Things change.
Sometimes change is good........and this time it is very good.
My niece, Alexa, has been wanting to travel with her Bebe (me) for a long time. She always asked to go, but we would have to tell her she just wasn't old enough yet. Last summer when we went to Costa Rica and sadly left her behind, I told her that when she was 8 she would be old enough.
On December 29, this precious girl turned 8 and one of the first things she did was call me and remind me that she was now old enough to travel with me!
So, we planned a trip. She wanted to go to Paris but we thought maybe since this was our first trip we should keep it a bit shorter and more "domestic" than a trip to Paris, and so we settled on NYC. We tentatively set dates and she started researching everything she wanted to see. The girl DEFINITELY had a list!
As the summer began to unfold, I discovered I wouldn't be in Dallas at a good time for her to go on a trip, so we added a traveller....Cait would fly with her to NYC and meeet me there. Those of you who know Barbara or who follow this blog will not be suprised that it wasn't long before she was packing her bags we added the "Great Generation" to the trip. It became "We three, plus the wee one, see"!
I've seen some amazing places.....and sometimes get to see them with those I love most. But this trip, with my mom, healthy and vibrant enough to enjoy her granddaughters, and my daughter, now of an age to be nurturing and caring for our new young companion, and Alexa, who was able to remind us of the wonder of the sights seen through fresh 8 year old eyes........well, this trip was one filled with memories and love and excitement that can't be measured.
Though storms threatened to delay their departure from Dallas, luck was with us and the three of them arrived early on Wednesday morning. When I picked them up it was hard to tell who was more excited. Though NY was not new to Cait and Mom, it had been 5 years since Mom's last trip there and a couple since Caits. And to Alexa.....from the moment she stepped off the plan, everything was exciting and new and bigger than life!
We did it all.......
....two Broadway shows....Matilda and On the Town - both Great and very family friendly! (Matilda was what Alexa was really wanting to see and she happily sang along with the kids in the show.....no one around us seemed to mind!)
.....the Today Show,...where Alexa stood in one spot for nearly two hours for the chance to be on camera and show off her poster! She did it with a smile on her face and it worked...and her Nana made it on camera as well!
.....NYC Pizza...real Brooklyn Style.....from Juliana's (the family that originated Grimaldi's many years ago before they sold out!)
......The Statue of Liberty ...(where on the boat trip over we encountered that abundant creature, the inconsiderate tourist.....a woman who thought the perfect spot for her viewing pleasure and selfies was in the 1.5 foot space between our seats and the railing. Bless Her Heart!
...the 9/11 Memorial, somber and wonderful tribute to those who died at ground zero
....and then a much less somber and wonderful tribute to our country by two girls with literally "painted on" clothes. Alexa was fairly fascinated with these two, and when I asked her what she thought their dad's thought about them being in Times Square wearing nothing but some paint, she aptly said, "Probably sad and mad".
I'm sure Alexa will have lots of great memories from her first trip to NYC and her first "big girl" trip without her daddy.........but I will have priceless memories myself.
All of the laughs, the fun, the culture and sights we get to experience are wonderful......but to get to share these things with the women I hold most dear....to get to see things through the eyes of experience and wisdom, hearing the stories of how things used to be.....to get to see things through the eyes of a young adult, with her passionate and progressive view of the world around her....and now to get to see these things through the eyes of an 8 year old with her wide eyed wonder......I'm infinitely blessed!
We are family.....we are good travel companions.....and most of all, we are friends..
The car was quiet and lonely when I dropped them at the airport........but the memory of their laughter and stories filled my heart.
On the way to the airport I asked Alexa what her plans were for her next visit to NYC, she said she wanted to have lunch at the Plaza, go up in the Empire State Building and see more Broadway shows. When I reminded her that Annie was coming back to Broadway, she replied, "Yes Bebe....but that's not until the fall"! Yep....she's gonna be a traveler!
..................after she gets some rest!
