Oct 31, 2026 - Our first big trip as nomads is 5 weeks in NYC a few doors down from Meg & Maddy. I had originally picked an apartment 3 blocks from them, but when I checked in with the owner 3 weeks before our trip, he said that it was under renovation. Not sure when he planned to tell me but it all worked out! I called VRBO and they said I was covered under "VRBO Care" and they would refund my deposit and give me the equal amount over what I originally paid. There weren't as many places to pick from at such a late date, but I found an apartment a few doors from M&M! The apartment wasn't available until Nov 1, and we had booked a flight for Oct 31, so VRBO said I could book a hotel for that night and it would be also covered through VRBO Care.
We had a beautiful drive to the Akron Canton airport
LaGuardia airport has sure changed since the last time we were here (20 or so years ago!). Love the mosaic murals.
We got an Uber to our hotel and it was fun to watch all the kids out trick or treating
from our hotel window we could see the firemen handing out candy
Arthouse hotel. It was an OK hotel, but not worth the $1500 that VRBO paid for it. The NYC marathon is tomorrow so the hotel price was extra high.
We met up with Meg for a beer at Craft + Carry, where M&M's engagement party was.
Next we headed out to meet up with Maddy. The streets on the UWS are full of people dressed up for Halloween
quick FaceTime with Marilyn
The Pig & Khao for dinner...so yummy!
Maddy dressed up as Tigger and went trick or treating with Fran
Happy Halloween!
Nov 1, 2026 - It's Marathon day and the city is hopping! We decided to go to Central Park and watch the runners as they get close to the finish line (we ended up watching around mile 24)
We started off the day with our first bagels of the trip
The Beresford on Central Park West
a farmer's market near the Natural History Museum
Always gotta get a pick of the Great Lawn
Here come the runners
It's a beautiful fall day!
It was fun to watch the race, everyone was cheering.
I'm always intrigued by all the water towers in NYC
pretty fall leaf
Meg's building's front courtyard, all decorated for Halloween
Nov 2, 2026 - Today we're going to get settled and take a walk through Central Park (and look for the pickleball courts for Kev!)
But first I'm going to walk with Meg to her subway stop. She's gotta go to work!
We walked up to the Jacqueline Onassis reservoir
It's a gorgeous day
Here's the front of our building. Looks like the witch is stuck upside down in our garden
And this is our apartment for the next 5 weeks. It's perfect!
Love the stained glass windows over our windows that look out at Maddy's old school.
Key Food our new favorite grocery store! Kevin? :)
Nov 3, 2026 - Kev signed up for pickleball in Long Island City for the afternoon, so I'm headed to the Met for a few hours. It's only a 15 minute walk, so I have a feeling I'm going to spend a lot of time there! We have an Indianapolis Art Museum Pass and it gets us in free to most of the NYC museums, including the Met. I'm so excited to be able to go any time I want for as short a time as I want, since I'm not having to pay $30 each time I go.
Mums!
this group of kids were all holding onto a rope and were out for a walk!
El Dorado building in the distance
behind me are two 6-seater strollers also out for a walk
the trees are beautiful!
I'm doing a little wandering at the Met today. I found this cool hand painted book of Psalms in the Medieval Art Section. It's called a Psalter.
This monumental choir screen is from the Cathedral of Valladolid in Spain (it's 52 ft high and 42 ft wide). It was bought by William Randolph Hearst in the 1920s for $17,000 and was forgotten in a Bronx warehouse for over 25 years.
This column, designed by Tiffany, was one of 2 that were at the Tiffany showroom in Manhattan
The Temple of Dendur was commissioned by Caesar Augustus in 10-15 BCE in Egypt
those trees are in full color
The water surrounds the Temple, to give the feeling of the Nile River that it was built on
I found this in the American wing. It's a mask made by Arctic natives. They made these masks look like they were whistling since they thought whistling was a way to speak to the spirits
more Tiffany
This was address info on the Tiffany Building in Manhattan
I've passed this cute ghost and few times since I've been here and decided I needed a pic of him
Meg has me set up trying for Broadway lotteries and rush tickets and today I lucked into 2 front row center seats for the Book of Mormon, for $49 each. We had seen this play 10 years ago, and we enjoyed seeing it again. (last time we were up in the balcony!)
We sure had a birds eye view!
a look into the pit as we were leaving
Subway pic...we're only 20 minutes from Time's Square using the subway (including the walk at both ends!)
Nov 4, 2026 - Kev's headed to Long Island City for Pickleball and I'm going to Brooklyn to the Botanic Garden.
Kevin happened to be closing the window this morning and who did he see, but Maddy! She snapped our pic on her way to work!
FaceTime with Marilyn (she's got a runny nose!)
This morning instead of walking Meg to the subway, I went with her to Brooklyn. She had a site visit there and I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for the afternoon.
It was a gorgeous day for a walk in the garden (and it was free with my Indy membership!)
The rose garden had a few roses left
I loved the pattern on the bark of this tree
The conservatory had a really nice Bonsai exhibit
These interesting desert plants are called lithops. They look like stones to keep from being eaten.
pretty bench in the English garden
another cool bench
Pretty spot in the Japanese Garden
the Fall colors were so pretty
Wow!
On my way to the subway, I passed the Brooklyn Museum and decided I'd spend an hour or two there, since my Indy pass gets me in free
This piece was made by El Anatsui, from discarded cans
Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party"
There are 39 place settings at the table. She made the piece to highlight women who have largely been kept out of our history and their contributions erased. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first American doctor and graduated from Geneva College where Meg went to school (now Hobart & William Smith Colleges)
Next I did the exhibit "Cezanne to Modigliani: Gifts of Modern Art from the Pearlman Collection". Henry Pearlman founded the Eastern Cold Storage Insulation and became an art collector in the 40's. I like this Van Gogh, that I had never seen before.
He had an eclectic taste for art. He was similar to Barnes who was also interested in the French Impressionists, but didn't have as much money as Barnes, so he had to be more discriminating in what he bought
This was his first painting he bought. He saw it in the window of an auction house in Manhattan and bought it for $825. The artist is Chaim Soutine
I saw this etched box on the way out and loved the face in it
The Brooklyn Museum
Nov 5, 2026 - Today we're getting errands done and going to Carnegie Hall after dinner
Our front door on the right of the pic and Meg's on the left side of the pic (hers is the first building with the stairway)
The trees on Meg's street are in full Fall color
Good morning Meg!
The coleus are so pretty
Nice neon sign, we'll have to stop here for a beer one day
This morning I found $60 tickets to an orchestra concert at Carnegie Hall. The Orchestra of St Lukes (conducted by Louis Langree) is performing Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique and Les Nuit de Etes, with tenor Benjamin Bernheim performing. Two days ago we were in the front row for the Book of Mormon. Today we're in the second to last row at Carnegie Hall!
And only 20 minutes home, door to door!
