Five Nights and Three Kids in Manhattan

Last week, Sumie and I undertook what many would think to be a foolish endeavor. We packed up our three children (7, 3, and 16 months) and boarded a plane for NYC. The Upper West Side of Manhattan would be our home for five nights as Sumie attended a medical conference for three days up at Columbia. It had been over two years since our last trip and we had dearly missed our adopted home town. Would we still love our favorite city? And would I survive three days roaming the streets of Manhattan alone, defenseless, portly, and horrifically susceptible to high humidity while keeping  three young children from falling into open sidewalk doors and jumping into traffic?

Day 1: Relearning the City
We arrived quite late on Tuesday night thanks to a three hour delay, most of which was spent in the plane on the tarmac. Not fun with a toddler. After getting into our hotel and then heading out to pick up some pizza, we all fell asleep.

Sumie woke early on our first day to head up to her conference. The kids were enjoying a chance to sleep in, particularly Mari.

We planned to keep the day simple: a chance to get our bearings and for me to see just how hard it would be to manage the kids on my own walking through the Manhattan streets. We started by hitting up Zabar's for some rugelach. They are still the best.

We then walked down 76th where I showed the kids where their mother and father first lived together in Manhattan. It was very nostalgic to see our first apartment together, but the kids were, um, underwhelmed. 

The opposite was true when we went down to Riverside park. They had a chance to climb all over the play structures...

...and to cool off in the elephant fountains. NYC children's parks are some of the best.

After three hours on the streets, in 90+ degree weather with 100% humidity, we were all melting and ready for some quiet time back at the hotel. Just as we had cooled down, Sumie arrived and it was time to head to one of our favorite restaurants: Yakitori Totto. This place has some of the best Japanese skewers to be found anywhere and we knew the kids would love it.

Well, the kids loved it, but they were also kids. 

Mimi, Kuri, and Mari all ate well...

...but in order to reign in the chaos, we polished off a 1.5 hour meal in 40 minutes. When we left, there was probably a full serving for someone on the floor under the table. 

The meal was a mixed bag: fantastic food, but man, was it different with kids. The evening ended wonderfully, though. Instead of taking a taxi or the subway back up to our hotel, we decided to walk. With the kids getting a a little tired, they weren't so hard to wrangle. At least until we got to Lincoln Center.

Since we'd been there, they had installed an amazing new fountain, one that you can really interact with.

At times it would act just like a normal fountain...

...but without warning, it would then morph into the water version of a fireworks display, with massive geysers shooting into the air at random and crashing down on anyone who dared sit on the stone ring surrounding it.

Mimi and Kuri left Lincoln Center well entertained...and quite wet.

Day 2: American Museum of Natural History
This day was hot. And not just hot because after living in the Bay Area I've become a weather pansy, but hot for NYC. Hot for the equator. Hot for the face of the sun. We decided to mush our way over in increasingly sweat-sogged clothes to cool off at the American Museum of Natural History. Dinosaurs were up first.

This kids particularly liked the massive tortoise!

I had planned to do a picnic lunch with the kids in Central Park, but as sitting outside for more than twelve minutes would've resulted in heat stroke, we picked up burgers and shakes from Shake Shack and headed back to the hotel for an indoor picnic.

In the afternoon, we explored the bottom half of the museum, with Mari eventually running amok under the giant blue whale for about an hour. 

Thankfully, by around 7, it had cooled down enough for us to dine alfresco. And what better place to do that, as the sun is setting, than at the Boat Basin. This is a cafe and bar hidden under the traffic circle on 79th west of the Henry Hudson Parkway. My friend Beau, one of the boys from my official hometown and also now an adoptee of NYC, joined us for dinner and drinks.

 Here are Mimi and Kuri checking out the sunset from our table overlooking the Hudson river.

After dinner, Beau and I saw off the family and headed down the street to The Dublin House for drinks and conversation. And more drinks. 

Day 3: The Lunch Adventure is Not Included in This Edition
Tired from the long day, the kids slept in late once again. Kuri woke to find that his big sister had placed a corvette on his head while he was sleeping.

Mari found this quite amusing.

Sumie had the middle of the day free, so we decided to visit one of our favorite restaurants, Beyoglu, on the Upper East Side, and then visit our apartment building. For me, this meant getting crosstown with three kids on my own. And that meant a taxi. Now, assuredly, getting all three kids and a stroller into a taxi on my own was probably easier than getting them on a bus, but it was still one of the most complex endeavors I have ever undertaken.

