NYC with Steph - October 2013

Leslie, Keith and Steph at Plunge Rooftop Bar

Six months earlier, Stephanie had called Keith and asked us to join her in New York if she won the annual sales contest at work.  Not surprisingly Steph did win, so we were in for a weekend with Stephanie and her sister Leslie.

We were both supposed to fly in the Thursday night but Keith was re-directed to the east coast earlier for work so he headed to NYC via Atlanta and DC, arriving on Friday afternoon.  Shawna kept her original itinerary and checked into the usual Hyatt Grand Central on points and worked out of the hotel on Friday.  Keith arrived at LaGuardia at 4pm and was able to get to the hotel by 5:30 - time for a quick shower and change before heading to the rooftop bar at the Peninsula Hotel, Salon de Ning.  Stephanie and her sister Leslie were already there and we were able to get a small table quickly.  While we had seen Leslie a few times over the years, it was the most time we had spent with both Steph and Leslie in a long time and we had a blast. 

Keith and Steph at Whiskey Park

 Following drinks we took a cab down to Sushi Samba on Barrow.  We had a lot of shared plates and more than a few cocktails.  We wrapped up the night at Whiskey Park where we had some drinks and Leslie regaled us with stories of her time at that bar in her younger days!  We walked back to the hotel - with Shawna in a bit of pain with some ill-fitting shoes - to the point where she walked home barefoot instead!

High Line

New World Trade Center

On Saturday morning, we decided to walk the High Line, a public park built on an old elevated and abandoned railway track.  It fully opened in June 2011 but we had never been there.  It is a really beautiful use of an old track - very well done.  It was jammed with people walking it, but amazing nonetheless.  We had a little snack at the food pavilion at Taco Truck - quite delicious.  We then kept walking south through Hudson River Park to the World Trade Center site, where the new tower is still being constructed.  We were thinking of going to the memorial but when we got to the ticket office there was a massive line - so we bagged it knowing we could come back in a couple of years when it is all complete.  It was a two hour walk by then, so we decided to take a cab back to the hotel.  Shawna jumped out of the cab a bit early to do some shoe shopping (so she was not in pain two nights in a row) while Keith went back to the hotel for a nap.

For cocktails this evening, we met at the Gansevoort Hotel rooftop bar, Plunge.  The roof has amazing views of the meatpacking district and the Hudson River.  We then walked over to Buddakan for dinner - which for the life us we just can't remember if we had been there before.  We had a delicious dinner of shared plates in a really cool atmosphere.  We stopped at one bar on the way home and then said goodbye to Steph and Leslie.

Keith and Shawna at Plunge Rooftop Bar

On Sunday, we did our traditional workout around the park, going the full perimeter - two hours total from the room.  We wrapped up the weekend at lunch with Carmen and Lew at Demarchelier, a French restaurant on the upper east side.  Carmen and Lew had just flown in from Richmond so it was terrific that they were able to see us quickly.

Carmen, Keith, Shawna and Lew at Demarchelier