Welcome to New York! (Cue Taylor Swift’s catchy tune)

We made our way from Prescott to the Phoenix airport courtesy of Steve’s generous parents Judy and Larry. After a fun evening at Tempe’s Culinary Dropout with wonderful friends including Bill and Sally McMullen, Joe Martinez, Nancy Van Pelt, Russ and Shelley Heath, and Skip and Nancy Roberts, we settled into an airport hotel to await our departure. After a fitful night and uneventful flight, we arrived in the Big Apple. Well, really we landed in New Jersey, but close enough…

We are now settled into our 500 square foot apartment at 90th and Central Park West. The apartment is small but functional. We have a small kitchen with a stove, microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator.

The bath has a tub, so that’s saying something. The rest of the apartment is one room with a bed, a table, and a chair. We have a TV, a decorative fireplace, and two windows that look out on our quiet street. We are on the first floor, so we can watch the neighbors as they pass by, many walking dogs.

The best part of the apartment is its proximity to Central Park. We are about a 1/2 block from the park and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir which has a running track around its edge. Steve is enjoying morning runs on the track with beautiful views of the skyline from every direction. I’m struggling with plantar fasciitis which has seemed to get worse in these first few days of endless walking. So, only one of us is currently running…at least it’s the one who’s signed up to run the NY Marathon!

Our first weekend in the City has been about getting oriented. We’ve found the closest Trader Joe’s and stocked our little refrigerator with healthy food. Subway passes in hand, we’ve ridden the trains to Lower Manhattan and back. We even navigated some closed lines which meant we had to change trains, ride north to go south, and tolerate jam-packed cars like sardines. It hasn’t taken us long to feel like New Yorkers.

As expected we’ve also walked and walked and walked. Our wandering has taken us through Columbus Circle, Times Square, Penn Station, Chelsea, half of Central Park, and into Lower Manhattan. We explored Trinity Church and made a quick visit to the 9/11 memorial. Our 10-day New York Pass begins tomorrow, so we’ll re-visit many of these sites over the next days with more attention to detail.

Saturday we began a weekly tradition: watching Husker football with the NYC Huskers at Hudson Station. This Hell’s Kitchen bar hosts the Husker faithful each Saturday in the fall and 100s show up to cheer on the team.

They have a special menu that includes Nebraska favorites including runzas, fried cheese balls, and a strong drink called Elk Creek. Yesterday the Cornhuskers beat Wyoming 52-17, so it was a good day!

Today is the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the city is in remembrance. As we watch the televised ceremonies taking place several miles south, we can feel the sorrow throughout the city. Church bells will ring later today throughout the city to remind the millions of citizens and visitors of the enormous loss the city experienced on that day. Tonight the Tribute in Light will shine once again and we hope to catch a glimpse.

We’ve only just begun this amazing experience. Thanks for reading!

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In less than one week we’ll begin our first big retirement adventure and we’re glad you’ll be following along.

We’ve rented a 500 square foot, ground floor apartment at 90th and Central Park West in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. We found our accommodations on Homeaway.com Click on the link and you’ll be able to see our palatial digs. We’ve been told it has a closet, which is a big coup for New York City.

When we get to New York we’ll use a 10-day New York Pass to get oriented to the city and we’ll be posting updates about the many tours and attractions we hope to jam into our first 10 days. After that we hope to have a good lay of the land and spend the remaining 10 weeks enjoying the city life.

We’ve had a fabulous summer in our new home in Prescott. We enjoyed great hikes, cool summer rains, and lots of wildlife. Highlights included quick trips to the Oregon wine country, a weekend in San Francisco, the annual 4th of July festivities in Prescott, and lots of family time.

The many visitors who joined us were the best part of it all. Some of our favorite pics and people are below.

On Wednesday we’re heading to Phoenix to spend the night in a hotel near the airport and then catch an early flight on Thursday. Just for fun we’re organizing a Bon Voyage Happy Hour and we’d love to have you join us if you are in the Phoenix area. We’ll be meeting at Culinary Dropout in Tempe at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 7. If you can make it, please RSVP to us via email or in reply to this post. You can bet we’ll do a post to chronicle the party!

Now we turn our attention to packing and preparing for our temporary move to NYC. Stay tuned as the urban adventure begins!

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We are just starting to get the hang of this retirement thing. In fact, our summer has been super busy with settling into Prescott and organizing this new life. We did find some time to take a mini trip to northern Arizona to check out some new territory. Our itinerary included a visit to Page to see Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend and then on to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to do some hiking.

We’ve lived in Arizona for many years but just recently started hearing about Antelope Canyon.

In the past 15 years this spectacular slot canyon has become one of the state’s top tourist attractions, so we had to check it out. We started our visit with a tour of the Upper Antelope Canyon, booked through Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours. We booked ahead to be assured a spot, and we were glad we did. These tours sell out, especially for the noontime trips when the light shines directly above.

The Upper Canyon tours begin with a 15 minute drive through the Antelope Canyon river bed in a 4×4 truck. Once at the entrance to the Canyon, you walk through a narrow opening in the sandstone and begin the one-hour awe-fest. The pictures below can’t convey the beauty of the rock formations.

We finished our first day in Page with a visit to Horseshoe Bend at sunset.

The viewpoint requires a short hike uphill through sand and then down to the edge of the plateau. For some it might be a little challenging, but it’s totally worth the effort!

Day two took us to the Hanging Gardens, a short hike with views of beautiful Lake Powell. The “garden” is foliage that grows out of a large sandstone cliff. The plants are spring-fed and the contrast between the stark red rocks and the lush green vegetation is cool.

Next, we headed to the Lower Antelope Canyon, where we had a reservation for a noontime tour with Ken’s Tours. At the Lower Canyon, you walk to the entrance which is above the Canyon itself. To get into the Canyon there are a series of stairs and ladders that allow you descend several stories below. We decided that we liked the Lower Canyon better than the Upper Canyon, though they are both spectacular.

July and August in Page is HOT! Each day the temperature hit 100 degrees +. What do you do when it’s hot and you are in Page? Hit the beach! We spent the afternoon at Wahweap Beach, Lake Powell and enjoyed cooling off in the lake.

What amazed us most was that most of the other beachgoers were from outside of the USA. We heard French, German, and several other languages that we couldn’t identify. This most northern part of our great state is really an international destination.

After two days in Page we headed to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, stopping on the way at Lee’s Ferry to watch several large Colorado River rafting trips launch. Watching the groups set out for their rafting adventure convinced us that a raft trip is in our future.

The north rim, like Page and Lake Powell, is an international destination. At the lodge we heard many different languages and met new friends from all over the world while sitting on the patio admiring the view. In our three days on the rim we did several hikes, including a three mile descent into the Canyon on the North Kaibab Trail. The Cliff Springs Trail, near Cape Royal, took us down a side canyon with incredible views and indian ruins.

Being monsoon season we also enjoyed massive storms rolling over the canyon. Lightening and thunder shook the buildings and provided an ever-changing image of the landscape. On our last afternoon Steve went for a run on the Widforss Trail and found himself in one of these storms. While the rain was refreshing, the lightening bolt that struck just to the side of the trail was a little unnerving.

We enjoyed our mini trip and can’t wait to continue our explorations! Next stop: New York City!

 

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