We drove into New York at sunset. Jonah had slept most of the way, but the boys played happily in the backseat for the last 45 minutes while Adam and I talked quietly in the front. More and more often as we approached the city, Isaac asked: "Are we in New Yawk?...Is this New Yawk?" I don't know how he ended up pronouncing it like that, but it was adorable and sounded just like my Aunt Ellen.
We showed him how quickly the farmfields change to dense housing, then the double-decker George Washington bridge looming before us that would take us into the city. We told him - our boy who loves to go "downtown" - how New York was like one big downtown. He watched everything, fascinated.
Then he fell asleep as we drove through part of Spanish Harlem with its flurry of people and blinking lights and honking cars that crept past it all, red light to red light. Then the Hudson in the glow of sunset and city lights, with admirers on park benches and runners on footpaths silhouetted before it - the boys missed that too, but Adam and I took it in as we made our way to Jane and Greg's place.
We'd heard about the view from their apartment, but I was still in awe as we stepped through the door and faced a wall of windows bright with the shimmering lights of hundreds of skyscrapers, divided far below by a long, double red line of taillights.
A quick tour, change of clothes, then we were off to dinner at Nobu. Stepping out onto the streets of New York was a particular thrill for a little boy who loves "downtown" and all the vehicles that go with it. Cars, buses, taxis, sirens, plus the blur of activity and lights and such a cross-section of humanity packed into a small area. Exciting, but overwhelming too. Another new thrill was the subway, which we rode to dinner. It was such a big deal that he had to concentrate very hard as he took it all in.
Jonah, meanwhile, seemed to notice only that we were NOT in a car. He was very happy about that, as he chugged his milk and grinned at BaBop.
My dad might have been the first person Jonah really trusted aside from Adam and me. When he'd picked him up out of the car just after we'd arrived, Jonah wrapped his arms around him and gave him a long hug. In the subway, he eventually left me and asked BaBop to hold him.
At dinner, we were too busy eating, drinking, laughing, and playing with the boys to take any pictures. They both loved the food too - Isaac had a pile of empty edamame pods next to him that probably equaled his own bowl. He also loved the fried rock shrimp, and both boys ate salmon and 2 bowls of sticky rice.
When we got off the subway and came back out onto the street, Isaac discovered the vents in the sidewalk. If you look down, you can see the trains speeding by below as they hurry in and out of the station.
Isaac was fascinated.
He stayed in this position for a while.
Finally we had to pull him away.
This cell phone shot looks like an abstract painting, but you can see that Isaac was enveloped in the love and special attention of his aunts right away.
It was also pretty cool that we had to ride an elevator on a regular basis. Isaac was the official button-pusher.
This was our first time sleeping all in the same room, and I'd been a little worried about the boys waking up. But it worked out with ease, and we were happy that Jane and Greg had an extra bedroom, especially once we saw our amazing view. Here is Isaac settling in with some light bedtime reading.
With the lights out, I lay my sleeping Jonah in the borrowed pack-and-play and marveled at the soft glow that filled the room. Out our window - a thousand nightlights.
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