New York City!

Last year while floating down the Grand Canyon on a raft, Robyn and I talked about how we enjoy New York City, and wouldn't it be fun to see more of it together?  Eventually we concocted a scheme to spend several days there on our collective journey to France, along with John plus Cathy and their daughter Dani.  I love it when a plan comes together.

The mural outside our AirBnB in Brooklyn (and life imitating art, as we do):

Ready to roam around the city together:

While moseying along on the Highline Trail (a place we almost always go), we spied something new.  The Little Island - recently constructed and covered in plants and winding walkways.  And things to stare at:

Skyline view from the Little Island:

What a neat spot!  Every city could use more greenery and peaceful places:

Even the underside of the island is interesting to look at, reminding us of the Crowley Lake columns near Bishop, CA:

Back on the Highline Trail, checking out the street running underneath:

Construction appears to be complete at Hudson Yards and The Shed as well:

A brief pause at the library, another respite from city crowds:

There was a funny series of bug-related comics on display there, including cicadas getting shushed by a librarian:

John and I were super excited to get to see The Music Man on Broadway - so entertaining!  Hugh Jackman was great fun, Sutton Foster was wonderful, and they made each other (and us) laugh all evening.  The kids in the show are incredibly talented.  And as we were walking around the theater afterward, we happened to catch sight of Mr. Jackman exiting the building and waving to fans from his car - love it!

Found my subway stop:

Going back and forth from Brooklyn to Manhattan, we spent some time near the river about every day, and we always like the views of the bridges from various angles:

On a walk in Domino Park:

I had put in for lottery tickets to John Oliver's "Last Week Tonight" show taping but had not heard back so I figured we didn't get in.  Then the evening beforehand I got an email - would we be able to make it?  Why yes, we sure could!  We were so excited, we got there early and snagged the first place in line:

How lucky it this?  Another awesome NYC experience, this time in a small theater where we were quite close to the stage.  We had to wait a while for it to start (apparently the lawyers were clearing up a legal question), then John Oliver came out to chat with us before taping began.  The process was fascinating, from watching the teleprompter, trying to figure out how John can talk so quickly and time everything right, to seeing the retakes and laughing at John's riffs.  Highly recommend.

On my Sunday morning run I randomly happened to come across the Brooklyn Mile race, so of course I had to check it out - there were some speedsters out there:

The group of us rented e-bikes, toured around Brooklyn, met friends at Prospect Park for a little food festival, then cycled over the Brooklyn Bridge to the Staten Island Ferry.  On our way south:

None of us had been to Staten Island before, so the bit of roaming we did near the ferry terminal was new and different.  Apparently not photo-worthy, however.

Something else new for us - we took a water taxi back to Brooklyn with a view of the skyline at sunset:

Only slightly windy:

A bit of exploring in Williamsburg on Monday morning before heading to the airport - thank you John for this fun photo:

And thank you Robyn, Cathy, and Dani for all the pizza and black & white cookie experiments and an entertaining few days in the big city!