The Journey

We had a plan for Sunday. We were going to go to church and then head to the museums. The plan was a good one, but life doesn't always seem to go according to plan, does it?


The moment I woke up I knew something wasn't right. Prone to getting bladder infections, I am pretty familiar with the symptoms. I was hesitant to bring up my predicament to my friends because I didn't want to ruin the plan, but I also knew that no amount of cranberry juice, water, or any other home remedies were about to fix my problem. Thankfully I have friends who not only roll with the punches, but know how to get stuff done. Within minutes of me relaying my problem, we were headed to a doctor/pharmacy.

Who knew that New York has 24hour clinics/pharmacies about every other block? Seriously once you pay attention you will see a Duanereade drugstore more often than an LDS church in Utah Valley. I was seen, treated, and drugged within thirty minutes. It was a little bit terrifying (when the doctor threw up my dress to examine me) and also absolutely incredible that they were so efficient. Everything seems to happen much quicker in New York.

After our pharmacy trip we were able to swing by the LDS church, where I was able to use the restroom. I don't really remember a lot of that walk because the doctor had given me something to take the pain away, and the pill worked really, really well. Maybe too well.

After our short visit to church, we headed on to Central Park. This has to be one of my most favorite things about New York. It is like magic. One moment you are surrounded by head-tilting buildings, angry taxi-drivers, and endless streams of people and the next you are transported into a peaceful paradise where you can see the ages of the years played out in the daring trees and vast fields of greenery. I LOVE this park.

     

Beautifully maintained, it felt like one of the most human, heart warming spots in the city.

After touring Central Park, we headed toward the the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I had no idea this place would be as massive as it was. My friend Rachel is a talented artist on so many levels and was very interested in the museums, which was awesome for me because I'm not sure I would have gone without her there. One of the things that made our trip so amazing was that we each have different interests and therefore got to experience a variety of EVERYTHING! It was an amazing experience to step out of my box (and sometimes my comfort level) and try something new. I would highly recommend it. ;)

I think we stayed lost and highly interested in this building for a few hours but we could have easily spent the entire day. The one painting that I loved the most was this one.

  

Bohemia Lies by the Sea, 1996 

Poppies, the flowers of remembrance and forgetting.

This was one of the first large canvas paintings I saw and for some reason it stuck with me. I read the sign next to it first and realized that it was a vast field of poppies. I looked at it up close and couldn't see anything spectacular about it. Then I reached the other end of the room and looked back. All at once, I saw the little flowers bursting into life and having been thinking about perspective from the day before, I was immediately touched.

After the MET we decided to go home and got caught in the rain...and the Israeli Parade! It was a lot of fun and very, very cold. By the time we got back to our hotel, I was shivering incoherently and had to put on as many layers as I brought--which wasn't many because it was supposed to be summer.

That night, after a short recovery, we went out for Greek food.

It was my first taste of Greek and it was delicious. We ordered Topas, which is basically pita bread with a lot of amazing dips. My favorite was the red pepper dip. We also ordered a stinky cheese platter and all decided that we liked good old-fashioned cheddar cheese better.

After dinner, we strolled some more through the streets. Have I mentioned that we walked everywhere that day? When my friend tried to add it up on her GPS she said it was just over ten miles of walking. But I gotta say, it felt more like twenty.

As I went to bed that night, I couldn't stop thinking about the places I had seen and the people I had met and the thought struck me that it isn't about the destination...it's about the journey. It is about who we meet and what we learn that makes our lives mean something.

New York was wonderful. But it was the journey that made it priceless.