Home & Vacation

I am back from New York.  Wow!!  I can see why people either love or hate it.  I loved it!  It was such a different experience for me.  I’ve lived near Boulder, CO almost my entire life.  I’ve been to Los Angeles several times, but New York was by far the biggest city I’ve ever been in. 

People were nice and very helpful.  No one was rude or had an attitude.  I felt very safe walking around Times Square at night- there was only about 50,000 other people around, police all around, and almost every shop and restaurant was open.  There was only negative thing happen, and that was on the way to the airport on the way home.  The taxi I took smelled like gasoline, and I was on the verge of getting really sick by the time I got to the airport.  Other than that, everything went great. 

The tour of the New York Hope Lodge was amazing.  I am going to write a more detailed blog post about that, but I was so touched by what they do for cancer patients.  As I listened and saw what they did, I thought back to my own experience with cancer last year and thought it was great there are facilities like this that help the patients with the most need.  Especially in a place like New York, where it is so expensive to stay long-term.  I was impressed to learn there are 40 other Hope Lodges in the United States.  It was clear to see Hope Lodges are a great asset in helping cancer patients and their caregivers fight cancer. 

I hope to write more about New York soon (with pictures!), but I had a long day at work yesterday, and the boys and I are leaving tomorow for our vacation together.  We are going with my dad and step-mom to Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  My dad has a relative there who lives across the street from the lake.  The boys are beyond excited for a beach/water vacation.  I haven’t been able to go anywhere with them for two years on vacation, so I am looking forward to this time with them. 

As much fun as I had in New York, the boys were never far from my thoughts.  I missed them!  I kept thinking how much they would enjoy the buildings, the firetrucks, the police cars, and all the sights and sounds.  I decided I am going to take them there one day- when they are older- so they can experience New York and all the amazing sights, before they are in their thirties, like me.  🙂  I liked the perspective it gave me, and I want my sons to be able to live and experience other places then where we live. 

As I flew back into Denver, I saw the few tall buildings on Denver’s skyline.  They definitely didn’t look like much after staring at New York’s massive and countless skyscrapers for five days.  They looked tiny by comparison.  But there were mountains, and open spaces.  I could see miles in any direction- something you don’t get to do in New York from the ground.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and they announced it was 75 degrees.  It was a perfect Colorado day, I was going to see Ryan and Cole, and I knew I was home.