When Life Delays Your Flight... Make Lemonade!

When life delays your flight... make lemonade.  I think that's how the saying goes, anyway, right?  Or maybe they say "go to New York City".  Let me think about that for a minute...

Today has been insane.  And I am full of energy and thrilled for the adventure.  It's quite a ride.  For the last week and a half, I've been here in upstate New York, in the Adirondacks - by Lake George.  It was the ultimate escape with no cell service, no worries, very little internet, hardly any people for miles.  Just lots and lots of nature.  What an experience!  And it drove me crazy to be that disconnected...  I have work to do!  People to call, photos to upload, and blog posts to write!  Well, I found a little bit of internet to check in from time to time and I went through all the withdrawal symptoms from the phone.  It was remote and beautiful.  I feel much more peaceful now.

Today, that visit came to an end when I rode the 3 hours with my little sister and her family to Albany airport, several hours early because they were on a different flight.

Their flight left at 1 and mine left at 5:15, so I located a great little place called Blu Stone Bistro on Yelp with internet so I could work, eat, drink, and experience something about Albany other than the airport.  Then I was going to walk the 2 miles with my 3 bags to the airport.  Sounded like an experience worth having.  Maybe even fun.  The address was wrong, my brother in law was running late, and when they finally found it and dropped me off, the bistro was closed.  I had 3 hours to kill, then I would have 30 minutes with the bistro open until I needed to start walking.  It's almost comical how everything went wrong.  So I went to the lobby of this beautiful hotel and awkwardly piled my luggage on the floor of their cafe - this cafe was also closed.  Aaaaand the internet required a password, so I edited photos and made my work to do list for the next 3 days while listening in on a job interview and an awkward family fight also in the lobby.  Then I got a call - my flight was delayed an hour and a half!  This means I have an extra hour to enjoy the Blu Stone Bistro while it was open! :)  I will miss my connecting flight in Chicago and I'll figure that out when I get there!  I grabbed my bags and walked along the rather busy highway to find something, anything with wifi until 3 pm.  I ended up at a Starbucks for a couple hours, then back to the bistro.  Now, I love days like this.  In one sense, everything goes wrong.  In another sense, it's an unexpected adventure where nothing goes as planned - which is perfect.  I thrive off of that energy.  And all the people on the highway in Albany, NY waving to the girl walking on the shoulder laughing to herself because there is nothing to do but laugh.

All of a sudden, I get an ingenious idea!  instead of going to Chicago and figuring it out, why don't I try to go somewhere awesome for the night?  I have always wanted to see the Tuesday night jazz club at Mona's in NYC.  And indeed, we have lemonade.  I actually get money back from the airline by hopping on a bus and flying out of New York tomorrow instead of sleeping in the Chicago airport and flying out there tomorrow... So here I am, on a bus on my way to New York City with more money in my pocket, drinking my figurative lemonade (from the lemons I was given) and watching the real sunset go down over the city.  I get to go dancing, listen to incredible jazz, meet up with some childhood friends, take photos, and feed off of the energy of this incredible city.

From one perfect escape in the middle of nowhere to the exact opposite with the rush of people and crazy everywhere - and also perfect.

Now, last time I was in New York City was 2012, on the way to and from Europe.  I photographed a beautiful wedding in Holland, and spent an month discovering NYC, Ireland, England, Spain, Holland, and NYC again.  A few of my photos from that trip here:

  

Wish me luck!  And I'll see y'all again in Salt Lake in a couple days :)

New York City - Central Park

A new adventure, a chance to meet new people, see new places, take some awesome photos, and re-discover myself.  Here's the plan:

New York City this weekend, staying with my older sister Jasmine, traveling with my sister-in-law Annie, lots and lots of walking, a little bit of shopping, and a chance to feel the energy of a new city.  It is, after all, a little bit different than Salt Lake!

This evening, I leave for Ireland, where I'll travel around with Annie (luckily she's been there before) and see Dublin, Galway, and some other places I've never heard of.  But I've seen P.S. I Love You, so I know it will be absolutely beautiful!  (In case any clarification was needed, I'm talking about the countryside, not the men.)

After Ireland, I say goodbye to Annie and meet Thomas in London for a couple days, then on to Madrid for a week and Holland for a few days and an incredible wedding.  What a month we have planned!  You will not be able to reach me via phone over the next few weeks, but feel free to email. And I'll be back home at the end of May.

Here's part I from my trip - Central Park and the New York Skyline.  Well, not really the skyline, but some part of it - tall buildings and the sky.  Does that count?

I walked by the bridge several times and I just loved the way the light hit it this afternoon.  I took a nap on the other side - if you look really closely, there are some giant rocks.  Actually quite comfortable!  What I've thought was most interesting about New York, though, is how I can sit and have hundreds of people around me and still feel alone.  Because people are always around, everyone's developed a way of going about their lives anyway.  Street music, families playing, couples practicing martial arts, people napping, walking, jogging, sitting...  And yet it's as if I was there as an audience member, not part of the play.  There is such an amazing energy when that many people come together, but everyone has their own story, their own purpose to their day.  Fascinating.

One of my favorite movies is "Elf," and I discovered that his advice is true "Careful! The yellow ones don't stop!" ^

And the view from the park at night.  If I could take awesome night shots like this all day, I would be very happy (hrmmm... that doesn't make much sense, does it?)

So thank you New York for a new perspective and a new experience.  And for taking care of my sister, glad I got to see Jasmine too.