Day 70, April 4, Central Park and Carnegie Hall

 I won’t bore you with details of Amtrak train passage from DC to NYC other than to admit it was exciting for me to be first in Union Station and then Pennsylvania Station.  Sure was an improvement over the trains we took in Thailand, that’s for dang sure.


Our boutique hotel on 6th Ave in midtown Manhattan is posh; can’t believe I got such a nice place on the cheap through Airbnb. I loathe wasting money on hotels; I’m not in one long enough to appreciate amenities. Kasper is greatly relieved cause I’ve had us in some fairly sketchy pads before. But not tonight!




We’ll return in a couple of weeks to do justice to the New York sites; todays trip was solely for the Carnegie Hall experience my grandkids will provide for us. But with a few spare hours before concert time, we headed to Central Park and a stroll.  My oh my, what an urban miracle is Central Park and it’s 843 acres of green grass, flowers, statuary, lakes, and natural beauty. Why there’s even a zoo. We strolled through about one third of the park, our thighs still begrudging but the weather cooperative and the crowds wildly entertaining. Centra Park is seriously brilliant. 















Fifth Avenue made a great mile-long stroll followed by a bistro dinner, a quick hug and pic with the grandkids and my beautiful Kate, then into gorgeous Carnegie Hall for the concert. First we heard from The National Festival Chorus comprised of gifted high school vocalists from all over the country. Next was my 16 yr-old Megan on flute and 14 yr-old Robby on French horn performing with both the Ronald W. Reagan High School Symphony Orchestra and the Wind Ensemble. I think I’ve died; if the music in heaven is this lovely, beam me up. 

Three amazing things: 1- Carnegie Hall with my talented young grandchildren performing on stage. That gets a wow. 2- Kasper the cowboy strolling Fifth Avenue in Manhattan as if he’s right at home, nonplussed as usual. 3- The vastness of Central Park fringed on all sides by skyscrapers; it slightly overwhelmed me. After Bry passed, I couldn’t abide being outside in the open.  The vastness of the sky made me shrink with a sense of exposure as if I were somehow uncovered, naked, bared. Was weird and unsettling and lasted some weeks. Today, a small sense of that naked exposed feeling encroached upon me again, and I hugged Aaron’s arm tighter for the stabilizing and reassuring effect he has. 




Good deeds: We doled out compliments and thank you’s to everyone we met on the streets and in restaurants today. It  really was a treat to be in New York City on a lovely lively day, and we tried to spread the energy we felt. As well, I bought my grandkids commemorative Carnegie Hall t-shirts. One front read, “How do you get to play Carnegie Hall?”  The back: “Practice, practice, practice.”

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