New York, New York: Where cute Jewish babies threaten to kill each other in the sandbox. Part One.

This weekend, I went to Glen Rock, New Jersey, New York City, and Great Neck, Long Island.

It was so much fun I can only begin to describe it. :) (Be warned, this is a detailed account!)

Betsy and I picked up Jessica and Ben (friends of Betsy's, acquaintances of mine [not this Ben]) and got on the road at about 9 pm on Thursday night...and drove in the wrong direction for 45 minutes. WHOOPS.

Thankfully, we were heading north to New Jersey in short order, and Betsy and I went ahead and sang along (perhaps annoyingly) to the songs on her iPod (for those who don't know us, we have virtually identical tastes in music)--we knew almost all the words to every song, as Jess pointed out (I'd like to think admiringly :P).

We stopped in Delaware for a late snack around 11 and observed some of it's fine patrons and employees (including a freakishly tall blonde woman and an uncomfortably flirtatious clerk) and got a very strange blend of foods (hamburgers, trail mix and Starburst) for the last half of the trip.

We finally made it in to Glen Rock, Betsy's hometown, by about 1 AM--we were all exhausted, but still stayed up meeting and greeting Betsy's adorable parents and puppy until about 3 AM. (In the midst of this, Ben drops the unexpected news that he is very allergic to dogs...ooooops!) Finally, we crashed in Betsy's basement--Ben and Jess on the couches with the "fluff blankets", as Jess coined the term, and Betsy and I on the air mattress on the floor.

We set our alarms for 8 AM, but then reality kicked in, and we woke up at 11:30. :P

But, we got a treat for our laziness, which was a DELICIOUS bagel breakfast with cream cheese and lox and tasty jellies. :) And who doesn't love tasty jellies?

We took the NJ Transit (and had a sighting of Betsy's ex's best friend) to the Path, and ended up on 9th street, outside of Betsy's brother's apartment building. I got my first taste of Pinkberry a few blocks later (YUMMY) and at Ben's suggestion, we went to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum to see the sustainable design exhibit, which was really, really cool. Even better, because we got in for free, thanks to Ben's previous employment there!

By the time we got out of the museum, the temperature had dropped to frosty, which was awful for us girls, who were dressed in shorts and dresses and tee shirts. So, we sought warmth in a Mexican restaurant on 83rd that we still can't guess the name of! The type on the awning was really hard to read, and the receipt was labeled 'Percy's Bar and Grill'...wtf? Either way, we had some tasty sangria (serving the underaged, gasp!), and mole sauce (made from chocolate, not moles).

It was even colder when we left the restaurant, so we stopped into a Gap to see if they had some cheap sweaters, but alas, even their sale prices were positively ridiculous, so we forwent that and decided to head back out of the city--Ben and Jess went to Ben's house in Long Island for the night, and Betsy and I took the train back to Glen Rock, where we made brownies and watched the ends of Runaway Bride and Little Women (I cried when Beth died, I'll admit it!).

The next morning, Betsy and I rode with her dad into the city to pick up Ben, Jess, Betsy's sister Katie and brother Tom, and brother's girlfriend Amy. It was a surprisingly quick and easy pick-up, and when we got back to Glen Rock, we basically sat on our asses watching movies all afternoon until the pre-Memorial Day, Memorial Day cookout! I swear to God, best scallops I've ever had. Also, we got delicious homemade ice cream from this little place called Van Dyk's. :D

We also met Betsy's former neighbor and childhood friend John, who, aside from mild racism and lack of tact, is very nice and funny. The five of us were 9 years old for a couple hours and played on a nearby elementary school playground, earning such nicknames as "Baller Ben" and "Jenius (or 'Jeanius', as Ben prefers) Jess", and getting shown up by smaller kids climbing on the jungle gyms.

Then we tortured the boys and watched Dr. Horrible (less-to-no-torture) and Hitch (medium-to-heavy-torture) and went to bed.

We shot for 8 am again, and were slightly more successful--we got up at 9:30 (well, Ben managed to get up at 8, and decided to poke Jess in the head in order to wake her :P).

We got another pleasant breakfast surprise from Betsy's mom, who made us plain, blueberry, and chocolate pancakes serves alongside strawberries. OMG SO GOOD.

We drove to Long Island, which was, again, very easy and short, and got to know each other a bit more, concentrating on phobias. They ranged from the less serious (spiders for Betsy), to the funny in theory but actually valid (bridges for Jess) and the scary and tragic (small spaces/confinement and bad news for me, hurting others for Ben). It was really pleasant to get to know Jess and Ben better--they're both really funny and thoughtful and fun to be around. :)

Ben's neighborhood of Great Neck was adorable and Jewish and reminded me of Sewickley in a lot of ways (as did Glen Rock, for that matter). We met his parents--his mother was adorable--and brother, and after looking at some baby pictures and witnessing a funny water fight between Ben, his brother and their dad, we hopped in Betsy's car and headed into town.

Unfortunately, at this point, I had missed a call from Dad, and his voicemail gave me that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach that said there was something wrong (although I'd chalked it up to some disappointment in me he had). I got a text from Mom as well, so I answered that, and she asked if I'd spoken to Dad. I said no, and the sick feeling intensified, so I asked why. Apparently, my Dad's older sister was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, and was given about 8 months. :( My aunt and I aren't close, but she's the closest family to me that's died while I've been old enough to understand. I was shocked, and I cried a little, but mostly out of being overwhelmed--I love my aunt, and she was absolutely the most invested and attentive of my Dad's siblings to us, but the closeness just isn't there to feel the loss for myself. I feel the loss for my Dad, though. Very sad.

Thankfully, I was with three supportive, wonderful friends who were nothing but helpful.

Okay, this has to be continued...part two coming up!

BTW, I just had contact with Marla for the first time in, oh, 6 months. It was uncomfortable, but a breakthrough. I got to apologize in person. More soon.

Love,

-A.