New York Recap: Part 2

Winter Wonderland

When we finally sank into bed our first night in New York, the snow had just began to gently fall from the sky. The tiny snowflakes could be felt on your face, but barely seen. We were all three up around 8 AM the following morning and were greeted by this sight on our balcony:

Like schoolgirls waking up on snow day, we could hardly wait to get outside to see it for ourselves. We dressed quickly and headed toward the elevator for a quick walk down the street to take it all in. During the six hours we slept, about 4" of snow had fallen in Central Park. We walked for about three blocks before deciding to head back to the room to dress appropriately for the day and head out to see the sights. My cousin recommended I pick up a pair of these before leaving for NY...thanks, Rita!

After changing into warmer clothing, we decided to head toward Central Park. On the way, we found out why all NYers wear boots. I wore a pair of leather tennis shoes, and though my feet were still dry and warm, the slush at the street corners was getting thicker and harder to get through without stepping in a puddle. Robin's boots were doing fine in the weather as well, though she had to watch where she stepped to keep from getting the water over the sole. However, Stacy's boots were not living up to expectations and her feet were already wet. We ended up in Journeys footwear on 5th where Stacy was able to find a good pair of all weather boots. All three of us ended up buying a pair and taking our shoes back to the room before starting for Central Park again. It was much easier not having to watch our every step.

Central Park was truly a sight to behold! The schools had been closed for the day and the park was full of children...sledding, building snowmen, throwing snowballs, enjoying the snow. Here are a few of the pictures from Central Park where we spent most of Friday. You will quickly see why I kept hearing the words to "Winter Wonderland" in my head all day.

Several hours after entering the park, we were trying to decide whether to leave to find some lunch or to find Strawberry Fields and then lunch. We soon stumbled upon this sign and the answer to our dilemma:

We had the most wonderful lunch in the Crystal Room facing the park. We were able to sit and enjoy a leisurely meal (we were probably there for over two hours) while admiring the winter landscape that the Lord had painted. It was truly picture perfect.

We continued walking north in the park and took the opportunity to make snow angels in the undisturbed snow. At the Great Lawn we turned east and headed toward the opposite side of the park. Upon exiting near 81st, we decided to walk back to Tiffany's before heading back to our room. Around 76th, we decided to hail a taxi instead of walking!

Tiffany's was quite an experience in itself. There were people everywhere! The diamonds were gorgeous and they will not be going out of business any time soon.

We walked back to our room to rest for a little while before looking for a place to eat dinner. We decided to eat at a local pub recommended by the doorman called Ashtons. We enjoyed another relaxing meal among the locals before heading back to the room for a little rest before our next day of adventure!

Grand total snowfall during New York's first significant winter storm: around 9"

There is no way we could have planned to arrive the day before it started or to leave the day after the airline schedules finally returned to normal. It was a blessing that could not have been planned, but was most certainly not missed by us. The Lord was good to us during our Girl's Weekend 2008.