Remember that one time when I went to NY on the China Bus and we got a flat tire on the way there AND on the way back??

Yah, well that was this past weekend. We all decided to take a quick rendezvous up to New York City to have a break from DC life.

My time in New York was fabulous! It was just the trip up there and back that proved trying for my impatient soul. We decided to take the China Bus because it was a whopping $35 round trip ticket. Can't get any better than that, right? Well, you get what you pay for I suppose. On Friday night we left for NY at 4pm. An hour or so outside of Baltimore we hear a "thunk" and lo and behold...a flat tire. The bus driver pulled us over somewhere in Delaware or whatever forsaken land it was and we sit there for 2 hours while the bus driver (who can barely speak a lick of English) reassures us that the tire will be changed in a half hour to an hour. WRONG. Think again, it took 2 hours.

In the meantime we got restless so we all hopped off the bus and started running around to get some wiggles out.

Here's a picture of all of us in front of MVP bus. The ironic thing is that this bus service is definitely NOT the Most Valuable Player of any kind. Kristen, Meggie, Me, Amber, and Carolyn.


I think everyone thought we were some crazies on something...but I assure you that the only thing that could make us act like that is a few pieces of chocolate and a restless body that wanted to scream out in frustration.

We even had a race to pass the time. You can barely see us but we did race. I lost.



Anyway, the rest of New York was wonderful! Once we got to NYC, I immediately hopped off the bus, hailed a taxi, shared the Gospel with the taxi driver, and caught the 11:45 train to Tuckahoe within 20 minutes. I am so proud of my city-savvy skills. Pat on the back.

Kathryn graciously picked me up around midnight. The next morning, I helped out with Matty's B-day party, caught up with Kim and Gavin, then headed over to the city to see my friend, Greg, who currently lives there. We went out to a Belgian restaurant, an indoor flea market, and walked the Brooklyn Bridge.

Here we are on the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. Notice the Statue of Liberty in the background. Dang, I look short in this picture (if you thought I was going to say, "Dang I look hot in this picture" you can insert that sentiment too).

Kathryn then met up with me at Grand Central. We walked around Times Square and thought about buying Wicked tickets from a scalper but after we walked after him we realized that they were very possibly fake so we bagged the idea.

Here I am in Times Square in my usual attire. I didn't even take a picture with Kath! Sorry Kath!

Sunday was spent going to church with the Newmans and seeing Mark play Bishop. I had a wonderful time seeing them and it was oh so short! Sammy asked me (with a mouthful of M&M's) if I was going to visit again and I reassured him that I would. Thanks for hosting me!

Oh...and of course, the China Bus once again; it did not fail us in getting yet another flat tire an hour outside of Baltimore. I swear, these things must be planned or something. Luckily this time we were actually at a rest stop where toilet paper actually existed in the bathrooms. You gotta see the silver lining in all things. Oh...but the scary thing was not the sketchy bus driver this time, no. The scary thing is that we never got the flat fixed so we drove for 2 hours on a bus with a flat tire back to DC. I said many prayers that night. I blasted my ipod with Enya in hopes that I could ignore the raucous. It worked.

Bottom Line: NYC was incredibly fun and I had a glorious time with friends and family. However, China Bus...not so fabulous. I will never require your services again, thank you...I will not come again.