We had an awesome time when my parents came down for a visit. We picked them up near Virginia Beach and spent the weekend strolling on the beach, feeding seagulls from our 10th story room, exploring Bald Cypress forests, spying a whole fleet of dolphins, and dining galore.
Then we all came back up to Richmond where we hung out in Carytown, got spoiled by them, wandered through the beautiful landscapes of Maymont Park, and where we enjoyed hosting them in our Churchill abode. We were very sad to see them go.
The next weekend we jumped on a plane to NYC with some other teachers from Richmond and attended the National Conference for English Teachers in Manhattan and had a really enlightening experience there. The city's intense vibe kept calling us to come outside. Damien and I practically walked clear across Manhattan and in doing so saw such a frenzy of activity and had sensory overload. I've been there many times before, but each time I go back I can't believe how charged with energy that city is. We strolled through a vintage flea market, we saw kids break dancing on a moving and very crowded subway car, we got off in Chinatown and watched people playing traditional instruments and games and felt like we were in China again (and killer dumplings to boot), we literally ran around Chelsea, which is the most phenomenal art district imaginable- in and out of galleries before closing time, we were blinded in the neon glow of Times Square, we got dizzy watching ice skaters going around in circles in Rockerfeller Center, we ate some serious New York pizza, we had pie and coffee in a diner on 23rd St., we people watched like it was our job, we made our way through immeasurable crowds, we rode the bus here and there, we admired the Hudson, we walked past the various retail districts like the diamond and the fashion districts, we drooled in the cases of the most amazing gourmet bakeries, we felt like ants, we felt like lemmings, we felt like humans, and oh yeah we attended the conference. The workshops and meetings and speakers were very informative and progressive too!
The next week we drove to Buffalo to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Johnsons and had such an enjoyable and relaxing time there. We ate furiously and savored it too, we took naps in front of the fire, we walked in the falling snow, we toured the Birchfield art gallery with Tully as our personal guide, we played music and Pheonix sang, we hugged Brenda really hard and thought and thought and thought about her son Danny who was devastatingly killed in Iraq and sent all our love out into the universe, we saw Tully's new apartment, we went out and had fun, we watched a movie on Heather's couch, we said what we were thankful for, we rode bikes down Elmwood, and we are still missing all that comes with good ol' B-Lo.
Then we all came back up to Richmond where we hung out in Carytown, got spoiled by them, wandered through the beautiful landscapes of Maymont Park, and where we enjoyed hosting them in our Churchill abode. We were very sad to see them go.
The next weekend we jumped on a plane to NYC with some other teachers from Richmond and attended the National Conference for English Teachers in Manhattan and had a really enlightening experience there. The city's intense vibe kept calling us to come outside. Damien and I practically walked clear across Manhattan and in doing so saw such a frenzy of activity and had sensory overload. I've been there many times before, but each time I go back I can't believe how charged with energy that city is. We strolled through a vintage flea market, we saw kids break dancing on a moving and very crowded subway car, we got off in Chinatown and watched people playing traditional instruments and games and felt like we were in China again (and killer dumplings to boot), we literally ran around Chelsea, which is the most phenomenal art district imaginable- in and out of galleries before closing time, we were blinded in the neon glow of Times Square, we got dizzy watching ice skaters going around in circles in Rockerfeller Center, we ate some serious New York pizza, we had pie and coffee in a diner on 23rd St., we people watched like it was our job, we made our way through immeasurable crowds, we rode the bus here and there, we admired the Hudson, we walked past the various retail districts like the diamond and the fashion districts, we drooled in the cases of the most amazing gourmet bakeries, we felt like ants, we felt like lemmings, we felt like humans, and oh yeah we attended the conference. The workshops and meetings and speakers were very informative and progressive too!
The next week we drove to Buffalo to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Johnsons and had such an enjoyable and relaxing time there. We ate furiously and savored it too, we took naps in front of the fire, we walked in the falling snow, we toured the Birchfield art gallery with Tully as our personal guide, we played music and Pheonix sang, we hugged Brenda really hard and thought and thought and thought about her son Danny who was devastatingly killed in Iraq and sent all our love out into the universe, we saw Tully's new apartment, we went out and had fun, we watched a movie on Heather's couch, we said what we were thankful for, we rode bikes down Elmwood, and we are still missing all that comes with good ol' B-Lo.
