So when Anna came – delayed by the hurricane – that change finally arrived: it was what I had been looking forward to all summer, and meant that my final days were upon me – final days in the States, that is. But first my objective was to show her a good time, and enjoy it together, before heading off to London.
I had to make a plan. I love being a tour guide. I’m not a good one, but I like it. Now for someone coming to the States for the first time - and to New York, nonetheless - there is much to be seen and done, too much for 10 days, but I pieced together a decent plan and grumpily waited for Irene to pass.
It wasn’t until late at night that her flight came in to Newark and we were happily reunited. Ciao, amore!
The next morning, we had coffee and bagels on the dock. I think Anna was a bit startled by the view of the river from the bedroom, and the dock and the boats passing by; having coffee and bagels on the dock that first morning, she said, “This is paradise! I never want to leave!”Later on, JR agreed to take us to the beach on his boat. Previously I had told him that Anna wanted to cook for us, so I think that the anticipation of this made him eager to take us over. The weather was perfect, as was the ocean, and Anna seemed thrilled by the beauty of the beach, and the bouncy adrenalin rush of the ride in J’s boat.
The following day we threw a few Coronas in the cooler and went down to Sunken Forest on the boat. The name is a bit of a misnomer, a friendly ranger explained to us; most likely when Europeans came upon the beach and passed over the high dune to discover a low forest beyond it, it appeared to be “sunken”, hence the name. We had a nice walk along the wooded walk through the forest and then spent some time on the beach. The water again was gorgeous, and we enjoyed a delicious sandwich for lunch.
It's a robin, guys.
Since I hadn’t seen too much of my sister or father this summer, we all agreed to go up to Ithaca to visit Margaret. It was nice to see the new place she lives in, and to see Ithaca in the summer time. It was so green, idyllic, and peaceful that Anna said she wanted to move there.
Upon our arrival, Margaret took us to a hidden park around the corner for a barefoot hike. A barefoot hike! I was in raptures because if I can be barefoot, I’m there. We walked along the cool grass trail through the pastoral ochre meadows to a trail that lead into the forest and down to a large pool where two streams met. The cool water and shade felt good, and it felt almost like stepping back into a primeval forest. On our way back to the car, we encountered a large, natural beehive which Dad was tempted to molest. Lucky for us, he just wanted a photo op.
Much to her horror, Anna discovered a corpse on the trail.
Love the sinister look.
Now this particular weekend was a beery weekend, as the fifth annual Ithaca Beer Fest was being held, and Margaret had gotten us VIP tickets to the festival because she works for the Ithaca Beer Company. Saturday we were up early and set out on a hike to Tunghannock Falls. It was beautiful, but I thought it was more beautiful when I visited it in December and it was covered in ice. After that, we went to the brewery to taste all the beers they produce, and Margaret gave us a tour of the brewery, beer in hand, of course.
We then set out for the beer festival. Now I’m a beer nut, but with over 50 beers to sample, it was even a bit too much for me. Ironically, Margaret, who never used to like beer, has become even more of a beer nerd than me. Even more surprisingly, Dad has begun to share this enthusiasm for craft beer; he and Margaret hit the tents hard as soon as we got there, although throughout the duration of the festival they didn’t get too drunk. Myself, well, normally I would have gotten properly tanked, but I didn’t want to do that this time, so I volunteered myself to be the DD at the end of the festival so I would pace myself and drink lots of water. I did drink a lot but surprisingly, I didn’t get drunk, which proves that you don’t need alcohol to have a good time (but it sure as hell helps!!).
Down for the count after the fest
We returned to the Island on Sunday in overcast weather. On Monday, despite incoming rain, I took Anna to the lighthouse because she had wanted to go there. The weather held, and although it was windy, there was a decent view, and we enjoyed it. It later became overcast, and we made it home in time to start making gnocchi, which had the family gastronomically intoxicated at dinner. Grazie, amore.
We made it out to the city on Wednesday, finally. I know Anna had been dying to go there since she came, if not most of her life, and we had gone past the city a few times already, much to her chagrin, I imagine. We stayed in Prospect Heights with her ex-cum-best friend Luca and his boyfriend, Paolo. They were very kind, and they had us over a barrel one night over a Tibetan dinner arguing about “levels of hotness” (I have to say Luca made a good point). Hilarious.
Anyway, I tried to show Anna the city as best as I could. We did some touristy things, and non-touristy things. Pictures are better than words (sometimes) so I’ve included a few here to illustrate our city-escape.
Every state is the US has a nickname - New Jersey is "the Garden State", Pennsylvania is "the Keystone State", Florida is "the Sunshine State" and so on. I had such a great time with Anna here and, going around New York, I realized what a vibrant, diverse, and fantastic state it is: big city, empty beaches, idyllic mountains, wide rivers and lakes, and vast forests with abundant wildlife. And now I can see what New York's nickname is: truly, it is "The Awesome State".
