a bite of the Big Apple (Pie)

A whirlwind trip to NYC and boy, did we cram a lot into our time there!  We were there to visit friends, and I felt like I crossed every bridge in the city a hundred times.  Good thing they were so attractive!

Since I've been to the city a few times before and done a lot of the touristy things already, I decided to focus on a new objective:  thrift stores and famous bakeries. 

We hit three thrift stores (found a great vintage corduroy jacket and a winter coat!) and oh, did we eat!

Authentic New York bagels, cinnamon babka, the famous Levain cookie (gnawed around the edges in the photo above), ice cream, pizza.  So...much...food. 

We took the subway 25 minutes uptown and walked an additional 30 minutes for that Levain cookie, and it was so worth it!

Two words:  THEY SHIP.

I loved seeing the graffiti around the city...

...and a surprising amount of green space and rooftop gardens!

We went to Central Park and the MET gift shop...not enough time to do it justice!

We also went to the New York Botanical Garden...expensive, but SO pretty.

We went to the Long Island shore for a hike...gulls!  :)

We went to Upstate NY and visited Jones Family Farms in the Hudson Valley...

...where we had still-warm spicy apple cider donuts.  YUM.  We also took a 3-hour boat tour of the Hudson...

...saw West Point...

...and a gorgeous sunset.

We visited George Washington's headquarters on the Hudson.

Oh, and Todd got to see lots of old friends!

Check out this cake...another contributor to the 5 pounds we each picked up over the long weekend!

We ate too much and slept too little, but had a great time.  Still, felt pretty good to be back home again! 

Two weeks 'til our NEXT road trip...Nashville, here we come!