NYC & Georgia

Our travel took place on the ancestral lands of the Munsee Lenape, Mvskoke (Muscogee), and Hitchiti peoples who have stewarded those lands since time immemorial.

My partner’s grandmother was turning 90 in early May, and since the airport was frozen and prevented us from visiting for Christmas, we decided to combine a trip to Georgia to surprise Grandma on her birthday with a visit to Luke’s uncle Jay and aunt Michelle in New Jersey, and a few days in New York City. So we flew into Jersey and hung out with Luke’s very expressive aunt and uncle — they are Broadway stars who are playing the leads in Wicked!

New York City

Our first day we woke up somewhat late and recovered from the flight, but then took the train into the city with Jay and walked around Rockefeller Center and Times Square before seeing them perform. I’m not really a musicals person and it was my first Broadway show, but now I understand why people want to see things on Broadway. The stage production is bigger and more incredible, the cast is bigger, and the costumes are more detailed. I’d seen Broadway shows before in San Francisco, but it is always the touring company so everything is less grandiose. I think at the time we saw Wicked it had been on stage in that theater for almost 30 years.

Theater dorks

We didn’t want to bother Jay and Michelle too much, despite their incredible hospitality, so we booked a few nights at a hotel in the city so we could immerse ourselves and get around a little more easily. Our first day we walked down the High Line which was great for both of us since we both love plants and gardens. It was fun to see how different the plant communities are versus the Pacific Northwest — nearly everything is deciduous since there is such a hard freeze over winter. However, I was delighted to see some dogwoods with branches so heavy with flowers I was scared they might snap in the breeze.

Chelsea Market

At the end of the High Line we bumped into the Chelsea Market which is a somewhat underground market with a bunch of vendors that was a former industrial building (biscuit company and butchers, I believe). We sat down for a drink and a snack at some Japanese-Mexican fusion place, but avoided any of the fusion stuff.

Food note: I was very surprised to see that the culinary fusion fad was still going strong in New York, as it seemed to have fallen out of fashion on the west coast about ten years ago. Not that fusion doesn’t still exist, but it’s more understated. We saw an Indian-taco fusion place, and a few different generally-Asian fusion places. As a Bay Area person living in Seattle I was also appalled to see Thai dishes on the menu of the Vietnamese place we went to for dinner (do these people even know the difference?!). Anyways….

After our snack we went to Little Island which is a fairly new public park located along the Hudson River waterfront. It is a wonderfully constructed landscape which uses the illusion of being cradled by a series of undulating piers. It rises out of the Hudson River to create elevation where there is none providing moments of discovery, intimate enclosure, and views of the city and the river at every turn. There is a food cart area and a small performance space that looks out on the river. I was thoroughly entranced and could have wandered around there with a sketchbook for hours!

Luke is thrilled about the selection of cured meats at Eataly

The next day we took our time waking up, had a surprisingly yummy lunch at Eataly, and took the ferry to Governor’s Island where we rented bikes. I imagine that the island probably gets much busier on sunny summer days, but it was fantastic to have it to ourselves and bike around to the different gardens and art installations. I was excited to see the more recently renovated areas designed by West 8, but unfortunately it hasn’t been maintained well and the landscaping looked pretty out of control. The renovation still installed a lot of fun elements like hammocks, hillclimbs, and really nice places to view the Statue of Liberty and the city. There also a lot o plans to use the abandoned structures for art and the public benefit in the future. There is still about half of the island which is in the works for redevelopment.

On our way back from Governor’s Island did a quick jaunt through Chinatown and got to see the wonderful maze of alleys with restaurants, herbal shops, and spas. It would be nice to go back when I’m not completely exhausted and hungry to take it all in.

Our last day in the city we walked around Central Park, stopping at the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) for the craft exhibit, as well as a few coffees and gelato. MAD had a number of works by Robert Arneson, the artist who inspired me to pursue ceramic sculpture in high school and college. There were also some really amazing quilts and turned wood objects. I had been to the park before, but it had been a long time, and when I went before I had rented a horse and really just ridden around the area south of the reservoir (the only place I was allowed with a horse), so it was nice to walk around and really admire the trees.

Georgia

Later that afternoon we got on a plane to Georgia and after navigating the terrible maze that is the Hartsfield-Jackson airport and shuttle pick-up areas we landed in middle Georgia! The next day we visited a family friend’s gorgeous garden to gather flowers and plant material for Grandma’s birthday lunch. Then we made a stop at all of Luke’s dad’s gardens to pick up produce for lunch. Luke’s parents are incredible gardeners and in addition to the blueberries, tomatoes, stone fruit, herbs, and flowers they grow in their backyard, Luke’s dad tends to several garden plots around town, growing food for food banks administered by their church. I was so jealous that by the time we arrived in early May they were already on their second planting and harvest of the year! Their growing season does wind down in August because it gets too hot, but they are still able to grow an incredible amount throughout the year.

Luke’s family is incredible fun and always makes me feel so welcome. I feel so grateful to be included in their vacations and celebrations!