A Few Fantastic Days in New York City

Let's face it, I can't imagine the recap of any trip to NYC starting off any other way than:  It rocked!  And so this one does, because it did.  Rock, I mean.  Totally.

We started off with the childrens opera, "The Enchanted Pig" at the New Victory Theater....an amazing theater and a fun performance, regardless of way too much gold lame for my (rather limited) tastes.  And, there is nothing better than seeing your daughter and her grandpa rocking some plastic pig noses

The next day brought the MOMA and the American Folk Art Museum...first time to the latter and I absolutely loved it.  My daughter liked the Thomas Chambers paintings of Niagara Falls and I liked the Finster and the quilts.  More than that though, the building itself is brilliant, reminding me of the Rothko Chapel in Dallas--amazing on its own and in its ability to let you engage the art on your own terms.  Too often, like my experience at MOMA, you are forced to experience the art on someone elses terms because of crowding, like at the current Tim Burton exhibit.  Best of all though, according to my daughter, was the giant couch at MOMA in the room that houses Monet's Water Lillies..according to her, it is the best, most comfortable couch in the world...and she should know, she laid on it for quite a while.  In an attempt to engage her in the art we were supposedly looking at, I asked her what her impression of them was...her answer?  "My impression is that this guy needs a different art teacher."....Genius, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Okay...the whole reason for the trip...The Westminster Dog Show!  I am not sure what I expected---but it wasn't this.  I was blown away by the whole thing--the casual nature of the day that allowed us to wander from our seats to the floor, to the 'benching room' where the dogs get ready, to the place where all of the dogs and their owners hang out after they win or lose.  The people with dogs were incredibly nice and open and giving, which meant my daughter got to see/touch/kiss many of her favorites.  As did I.  And the people we met and/or listened to in the stands were incredibly nice as well..sharing information and stories without hesitation.  We met a wonderful woman in the bathroom (of course).  She was 78 and this was her first trip to the dog show--after saving for years--and she came to see the Corgi's...a dog she remembered and loved from her childhood.  And to me, that was the overall feeling of the show...a sense of loving dogs because of a childhood joy in them.  Because of that, the whole experience was a softer, simpler one than I think I was expecting...all for the better.  For my daughter is was, in her words, "totally awesomely cute and cuddly".  (If you say it really fast and in a high-pitched voice, you get the idea).

We capped off the day with a long walk back to Grandma and Grandpa's place, interrupted by a stop-off at City Bakery for the best hot chocolate ever.  Seriously.  EVER.

On the way back to Austin the next day my daughter wondered two things.  First, did the people on the plane know that the food they were serving us was really bad?  And secondly, would I remember this trip when I was really, really, really old?  Yes, to both my sweet petite.