from there.

 Washington Square

When we first planned this trip, I knew that it was a chance to meet a couple of very special people I've had the opportunity to get to know only online the last few years.  We had a phenomenal dinner at Otto, along with one of the funniest conversations I have ever had.  Love these girls!

GG love with Melody, Alana, and the next GG baby.

Saturday morning meant another meet-up.  We headed uptown (or was it downtown? ) Either way, by now we were feeling pretty confident with the subway and ended up in Union Square - exactly where we needed to be.  We found our way to Murray's Bagels, which pretty much ruined us for all other bagels ever from that point forward.  What do they do to bagels on the east coast? It's like magic.

And then off to Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar!

I've made a lot of internet friends over the years, but I've only recently started to meet them in person and establish that face-to-face connection.  What never ceases to amaze me is the seamless transition to laughing, chatting, and joking just like we'd been doing in written form in years.  I feel lucky to know such cool people.  And their significant others too, considering the boys played quite well together while their wifies drug them all over the city with internet strangers.

It doesn't hurt that we hit the drink portion of the menu pretty hard in the beginning, I suppose.

Jamie, moi, Bebe, Adie, Kate, and Di ... EPIC.

As if our first 24 hours of vacation weren't great enough already (and it really was a great day, whisper fights and all), we still had a few more things to cross off the list before we headed to the shore.

As a thanks for letting us stay with them, Kenny and I wanted to treat Alison and Greg to dinner and drinks.  They picked a great little bistro in Ft Greene.  I am a terrible blogger and took no pictures of the meal. I just sat back and enjoyed the food and the company.  Shame on me!

The next morning, in pursuit of an authentic New York brunch experience, we headed to Chinatown for dim sum.  I had no idea what we were getting into, being that my entire dim sum experience is from one episode of Top Chef.  I will be the first to admit that I am not the most adventurous of eaters, though I am willing to try new things.  I will also admit that I was intimidated as hell by the time we got to to restaurant - what with the little fish markets and the Peking ducks all over the place.  And honestly, I did really well.  Greg was great to watch, grabbing plates left and right.  Yes, we want that.  No, take that away.  I still am not completely sure what we ate, but I know there was a lot of pork.  It was great.

Until the chicken feet.

When the other group seated at our table tore into the barbecued chicken feet, that's when I decided my dim sum experience had been just about authentic enough.

Time to head to the shore!