adventures in new york

Though Richard and I have only been married three weeks and some change, we've filled those weeks with a ton of fun travel and new experiences. This weekend, Scott, one of Richard's good friends from medical school, got married in upstate New York. The ceremony was mid-afternoon at a beautiful Catholic church in Schenectady, followed by an evening reception in Albany. My darling husband, wanting to make the most of our time in the empire state, put together quite the itinerary- I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a bit skeptical at first!

He booked a ride on the Vamoose bus to NYC's Penn Station, and we left Bethesda at about 7 pm. I hadn't been on a bus since my law school trips to Carolina Cup in Camden, but the Vamoose turned out to be pretty nice.

Doesn't Richard look excited to be riding the Vamoose?

We arrived in New York at about 11:30 and walked ten blocks to the Millennium Broadway hotel, right in the middle of the theatre district and booked very reasonably on Priceline. Then despite the fact we were getting up super early, we of course had to go back out.

Times Square at midnight

We ventured over to Serendipity for a late dinner and dessert, which has become somewhat of a NYC tradition for us. Can't get better dessert anywhere...totally worth being tired the next day!

Frozen peanut butter hot chocolate at Serendipity

We got a few hours of sleep, then were up bright and early to head back to Penn Station to catch an Amtrak train to Albany. Richard loved trains when he was little (and still does today!), so he was super excited about his first Amtrak experience. I had taken the train before and knew that it really is a great way to travel- more room than on a plane, a snack car, outlets to plug in blackberries. computers, etc., and usually an incredible view. Richard and I got breakfast at different places, and when we met back up, he said he had a surprise for me.

When we were in Anguilla on our honeymoon, we had breakfast delivered to our room every morning. The part of the breakfast I ADORED was the chocolate croissants. I had not had one in years, and eating them was an epiphany each morning. I swore to leave them in Anguilla though, as they are not super healthy. But...Richard found one at Penn Station! I seriously cried after taking the first bite. That good- and such sweet memories too.

ahhh...chocolate croissant- so happy

view from the train window of the Hudson River- my husband went to listen to the Park Service guy give a lecture on the history of the region in the snack car...no lie

We arrived in Albany at the very nice Albany- Rensselaer train station around 11:45 am and realized we were not sure how best to get from the train station to the wedding in Schnectady, beginning at 1:30 pm. Richard and I felt like we were on a small-scale Amazing Race as we spilt up to check cab fares and rental car availability. After much discussion, we decided to rent a car- err, a minivan. But it was all the had, and we got a great deal. And it had satellite radio. Who could ask for more?!

We arrived at the lovely host hotel, the Desmond of Albany, and quickly ran back out the door after a lightning-fast costume change. We witnessed Scott and Andrea take their vows and greeted the gorgeous bride and groom. Then, since we had a whole three hours until the cocktail hour and reception, we decided to road trip it up to Saratoga Springs! While Albany is the capital of New York, there isn't apparently too much to see there. Saratoga Springs is a resort town known for its mineral baths, horse racing and Skidmoor College, and is the summer home of New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was a beautiful little town, and we'd love to go back.

Richard and the mineral spring water

downtown Saratoga Springs- bubble tea and kettle corn in hand

one of the many massive Saratoga homes- they all had jockeys out front

practicing for the future

While we could have stayed in Saratoga much longer, we had to go back to Albandy to celebrate Andrea and Scott!

enjoying "Hal-tinis" at the reception- named in honor of the new Dr. and Mrs. Halbreiner

MUSC grads and the pretty bride

The wedding was great fun, and we enjoyed meeting Andrea's friends and family. Having just planned a wedding, I now appreciate even more all the time and thought that goes into them, and Scott and Andrea did a fabulous job with theirs- from the poem with their favors to Scott playing some Dave Matthews with the band.

We headed back to the train station in the minivan early Sunday AM (after an interesting experience with some local friends at the gas station- sometimes it's very clear that we are not from northern parts), and boarded the train back to NYC. We had the privilege of meeting Jeanine and Alex for lunch at Tony's, who had just arrived home that morning from a safari in Africa, yet still stood in line before we arrived for our theatre tickets. We loved swapping international travel stories with them, though we didn't have any close encounters with lions and elephants in Anguilla!

Jeanine looked amazing for having just traveled over 30 hours

After lunch, we headed over to the Broadway Theatre to catch Promises, Promises with Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes. It's clear that the play was written in the late 60's and the music and storyline is a bit dated, but it was incredible to see Chenoweth and Hayes live. They are both so talented and entertaining. We just missed Kristin Chenoweth in Wicked when we saw it in 2003, so we were glad to have the opportunity to watch her on Broadway, where she's clearly in her element.

Broadway Theatre chandelier

outside after the show- the theatre is right across the street from the Ed Sullivan theatre, where David Letterman is filmed

with the playbill and line-up

After the show, we ventured out in the rain, shopped a bit and found a fabulous new eggplant Tory Burch bag for fall at the Saks, then had a pizza dinner and finally took the Vamoose back home. The weekend was non-stop, with crazy logistics and little sleep, but an incredible time with my wonderful husband. But after spending, our past four Friday nights at our rehearsal dinner in Spartanburg, the Viceroy and the only mexican restaurant in Anguilla, at Richard's cousin's rehearsal dinner in Knoxville, and then at the Serendipity in NYC, we will be content to spend this coming Friday night unpacking some boxes and watching a movie on the couch!