I also survived a hurricane. Fhew!

What an exciting last week of my time in New York City. An earthquake and a hurricane. On the bright side, my parents came into town. Although the city shut down and we weren't able to do much Saturday or Sunday, we still managed to have some fun and see the sites.

On Friday, we rented bikes and road them around Central Park. It was a beautiful day but got a little hot as I was peddling up the hills. Some of them were pretty steep. And the ride reminded me that I need to get myself into shape!

Next, we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was a lovely ferry ride to the islands and fun to share the sites with my parents. They became photographers for the other tourists snapping pictures of Lady Liberty.

For dinner that night, I took my parents back to Da Gennero in Little Italy and couldn't resist having gnocchi with pesto again. Strolling along Mulberry Street at night was one of my favorite things to do in New York.

Saturday and Sunday, the city shut down. I never thought I'd see the streets of Manhattan resemble a ghost town. Thankfully, it was just rainy and especially windy in my area. No flooding or power outages. But we were prepared for the worst, just like Mayor Bloomberg asked.

On Monday we went shopping in SoHo at Uniqlo and Madewell (my two new favorite stores) and I got some cute new shirts. For a late lunch, we went to Carnegie Deli (which I don't have a pictures of) and the three of us split one of their famous and gigantic corned beef sandwiches with cheese, sauerkraut, rye bread, and thousand island dressing. It was a strange, delicious combination and an overwhelming amount of meat. To finish we had a massive slice of blueberry cheesecake. Needless to say it was an amazing lunch that kept me full until the next morning.

Tuesday, we woke up early, flew all day, and finally made it back to Boise. This was our welcome home present:

A dead bird on our front porch. Ew.

Now I'm home again and it's like I never left. Everything is the same, though they are redoing the roads to there is fresh tar everywhere. And technically speaking, there wasn't a dead bird on the front porch when I left. I've unpacked and settled back into my room for a few days before I repack tonight to drive down to Utah to visit my family. It will be so great to see them, especially my new niece Daphne who I have yet to see in person. Once we get back I'll have a day or two before I head back to school. I think I brought the hurricane back with me in the form of non-stop scheduling.

It's September 1st. Summer is officially over. No more exciting posts about my adventures in New York. No more sleeping in (not that I do that because I'm still on Eastern Time). No more camping, boating, or swimming at Grandma Betty's pool. Oh wait. I didn't do any of those things since I wasn't home. Well, I still missed them.

R.I.P. Summer of 2011. Happy birthday Fall. And my nephew Blake.

He's 5 today and as cute as ever. Yes, I am his favorite aunt. Of course.