Saturday... in the Park...

I so wish I had a picture of Dan and I on bikes in Central Park. 

Central Park on a Saturday is CROWDED!!!

We rented bikes for an hour so had just enough time to do the 6 mile loop twice. 

We were definitely weaving through crowds of walkers, bikers, horse-drawn carriages and rickshaws! 

When we got past the Met, the crowds died down a bit, but we hit them as soon as we looped around back down to the 80's. It was a blast! And surprisingly good exercise!

I ditched Dan while he was getting a smoothie so I could get back to the hotel with enough time to shower and dress before we met Courtney. But when I got to the room he was already there. 

He totally ran while drinking his smoothie so he could beat me back.

We are too competitive about some things! But it made me laugh. Especially because I kept thinking,

"He's totally going to run back so he can beat me." Because of course that's what I would have done.

I would have run back to beat him beating me, except I wasn't entirely sure of where our hotel was

(something I realized after I started walking back alone). So I had to follow landmarks to get me back... too slowly, clearly!

We met Courtney and the boys and went to Columbia to see her lab.

It was so fun to picture Courtney in her element! Last time I was on campus with her was when I was there in August to find her apartment. So we walked all about campus exploring. 

And now she's a regular. I love that about life.

This photo doesn't quite do her lab work space justice because what you can't see is the whole bank of windows to her right!! They have 4 computers and desks set up in that area so each student has their own workstation. And they have natural light! It's awesome.

Cutest ever!

Showing off one of the many "clean" spaces they use to conduct research.

They are trying to keep the cartilage alive in some of their research, so it's necessary that the experiments are conducted in a sterile environment.

Her official letter of acceptance to the PhD program!!!!

Includes tuition and stipend for her work in the lab. 

And the stipend is almost enough to cover her budget. 

She's planning on continuing tutoring to make up the difference

 (right now she tutors a girl in high school a few times a week to make extra $$).

Such a cute family walking down the halls.

I'm sorry to post this when you have such a weird look on your face, Courtney!
But now that I'm thinking about it, I kinda recognize that look from when you were little. I think it means, "That's weird."

After Columbia, we got brunch and then were so excited to head to Brooklyn to take the kids to a cool flea market we found a couple of years ago. Sadly, it has moved locations and we didn't figure that out until we arrived and the lot was empty. The kids were planning on going to a record store in Brooklyn and Dan and I were going to the Botanical Gardens for the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival (shout out to Marty!). So we decided to go to the flea market the next time we're in New York and we parted ways.

Kids on a corner waiting for the Uber.

Well, the cherry blossoms had bloomed probably a week ago. The Botanical Gardens were Jam-Packed and apparently most people were there more for the festival and Cos-Play then the cherry trees blossoming. It was fun to walk around anyway and appreciate the gardens. And people-watch.

This gal grunge band was from Fukuoka! So we were excited about that.

Excited about Fukuoka. Not their grunge music!

We caught one still in bloom!

On our way back, we got off at the Grand Central Station exit so we could check it out.

It's big and beautiful with lots of shops and places to eat.

Constellation ceiling.

We met back up with the kids for dinner at "Pizza Beach" which I would not recommend again. 

On the Upper East Side -- fun and cute location and ambiance. But SUPER loud and the pizza had a healthy/different angle to its toppings. It was tasty, just mostly so loud it was annoying.

And you really can't beat Patsy's for sit-down. So why try.

Actually, Dan took me to a hole-in-the-wall side-street pizza place near our hotel and we shared a slice. It was delicious!! So yeah. We should have chosen something different for dinner.

Afterward we went back to Courtney's apartment and the kids ate ice cream. Dan went to the market around the corner and got berries and greek yogurt for dessert for us. 

We hung out and played "Psych," an app game I'd learned about with my friends in Midway.

It's a fun group game and made us all laugh!