nyc

This past weekend, Jeff and I were able to take a little trip sans children to New York City. We've been planning this weekend for some time because our very dear friends, Laura and Charlton Wimberly, were planning to do the same. It was actually the Wimberlys idea as they decided to take a weekend away from Houston, and they invited us to join them...for which we were very glad. They are friends of ours from our days in Philadelphia at Tenth Presbyterian and whenever they are on the east coast and in driving distance, we love to meet up with them.

We started the weekend by driving to NJ on Friday evening and staying with our friends Daphyn and Rich Hauck who live in an apartment overlooking Manhattan. The view from their deck is amazing. Unfortunately, my attempt to capture it was hindered by my shivering in the cold. But, hopefully you can get an idea from the picture, anyway. (Rich, if you're viewing this, don't be too mad at me. I know my picture does your view little justice and that you could capture it in a far exceedingly better way, but I had to show off your apartment with whatever evidence I had.)

Saturday, Jeff and I went into the city armed with great ideas for sightseeing and eating from Daphyn and Rich, as well as a few ideas of our own. We met up with the Wimberlys for breakfast. The weather was perfect and it was a great day for walking in the city. All of us had already seen the usual sightseeing spots in NY on previous visits, so we had a great time doing things that were less touristy (if that's possible in nyc) and more catered to our personal interests. We visited the public library and enjoyed the beauty of the building inside and out.
We also had lunch in Soho at a restaurant that Laura had heard about. It was the Chinatown Brasserie and we shared many orders of dumplings and potstickers and a fantastic pot of jasmine green tea.

Speaking of tea, my favorite stop of the day was at McNulty's Tea and Coffee Shop in Greenwich Village. A visit to McNulty's is like a journey into another century. Upon entering the dark little store, you can smell the many aromas of teas and coffees from around the world. There are sacks of coffee and chests of tea stacked and stored all over the shop. The bins, chests, and scales, with which these products are stored and handled, date back to the previous century when the store was originally opened. Every kind of loose leaf tea I could imagine was sold there, as well as tea accessories that I had been searching for.

Saturday night, we split ways with the Wimberlys as they had tickets for a Broadway Show. After checking into our hotel, Jeff and I searched out a Thai restaurant that Daphyn recommended. I thoroughly enjoyed my pad thai.

On Sunday, we were able to visit Redeemer Presbyterian at their Upper East Side service and hear their pastor, Tim Keller, preach. We had been looking forward to visiting and hearing Dr. Keller preach and it was a joy to see a city church thrive and teach the gospel in a difficult urban environment when all common sense seems to say that it shouldn't work.

It was really a fun weekend for Jeff and I. It was good to have some time together just the two of us, to see old friends and have the opportunity to explore a city. Urban exploration is one of our favorite things to do together. A city, any city, holds so much in it and can be enjoyed in so many ways. The kids had a good time with my parents. It was altogether a great weekend.