Sumie met us at Beyoglu and, unfortunately, Mari became inconsolable about two minutes after we sat down. By the time the appetizers arrived, Sumie was already walking out the door with her. 15 minutes later, we swapped so she could enjoy the warm entrees. When Mimi was only a few months old, we'd had a similar experience with her at a nice restaurant in the city. Our luck with restaurants and kids had struck again.

But the day was far from a total loss. By the time we reached our apartment near York Avenue, Mari was back to her old self. This is building in which Mimi had spent her first year of life.

Kuri and Mari had never seen it. We took pictures in front of the spiral staircase leading to our apartment...

 ...in the hallways leading to the courtyards...

...and, of course, in front of the main entrance.

Sumie and I had taken a similar picture here of just the two of us over 7 years ago, well before Mimi was born.

 We also stopped off at John Jay Park, which borders our building, to let the kids play. Kind of amazing to think what it would be like to have this as a back yard for all three kids.

We weren't up for going out that night, so I took the kids to Fairway for some combat shopping and some pre-made meals. God I miss this market. Everything from Frosted Flakes to 20 day dry aged ribeye steaks.

Day 4: All Together Now
With the conference over, Sumie was now free to join us for a full day of fun. We had plans to meet friends from Sumie's medical school days downtown at her friend Kar-Mun's apartment near Union Square. This meant taking the subway. And that mean Kuri was excited.

Even Mari, who is usually pretty stoic, was intrigued to see the subway coming.

We managed to find ourselves on a car without working air conditioning, but at least that meant we had room for the stroller and seats for the kids. It also meant they got a chance to enjoy an authentic NY subway experience.

Kar-Mun and her husband's apartment was amazing: a two bedroom loft just off Union Square. Sumie and I could picture living there. Well, with one kid, not three. We met more friends there, Jen and Drew, also from medical school. Lots of kids, but the apartment served us all well.

After lunch, we headed to Washington Square park with Jen and Drew and their two kids to let them work out some energy. 

Then after playtime, we walked the downtown streets toward Yakiniku West for some Japanese BBQ and, hopefully, a place where the kids couldn't cause too much destruction.

Once again, there are no pictures of dinner, but unlike at Beyoglu, the reason was that we were all having too much fun. Yes, the kids were all over the place, and yes there was one instance of projectile vomiting, but because we had a semi-private room upstairs all to ourselves, it didn't matter!

We topped up the kids with ice cream...

...took some silly pics...

...and then headed back to our hotel for our last night in the city.

Day 5: Central Park and Our Return Home:
That night the kids cuddled in the window box and then settled down to rest up for our last half day in the city.

We only had a few hours to spare before heading to the airport, so we decided to hit Central Park, which we hadn't so much as entered on our entire stay despite being only a few blocks away. We explored the countless pathways...

...Mimi adventurously climbed so rocks...

...and Kuri did the same, though somewhat more timidly.

I'd forgotten just how special a place Central Park is. In the right area, it takes just a few steps for the city to disappear and to find yourself surrounded by green.

 We finished up our trip rounding up a few souvenirs...

...and hitting the flea market I attended every weekend when I lived on the West Side.

Before we knew it we were in an Uber heading for Newark airport. Upon returning home, we marveled at the perfect weather, happy to be back home, but also still missing our adopted city. We learned a couple things on this trip. We learned that life in Manhattan is tremendously different with three kids, but we also knew we'd definitely be bringing them back.

San Franciscans' Weekend Strategy: Escape the City!

It's a very odd practice for us, having come from Manhattan.

In NYC, we would "weekend" in the city.  Granted, we didn't have the money for a place in the Hamptons, but I don't think that's why we so often decided not to leave the island.  First off, I never wanted to give up my parking spot.  On most Fridays I would've fought for at least an hour to find one, so there was no way I was leaving just to go through that again.  Another reason was the accessibility of the city.  We could get anywhere via cab, subway, or shoes.  And the wealth of options for entertainment was, quite simply, more than we could ever ask for.  Sometimes we'd simply stay in just because there were too many options from which to choose.

In San Francisco, however, there seems to be a pervasive culture of "escaping the city" on the weekends.  Perhaps I'm wrong in this - having lived here only two months, and in the Richmond District at that - but I've definitely gotten the impression that most San Franciscans use their weekends not to explore the city, but the achingly beautiful natural wonders that surround it.

