Playing tourist

Visits to New York are always exhausting and fun (yes, in that order) for both the visitors and the hostess. Last weekend was no exception when my dear old rival-turned-friend April came to NYC for the first time. April and I used to throw against one another in high school and then became members of the same team at Central, where we spent lots and lots of quality time listening to The House of Hair while lifting weights in the little weight shed behind Kuyper gymnasium, which was before Central built the fancy weight room off the fieldhouse. But I digress...the visit. April and her friend from Drake, Krissa, also an Iowan, came out for their first visit and crashed at my place. They spent a fair amount of time negotiating NYC without me and I'm proud of them for that. People get so turned around by the various subway lines.

April and Krissa were excellent guests actually, taking me to dinner and buying me tickets to things. We saw shows on Broadway (April and I went to Avenue Q and Krissa went to A Chorus Line) and ate all the classics: NY style pizza, cheesecake at Junior's, gelato at Cones. We also hit the major sites. I was, for whatever reason, particularly verklempt at the WTC site this time around...I had to pull the shades back down so as to mask the tears. I'm usually not like that there. We also went out to Liberty and Ellis Islands. I think that everyone who comes to NY should visit Ellis Island. It's such a cool museum and beyond that, the ferry ride is fun. April has the most hilarious picture of me on the ferry...I'll have to see if I can get it from her. She printed it out and mailed it to me as a postcard, which I've hung on the fridge. Every time I catch a glimpse of it I have to laugh a little.

So when are you coming to NY for this experience?