Traveling ......

...... is pretty much what I've been doing since I arrived in NY last week.

Last week I spent an entire day and evening at the U.S. Open.
By myself.
It was wonderful.

I had a great time and was surprised by how much fun I had, even though I was "alone".
Five years ago I think I would've had a mental breakdown at the thought of spending a day like that alone.
But no more.

That's one reason I love this city so very much.
A person going out to dinner, or to the park, or to a movie, or to, say ...... the U.S. Open ...... all by themselves doesn't raise an eyebrow.
Not one.
And I love that.

Since then I have traveled on all sorts of public transportation.  Either alone or with friends.
The subway.  Both alone and not alone.
The New Jersey Transit --- took a train to NJ, with 2 friends so that we could spend the weekend with another friend.  All 4 of us are widows.

Then last week I rode a New Jersey Transit bus to New Jersey.  Atlantic City, to be exact.
To visit Beth, who is also a widow.
We had a great time.

We strolled the Boardwalk, hung out at 2 different beaches, climbed a lighthouse, hung out with her children, saw her daughters college dorm room, walked all over the beach town of Cape May, took my dying iPad into an Apple store 9 days before my extended warranty expired, got a brand new iPad in less than 20 minutes, drove to Philadelphia, took a double decker bus tour of the city, and ate a Philly cheesesteak, which was really wonderful, much to my surprise.

After that I rode an Amtrak train back to the city.
It was a nice ride, even if I had to hurry to not miss it.

Today Daughters #1 & #2 and I went to see "Kinky Boots", which just won the Tony award for Best Musical.
It was very good.

Then D #1 headed to the theatre where she works because tonight is opening night for a show.
D #2 and I strolled down Times Square for a bit and then decided to go to Carmine's for dinner.  It's one of our favorite places and if you're ever in NY you definitely need to go.  The food is amazingly good and amazingly plentiful.
The platter of pasta that we ordered to share was large enough to feed a small country.
Or maybe Rhode Island.
This was after we were finished:

I took this picture to try to show how large the pieces of garlic bread were.  They were larger than D3's hand.
Needless to say, we had a whole lot of leftovers, which means D3 is going to be eating Italian all week for lunch.  And she's pretty ok with that.    : )

We sat at the bar (because it's also usually amazingly crowded) and ate and chatted with the people who sat next to us.
Which reminds me to tell you that I think the people in NY are very friendly.  I've had several chats with people I've never met while standing in line, or sitting in a restaurant, or riding in an elevator.

Last night I went to a party up on the roof of my building.  A woman who's become a friend was turning the big 5-0 and she invited me to her party.  At 6:00 the DJ played 60's songs.  At 7 he played 70's music.  At 8 ...... you get it.  Yes, he played 80's.  And 90's at 9 and then current music from 10:00 on.
We were supposed to dress to fit our favorite decade.
I was a cross between the 60's and 70's.

I was also dressed WAY more casually than anyone else.  Most of the women wore dresses.  Nice dresses.
Nice dresses that didn't look like any of those decades.
So much for following instructions.

We noticed that a building across the street was hosting a fashion show on its roof.  It was fun to watch.

I had a great time, even though I knew only one person and wondered if I'd have anyone to talk to.
It wasn't a problem.
I met several people who live in the building and learned about a group of women who meet daily ...... in the mornings to work out upstairs and in the evenings to just sit and chat.
Sometimes they go to a movie.  Sometimes they go to each other's apartment and take turns cooking.
And they brought me into their group last night.
I'm glad.

And then, on top of all of that, 2 of the women I met are widows.  One is young, in her 40's I think, and the other one is older.  They've both been widowed less time than I have and both were very kind and very fun.
I look forward to getting to know them better.
: )

Tonight I am pooped.
And sore.
Very sore.
I think that's due to the fact that I schlepped my bag (see?  I'm already a New Yorker ... I say "schlepped"!  :) for 2 miles from the train station yesterday before I finally decided to grab a cab.
My left arm and shoulder are so sore I can barely lift that arm.

And I think I bruised my left heel from all of the walking I did over the past several days.
Lots of walking with inappropriate shoes.
Ouch.

I'm Skyping with 2 new leaders for Soaring Spirits Regional Groups tomorrow.  Plus Skyping with 2 board members.
And hopefully doing laundry.
And cleaning up the apartment.
And maybe doing a little packing for my trip back to Houston on Tuesday.
The Cowboys have our first home game next weekend.
Which means I'll be heading to Oklahoma later this week.
WHOOP!!

OK, I think that's it for now.
I think I'll go to bed now.
Even if it isn't even 10:00 p.m.
New Jersey takes a lot out of a girl.
: )

Night, Peeps.
And Happy Sunday/Monday.
: )