I've been trying to figure out why this is.  Part of it, I think, has to do with how transportation in the city works.  A combination of MUNI buses and BART can get you places, but not very conveniently and not with much stuff.  A car, however, can get you anywhere.  And unlike Manhattan, parking is relatively convenient and inexpensive.  More difficult than most cities, but still quite manageable.  With SF still being geared toward the car, despite the almost militaristic bicycle lobby, most residents still own at least one.  And this, I think, leads many SF residents to explore beyond the boundaries of home.  That and a lot of fog!

It's a very different way of living, I have to admit, but Sumie and I are getting used to it.  This weekend started for us on Friday, when we drove the 5 blocks (this would never have happened in Manhattan) to go to "Ju-Ku," a Japanese izakaya in the Richmond District.

Mimi, for once, was actually relatively well behaved.  Maybe she knew just how much her father wanted to enjoy his kushiage (Japanese fried food on sticks).  Dinner was very good, and featured the best Japanese fried chicken (karaage) that I've had in years.  Better than my own.  I left the restaurant very satisfied and a little envious.

On Saturday we headed up to Mill Valley, a small town off 101 in Marin County, to visit a great toy store we'd learned about and to explore Marin a bit more.  We really loved it up there.  It's strange.  In NYC, 10 to 15 miles out of Manhattan felt like an eternity, but here it feels absurdly close.  I can't help but think that we'll probably end up outside of San Francisco proper in a few years.  Well, we'll see.  Perhaps I'll look back on this entry in a year or two and be amazed at how ignorant and naive I'd been.

From Mill Valley we drove up to what must have been California's busiest In-n-Out Burger.  It was well worth the wait, though.  Those burgers never get old.  I can taste them now, actually.

After lunch we headed down, and then back up, into the the Marin Headlands.  What a perfect day for it.  Completely clear and a sunny 70 degrees.  This was, I think, around the time NYC was going through a snowstorm.  I guess some things are better on the west coast.  The view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate from the headlands was breathtaking.  Naturally, I had forgotten my good camera, so these pics come via iPhone.  They don't really do the sight justice.  

I've loved the Marin Headlands since I was a kid.  One of the primary reasons are the numerous military installations, particularly cannon batteries, that dot the area.  We visited the "Wallace Battery," constructed in 1942 out of fear of a possible Japanese attack on the West Coast.  The cannon are gone, but the fortifications remain.

Nature has definitely been creeping back, but that makes the sites all the more fun to explore.  Mimi enjoyed "foofing" seeds from a puff-plant (wish I knew the name of it as, given that I don't, I'm going to be shunned by my botanically pretentious sister).

Getting out of the city really was a welcome change.  And I've a feeling that if I lived outside SF, coming in for a dinner or a trip to the museum would feel just as exciting.  Looking forward to learning more about where our family be on the bay in the years to come.

Boxing Up Memories

The last few days have been spent in a sea of boxes, bubble-wrap, clothes to keep, clothes to donate, clothes I wish fit but assuredly don't, and lots and lots of memories.  As such, the apartment has become a bit more difficult to navigate, both physically and mentally.  Mimi's adapting well, though.  She's turned the house into her own personal obstacle course.

Sumie and I have been married a little over 5 years now, but we've known each other for nearly 14.  With moving from California to Japan, then to NYC, and now back to the west coast, each item still with us is a reminder of a step in the journey we've taken together.  Boxing up my stereo today was a complete mini-trek through my life, so far, with Sumie.  Here's a component-by-component recap:

