Friends in town

Nearly two weeks ago, three of my good friends from medical school clame to visit. Dave & Louisa live in Cleveland where they are in surgery, and Alison does OB/GYN with the military in Washington D.C. New York City, therefore, was a practical and fun place to meet in the middle. (The true geographical mean would have been somewhere in the countryside west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I found this spot by finding the midpoint between D.C. and NYC, and then going 1/3 of the way from that point to Cleveland. As satisfying as a true "meet in the middle" weekend would have been, NYC worked quite well.)

Fort Tryon Park overlooking the Hudson River

I met Alison at the train station, and then we had some tea at my apartment while we waited for Dave & Louisa to arrive, which they did around midnight. Thankfully, 1:00 AM is not too late to get a bowl of noodles for a late dinner near Columbia. (We were, however, warned at 1:15 AM that the restauarant closes at 2:00, and then at 1:45 we were hurried to slurp up the last of the noodles since the restaurant was officially closed. I could comment on the quality of service at Asian restaurants, but will wait for another post...)

The South Street Seaport. Very Navy Pier-esque (Chicago)

On Saturday we hung out at the South Street Seaport, bought discounted tickets for a show, ate cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery, toured and had coffee at the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, stopped by Rockefeller Center, and then saw The Producers. At another late dinner at the Chelsea Grill on Ninth Avenue, I had one of the best burgers I've ever had.

The big window at the Time Warner Center overlooking Columbus Circle

I ushered for the first time at church on Sunday. Fairly unremarkable, only more bulletin-folding than I expected. That, and people would look timidly at me when it was their time to go forward for communion. All I had to do was give a subtle nod and a smile, and people knew to go up! I bet one raised finger and a direct stare would slow down those attempting to go forward while the line was too long!

The cupcakes were worth the 30-minute wait at the Magnolia Bakery!

We finished the weekend with Dim Sum and then relaxed at my apartment while waiting for the appropriate time to leave for the airport. As fun as the weekend is, it was this last lazy hour or two of doing nothing at home that reminded me most of spending time with these friends in med school! It was great!