Our New York Minute

Wednesday: Pat and I started our day at 4:00 am to catch our flight.  While we were a bit loopy, we were able to get a bit of rest and steady ourselves for our adventure.  We arrived at JFK on time, found our way to the LIRR and headed to Chelsea to drop our bags at Shan's place, who was more than kind to leave a key with the doorman.  From there, we headed directly to Murray's Bagels had a quick bite and toured the city by foot. The rainy weather did not deter us!  We made it through the Garment District to Mid-Town and Times Square.  After a brief rest in Central Park, we proceeded to Cramercy, the East Village, and West Village in search of the elusive McSorely's Pub.  Upon finding the pub and having a round, we realized having 2 choices (Lite or Dark) and getting 2 beers is awesome.  While our intention was to continue walking, the scene was too much fun and we decided to have another round (or two, or three) and the cheese (that comes with onions, a sleeve of saltines, and horseradish mustard).  Given the fact that we maybe needed some real eats, we left the pub to head to the West Village to meet with Shan!  We dined and then headed to possibly Pat's favorite bar ever, Fat Cats (pool tables, ping pong, jazz, Scrabble, shuffle board... you name it).  We cabbed it back to Shan's place and tucked ourselves in for the night.

Thursday: Pat and I woke early and intended on heading straight to Murray's Bagels but were side-tracked by the epic Chelsea Hotel.  After a few photos, we made it to Murray's, grabbed bagels to go and began our walking tour.   We headed through Chelsea, the West Village, SoHo, Tribeca, and the Financial District.  We stopped at Battery Park and spent some time with 'Lady Liberty' and then continued on our tour.  Pat, in dire need of refreshments, guided us to Katz Deli, on the Lower East Side for Pastrami sandwiches and Matzo Ball soup.  It was a delight (even for me)!  We continued to tour through China Town and back up to Shan's to grab our stuff and headed to Penn Station to catch the LIRR.  We caught the train after a bit of confusion and made it to Garden City for Casey & Marie's rehearsal dinner.  The rehearsal dinner was an absolute blast... maybe even too much fun for some of us!

Friday: Friday was a bit of a painful morning; Kelly and I spent most of the morning sleeping.  Upon waking up, we cleaned up and rode the bus to Casey & Marie's Wedding in Lindenhurst.  Casey & Marie looked great, as always, as did the wedding party.  We rode the bus back to the hotel for a quick minute before heading to the reception.  The reception was an epic Long Island party... filled with a crazy amount of appetizers, formal dinner, DJ, and drummer.  The fun factor was through the roof!

Saturday: Pat and I woke early to meet up with my cousin Raymond and his fiance, Tina.  After riding around for a bit, touring the Hamptons and Dune Road, we hit up a few wineries.  It was excellent to spend some time together catching up and playing the maracas!  From there, we had some New York pizza (to Pat's surprise, it involved meatballs and a 'side of sauce') and headed back on the LIRR to the city.  Finding our way to the hotel around 10:30 pm, Pat and I caught up with Chris & Cathy, and then eventually with the siblings, cousins, and friends in Korea Town at a Karoke Bar.

Sunday: Pat and I woke at our leisure to head our with Chris & Cathy and Lucy.  After walking around a bit, we took the subway to the Flatiron district to Bobby Flay's restaurant, Mesa.  While we were supposed to be celebrating Dan's birthday, it was a major treat for all of us.  The food was absolutely amazing... I had the best chicken salad ever (Cathy said that it was a food revelation, and it was)!  Needing to walk off our meals, we headed to Greenwhich Village to see Pat's uncle's place.  We continued on with the family through Little Italy, Chinatown, the Financial District, Battery Park, up to the World Trade Center site, eventually making it back to the Subway and our hotel to head out.  Chris & Cathy generously arranged a car to pick us up and take us to JFK, and that car turned out to be a limo.  Kelly was super excited to enjoy her first limo ride ever.  With only minor delays at JFK, we made it back to the cities at midnight.

Many, many thanks to our generous hosts, Shan, Tina, & Raymond... as well as Chris & Cathy for epic treats, and Marie & Casey for giving us an excuse to meet up in New York.  Congratulations to Casey & Marie!!