New York, New York...

 For a whirlwind 36 hours, we were a part of it!

A group of West Shore singers, spouses and friends teamed up on a charter bus and ran off to NYC for a weekend.  Two days of driving for one day in the city: Totally worth it.

We went to see a showing of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (written and produced by the son of some longtime WSC members) but I also managed to see most of downtown Manhattan, spend obscene amounts of money on food and drink, and make some pretty great new friends.

We arrived in NY at 5:00 and proceeded to have a terrific night in the 4 block radius around our hotel.

Our hotel bar:

Actually a really cute little place, if loud.  We spent time here both nights, of course...

Had a nice conversation with a couple of native New Yorkers on their way to see Frankie Vallie. Super friendly and interested in learning about both Cleveland and my views on education n America.  This started the trend of meeting terrifically friendly people everywhere we went in the city.

A little "down the stairs" Mexican bar in Hell's Kitchen, Friday night.  Happy hour margaritas and tapas and a friendly bartender from Puerto Rico.

Our group of "single ladies" (most chorale members had spouses along): Barbara, me, Jill, and Lisa

 A fancy dinner on the patio of a beautiful little Italian restaurant just down the street.  The manager came out to chat with us several times and we enjoyed getting to know the hostess who had just arrived from Italy about 6 weeks ago.

It was a glorious 70 degree evening and this patio was a great spot to watch the world go by!

We capped off our evening at a piano bar down the street, where one of Jill's former students knew the piano player and even sang a few songs for us.  

 This is what happens when a retired choir director gets together with beloved former students at midnight in NYC.  Selfies.  Lots of them.

Yeah, so we were all moving a little slowly on Saturday morning.  But we rallied!  And took off in a brave small group to head through downtown Manhattan.  Along the way we picked up a nice couple from France who were headed towards Ground Zero, like us.

 Together we figured out the subway...

 And successfully made it to the memorial, along with a gazillion other tourists.

 The memorials are beautiful and stirring.  Also the weather was appropriately drizzly.   We spent some meditative moments with the crowds, before getting kind of cold and heading across the plaza to go in to this big white thing  called "The Oculus..."

... which turned out to be... a shopping mall.   A pretty freaking amazing underground shopping mall...  but still a surprise.

With no further ado, we began our trek north, through Tribeca and Soho and Washington Square...

We stopped for a great lunch at "The Lucky Strike" and popped into a few little shops and bakeries along the way...

Grace Church

Then there was this guy and his dog, both dressed as lions...

And this guy, juggling by the patchouli-scented farmer's market.

 My favorite thing about trekking through Manhattan:  the way you can go 6 blocks and feel like you are in a different city, with noticeable shifts in architecture, shops, and types of people..So much to look at and take in, we hardly noticed the 6 miles of walking!

Saturday night:  The big show!  We dressed up and headed across the street to the theater...

.. where we had a blast at this romp of a show.  Russian danicing and techno music and great singing and a gorgeous set.  We had fabulous seats, up on the stage, where we felt like we were a part of the show.  Enjoyed every minute.

No cell phones allowed out in the theater so I took this pre-show selfie from inside my purse.

And then- a marvelous surprise as I left-- my other high school director, Gerry Wondrak, had come to see the show too.  Marvelous to see him.  He makes my heart happy.

We spent quite a bit of time outside of the stage door, waiting to see the stars and get autographs.  First time I've done that!  Super fun.

The, off to  The View, the revolving restaurant at the top of the Marriot.

Overpriced drinks and a bit of a trippy, revolving view-- but a festive way to close the evening with my new friends.

Also, pizza from a tiny pizza place at 1:30 in the morning.  Because NYC.

Sunday morning-- a run to the north, up to Central Park.

Enjoyed the sights of the city on my way through.

... and all the dogs out socializing at the park.  What a magical place.

A long ride home-- through absolutely stunning PA hills, trees aglow with their peak of fall color.  Reading a novel and napping as the scenery glittered by all orange and red.... not a bad way to close out the weekend...

October warmth

On this day a year ago (or so my FB feed tells me), there was a significant hail storm in Cleveland, allowing us to have a short lived snowball fight.  

Today we spent the evening kicking a soccer ball around Wade Oval in 70 degree sunshine.

Crazy weather this year, but we are enjoying the heck out of it.

This week was marked by highs-- the weather, time off of school-- and lows-- a sick little girl and changes of plans-- with plenty of regular life thrown in between. 

A sample for you:

Tuesday riding lessons.  The kids did a grand job trotting.  So very independent.

 This video was taken moments before Ivy's first ever fall off her horse.  Buster spooked at a noise from a combine and shook her right off.  She tumbled gracefully and was just fine-- but it certainly took some doing to get her back up in the saddle.  She did it, though!  And by the time she curried Buster and put him back in his stall, they were back on good terms.  Our kids are learning perseverance and courage at these lessons, alongside the horsemanship.  What a deal!

 Wednesday:  a quiet day off for Yom Kippur.  A little girl who slept in late and then spiked a fever meant we stayed close to home for most of the day. But we couldn't squander the weather entirely!
We spent a quiet, sunshiney hour at Rocky River beach, where both the air and the water were so warm, we wished we had our suits!

It's challenging to get a good selfie with your dog.   This girl just loves the beach so much!

Fever or no, Ivy meticulously placed each of these tiny stones around both walls of our sand castle.  I love her eye for detail.  Jack had an irrigation system worked out in his fortress.

Gorgeous weather continued through the week, but poor Ivy girl ran a fever for 4 days, which kept us home and resting for much of the time.

Poor pathetic baby tucked herself in like this on Thursday evening. She's a trouper when she's sick.  No complaining... just found herself a warm spot to combat her chills, and fell asleep.  Little love.

Saturday soccer-- we all went to cheer on our boy, while Ivy sat this one out.  The brilliant trees were the only indication that this is FALL soccer, what with the 80 degree temperatures!
We have finally settled in to the soccer routine, seeing our time at the field AS the event of the day rather than an obstacle to other events.  That, or the frenetic pace of festivals and other scheduled events has finally slowed enough to let us not feel double-booked all the time...

 ... just SOME of the time, anyways!  This week, it was straight from soccer to a birthday party at Skyzone for our boy.  Little sickie was not up for a planned overnight with her Gram, but she managed to do alright for a quick visit to Lake Farmpark...

Doing the Hay hurdles at this year's Olympic-themed corn maze....

 We had a great time spoiling this girl with attention.

 She's a delight.

 "Apple and Pumpkin Weekend" at the farm is pretty great, too, it turns out.  Not just the corn maze, but a ton of crafts and activities, a bucket train, Halloween tents and decorations galore, and even a mini-donut truck!

 We fit in as much as we could in our hour and a half...

 ... then soaked up a bit more of the perfect day at another pretty place, on the way to pick Jack up...

 Two wedding parties, one wedding actually happening in the castle, numerous people posing for photos in costumes.... and us.  Laying around in the grass.  It was great.

 Yesterday-- a full day for me, with a 5k race in Forest Hills to start the day, a West Shore concert at CSU in the afternoon, and sunset at the harbor to close the evening.

All weekends are well that end well, right?  We are on the mend around here and the weather is STILL grand and no little viruses are going to stop US from enjoying life.

Sunsets, snails, and soccer on Wade Oval this evening.  Monday nights are the new Saturday around here...

I love these people.