We had a 9:00 am pottery class in Williamsberg this morning so the alarm woke us up for the first time this trip. We pre-ordered our Starbucks breakfast and then walked to the subway to eat on the way.
Its hot. I mean mid-90s hot. And so hot surrounded by concrete with tall buildings blocking the breeze. My sweet girl did so well but clearly the temps were wearing on her.
I was feeling nervous about today… the temps are way outside of Sammy’s 82* tolerance; plus we were leaving manhattan and traveling further than I’d ventured on the subway. I had it all planned out and kept the route / directions pulled up on my phone. We left ourselves 60 mins to make the trip rather than the 30 the app recommended. Yet we still arrived 30 minutes late. First, we jumped on the wrong train… technically it was the correct train but heading in the wrong direction. I realized my mistake but wanted to give Sammy time to finish her breakfast so we went a little further before jumpin’ off to head back. When we arrived at the station to transfer, we saw our train and quick jumped on, only to discover we were once again going the wrong way. Ugh. We got off and found the right platform. A man encouraged us to get on another train that was available and waiting, saying it was going to the same station, so we boarded. I quickly called the pottery studio to tell them we’d be 10 mins late as we waited on the final train. But within moments they announced that the train wouldn’t be leaving any time soon as there was an issue on the tracks. They recommended alternative routes… I was not prepared for that so we headed up to the surface and looked for a cab. Literally a car pulled up to the curb in front of us and we got on. Thank you Jesus!
So just to be clear… I was nervous about the travel. So I had looked at hiring a car $175. Or scheduling a cab $50. But ultimately decided on the subway $5.50. But here we are sitting in a cab ANYWAY… and it still cost me $50. But it was relaxed and air conditioned. Phew.
I wasn’t sure what to expect as we walked through this small and crowded little studio until we went out the back door into this lovely green space outdoors. Our teacher was wonderful. She was kind and very knowledgeable and was so patient with us. She was engaging with Sam and it made for a great time!
I loved feeling the clay slide through my hands. It was incredibly relaxing and I can see why people enjoy it so much as a hobby. Beyond the relaxation, there was some good life lessons in it.
- you cannot be too set on the finished project as sometimes it just doesn’t work out the way we plan or hope
- you cannot rush it… faster isn’t always better
- sometimes the clay is just done (over saturated) or tired and you need to just start over.
- It’s all practice. Even if you do start over, the time wasn’t wasted if it was spent learning and growing.
We each made three pieces in the allotted time. We help clean up and left shipping instructions, then headed out again to tackle the transit system.
The first train went smooth but once again I got messed up on the transfer. We got on and then quickly off the south bound train and then I walked in circles trying to figure out what I was missing. Finally realized we were on the wrong side of the tracks but didn’t know how to get there so we stopped to ask for help. Then it was pretty smooth sailing on our way uptown.
Did I mention it’s 95* outside and what I never realized in the movies is that the subway tunnels are SO much hotter. Oh my - we both had sweat dripping off us.
When we popped back up on the street level, there was a Starbucks calling out to us. We stopped to wait for our order… but we didn’t mind. They had air conditioning and free samples.
Then we went back to the hotel to cool off, relax a bit and get cleaned up - we were a mess!
After a little rest time, I asked Sammy how she’d like to spend our afternoon. She got a little smirk and I knew I was in trouble. How might one decide to spend their free time in NYC? Sammy chose to return to the movie theater and watch the same movie we saw yesterday. So, because it’s all about enjoying our time together (and I’m a sucker for that smirk) we headed out to the theater once again.
We arrived a little early but decided to grab a snack for lunch. We split some chicken strips and mozzarella sticks and played some Five Crowns while we waited. The movie was excellent … even for the third time!
After the credits, we headed downstairs and walked over to the Gershwin Theater. We stepped into a McDonalds to grab a drink and wait in the cool air.i. Then it was on to Wicked. This is one of the hottest shows right now on Broadway. The Gershwin seats 1933 people and frequently sells out.
The show was amazing. It was Sammy’s first time seeing it. The costumes and sets were incredible but the vocalists knocked it out of the park. Really excellent show!
We had a fairly long walk to get back to the hotel when we got out at 10:15 pm. I noticed some drops of rain on the vehicles and knew that if it started raining, we’d never get a cab. So we grabbed a rickshaw instead… and travelled through Times Square in style :)
Once we got back to our room, I ordered some pizza for supper so Sammy and I enjoyed a selection of pizza flavors in bed tonight. Now it’s time to unwind and snuggle in.
Tomorrow is our last full day here… but we don’t have anywhere to be til the afternoon. So no alarm for us!
