We always knew my mom's cooking was amazing, but had no idea they had named a Times Square deli after her. Celebrity!
My parents wanted to see the Late Show studio, and, of course, the Hello Deli next door. I'm not sure what they were looking for in there, but I don't think they found it.
Unfortunately, we had to work during the week, so my parents ventured out on their own. They did a great job getting to and from all of the important landmarks - The Statue of Liberty, St. Patrick's Cathedral, The New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center, and the Empire State Building. They navigated the subway system well, minus one run-in where an angry lady with a stroller yelled at my mom in the subway car. Yikes! She was pretty shocked. Welcome to New York, we said.
For dinner one night, we went to Lombardi's, a historic pizzeria in New York. It was delicious, and due to a minor onion error, we ended up getting not one, but two of these huge pies! Needless to say, we had leftovers.
We enjoyed lots of great meals together. Before my parents came to visit, my dad informed me that he went to a great Greek restaurant when he visited London and that he'd like to go to one in New York. A pretty surprising request from a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, but I was happy they were willing to venture out. We went to Kefi, a Greek restaurant in our neighborhood, and we were all pleased with our selections!
Over the weekend, we rented a car and drove down to Washington, DC. My dad is especially passionate about politics, so this was a must-see.
Once we arrived in DC, we went straight to the Library of Congress, the United States Supreme Court, and the Capitol. It was Saturday, so my dad didn't get to see any of his favorite politicians, but who knows - maybe he'll be a politician in Washington someday.
We were lucky to see several memorials as well, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial.
After our whirlwind tour of Washington, DC, we drove to Baltimore to visit my mom's uncle Curt and aunt Susie. It was so nice seeing them and their children and grandchildren. They made us a nice meal and sent us on our way back to NYC.
Driving between NYC and Washington, DC is not for the faint of heart, which we found out the hard way. Because we had always taken the bus, we didn't notice how horrible and stressful the traffic was. Add to that the exorbitant tolls (one was $11!) and my dad's constant questioning about the name, history, and statistics of every bridge we passed - let's just say we won't be making that trip again anytime soon! We did have fun in the car together though, and it gave us a chance to talk and the flexibility to travel where we needed to go.
My parents' final day in NYC also happened to be their 30th wedding anniversary! As a gift from their daughters, we took them out to The Boathouse in Central Park for their anniversary dinner. A very swanky setting!
The next morning, they packed up and headed back to the farm. We're sure they were happy to be back to the peace and quiet of rural Minnesota and we were wishing we could do the same!
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