BOS & NYC - Summer Awakening

Greetings from New York City -- actually the second leg of my world tour. And by "world tour", I really just mean "summer trip" -- no delusions of grandeur here. :)

It seems as if every summer I get out of Austin more quickly than the last. It's not that I don't love where I live -- I do -- I just always feel the need to drink every last drop of summer vacation, starting with the first sip. With my trusty red backpack stuffed with two months worth of multi-continental clothes, and my last fill of Chuy's queso, I headed out of town a mere 5 days after I closed my classroom door and said goodbye to Purple Sage. Perfect timing.

A bit of a disclaimer about this summer's blog -- the past few summers have been mostly about places, and tangentially about the people in those places. This summer, I plan to shake things up a bit. You see, this trip is going to be mostly about the people -- my friends and family -- that reside within the cities I visit. With these folks, I do what I do best -- eat and talk. Catch up. Reminisce. Plan the next visit or wonder when and where we will see each other again. So, for those of you readers who know some of my other friends, it might be kind of interesting. For those of you readers who don't know any of my other friends -- well, I will do my best to make it somewhat exciting for you, too. Expect some family photos, is all I am saying. I hope you all meet each other some day.

My trip started out in Boston, where I stayed with Cha Cha Leah and her husband (!), Eric. Luckily, both my luggage and I made it, even after a mishap at ABIA, where the JetBlue agent checked it to the wrong city. Yikes! Leah and I did what we do best -- watch TV, eat yummy food, and share music. She even loaded up my brand new iPod with 397 summer tunes from her library -- how awesome is she? AND, I got to hear Eric practice his closing arguments for his trial (TK, it reminded me of mock court in middle school), and he won!

I also got to see Alison and her TWO! kids. Alison and I were roommates in Austin back during the turn of the century. She left Austin for Boston after two years to be closer to her family, and now she is married and a mom of two adorable little girls -- Hannah and Megan. I will let the pic speak for itself. I also got to see my cousin Ilana (my mom's first cousin's daughter), who is about 7 years younger than me, but married and pregs with her first baby. (Do we see a theme here? You will get 3 birth announcements this summer -- I will keep you posted :)

After my stay with Leah and Eric, I moved on to the other Cha Chas in my life, Rachel and Laura. It was convenient that they both work in the same office in the Financial District, so I headed there to meet them, have lunch, and while away the hours until they could take off for the weekend. It was hot and muggy, so I took myself to see Knocked Up, which I highly recommend. Afterwards, we headed to Salem, Massachusetts -- yes, the Witch City. Laura and her wife, Rebecca (aka Reebs) just bought an awesome house there, and it was great to be with them to share in their excitement of owning their first home. We shpatzired around Salem on Saturday, then drove up to the random state of New Hampshire to have dinner with Cha Cha Rachel and her husband, Shad. They took me for Mexican food. In New Hampshire. I have Rachel to thank for leading me in the direction of Israel Experts, the organization I am working for this summer. More on that later...but thanks, Rachie!

I never laugh more (and eat more) than when I am with the Chas, and I can't wait to go on a cruise to Alaska with all of them.

So now I am in NYC, specifically at 70th & Broadway, in Lea-Beth's apartment. It's been a long time since she and I have seen each other. So long, in fact, that we spent our first morning together trying to figure out exactly how long it's been! We still haven't figured it out, but LB said finally, "It doesn't matter how long it's been, because the best thing is that it feels like just yesterday." Or something like that. LB and I have known each other for almost 25 years. I think that kinda speaks for itself.

I've also seen my mom's cousins, Jonathan (and his family) and Lorie (and her husband) and my Great Aunt Bobbie. We had an absolutely amazing home-cooked meal (very fancy clambake) in their new home (very fancy apartment). It was good to reconnect.

Yes, I've even managed to see some of my dad's family, too! I was hanging out in the Barnes and Noble on 66th and Columbus, waiting for LB, when I realized that my cousin, Becca, was still living in the city (she's moving in a week). So I called her, and lo and behold, her office is AT 66TH AND COLUMBUS! I headed across the street and got to hang out with her for an hour or so. It's her last week of work, so it was no big deal -- what were they going to do, fire her?

But that's not all...Cousin Gary (and his wife Eleanor and son, Alex) invited me for dinner in Brooklyn, and that was fun, too. We tried to go to Coney Island -- well, we DID go to Coney Island, but it was closed. We really didn't get it. But I swear, it was closed. (Eleanor is obsessed with finding me a husband, and it took her about 3 minutes to mention it when I walked in the door. She's ALSO pregnant and due in a month.)

Tuesday was my "get 1/2 price tickets" day, and I ventured downtown to the TKTS booth, where there were only 15 people in line (!) to buy tickets. And downtown, you can buy tickets on Tuesday for the Wednesday matinees -- how great is that??? It was a little stressful making a decision -- so many shows, so little time! I DEFINITELY wanted to see Spring Awakening, and Lea-Beth was a great sport in agreeing to see The Color Purple. I got us tickets to both! :)

My reviews in 5 words or less:
Spring Awakening: Edgy, Intellectual, Emotional, Beautiful, Original
The Color Purple: Surprisingly Excellent, Soulful, Colorful, Emotional, Fantasia-istic

So, now my undies are drying on the a/c vent, my clothes are ready to be re-packed, and I am super-excited to be heading back to Israel for a few weeks. I have no idea what to expect, because I am sure that things have changed a lot in the past 7 years. It's high time I got back there and hope it's going to be amazing.

Love,
Sara

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