1. ADS 710 Speakers:  I purchased these late '70s beauties from a family friend shortly before I met Sumie.  They are not the most accurate, but they sound faithful, human, and warm.  I'd finally found what I was looking for in a speaker.  Now if only I could find a girl... 
2. NAD AV713 Amplifier:  Purchased from "Sounds by Dave" in Chico also shortly before I met Sumie.  I now had the amp and the speakers, but no one to share them with.  
3. Mirage 12in Subwoofer / Invisible Speaker Cable:  I bought these about a year after meeting Sumie, along with a pair of rear-channel speakers, and they were her first experience with my audio "habit."  I was attempting to take my system to the next level by turning it into a home theater.  Was I also trying to take my relationship to the next level?  Perhaps.  But, as I have learned, purchasing audio equipment is generally not the best way to impress your honey.  In fact, it's rather one of the dumbest. 
4. Elekit TU-878 CD Player:  This was a Christmas/Birthday present from Sumie, given to me almost 10 years ago.  It remains the only piece of audio equipment Sumie has ever bought for me (yes, I had wanted it that much.).  As the name implies, this CD player came as a kit.  A serious kit.  You start off with a blank circuit board and a bag of transistors, capacitors, and diodes and apply liberal doses of solder and patience.  The instructions were all in Japanese so, before she gave it to me, Sumie had translated the entire 20+ page manual (I have no idea how long it took her).  That she had thought of this meant even more to me than the gift itself (as proof to this, I still have the manual!).  I locked myself in my shabby apartment and spent a full night, the following day, and then, after getting a few hours rest, the majority of the following night putting it together.  By 3am I was done.  I plugged it in and, naturally, nothing happened.  I immediately called Sumie, despite the time, and was in tears.  I felt like I had failed her.  She reassured me that we'd find a way to fix it and, after hanging up, I prepared for sleep.  It was only then that I noticed that my soldering iron was still hot.  Eventually my brain won out over the late night and long hours to determine that I had plugged in the soldering iron instead of the CD player.  I switched the plugs and the little bugger fired right up.  I immediately called Sumie (who was probably getting a bit annoyed at this point) and shared the good news with her.  This little CD player is the only piece of my system that I will never, under any circumstances, part with.  
5. Luxman LV105 Amplifier:  I love this amp for two reasons:  First, it is a "hybrid" amp - half tube amp and half solid-state - which gives it a very warm, but also very accurate sound.  Second, I bought it nearly 10 years ago from this odd man in a grungy recycle shop in Japan for about $50.00.  Perhaps the best deal I've ever made and it was all done in Japanese!
6. B&W 303 Speakers:  These are currently in storage, where I think Sumie prefers them.  I purchased these from a little audio second-hand shop in Japan shortly before I met Sumie for a date - our first in over a week.  In doing so I learned a valuable lesson: never greet your date with a giant pair of speakers, particularly if your plan is to carry them around with you the entire evening.  I don't care how good the speakers are, or what kind of deal you got, trust me, it will make the wrong impression.  
7. Music Hall MMF-5 Turntable: Finding this table required months of research, as well as a high-speed lunch-time journey to Brooklyn, but it has been well worth the investment.  Sumie and I have been listening to vinyl for about three years now and, I'm happy to say, that she prefers it to CDs!  I love my turntable because it's been the only item that has sparked even the tiniest glimmer of audio snobbery in my otherwise "Whatever.  I can't hear any difference." wife.  
8. KEF Reference Speakers:  These are the ones I wrote about in my post "One Man's Garbage."  They sound fantastic, are relatively rare, feature a cool design, and represent the pinnacle of my dumpster-diving success in NYC.  They'll always remind me of our time in NYC and the many, many walks Sumie and I would take together through the city streets.  

Now, my components are beginning to come full-circle.  Here's Mimi helping me pack my NAD Amp, purchased 12 years before she was born.  I think she has pretty good taste in audio equipment for a 13-month old.  Who knows, maybe someday it will power a pair of speakers in her own room?

But it wasn't just stereo equipment that brought out the nostalgia.  As we emptied closets and disassembled toys, memories flooded back while new ones were made.  Here's Mimi buzzing around the house with an old cap of my Grandfather's that my Grandmother gave me.  It's not Russian.  The emblem is, I believe, for the society of engineers.

Taking apart Mimi's play house was also an event.  We purchased it for her last Christmas and it has consistently been one of her favorite toys over the past 6 months.  She plays with it at least once a day.  As Mimi helped me disassemble it, she kept trying to open the windows, ring the doorbell, or turn on the porch light.  She quickly found that it was dead (just for the time being, Mimi).  But she didn't just turn away once she realized something was wrong.  She kept with it, almost like she was attempting to resuscitate the little house.  Mimi's still young, but I think today I saw a little empathy in her.  I think she actually may have felt sad for her little house.

Mimi was, however, pleasantly surprised by the rediscovery of her Halloween costume (it still fits) as well as the fun new play space created when we pulled out the sub woofer from the entertainment center.  Hmm, maybe we'll have to keep that one open for her once we get to SF.

The day had been a long, but productive one.  To finish, we met up with the renal fellows from Sumie's nephrology program for a great little farewell dinner.  Fajitas and margaritas were served.  And consumed.  We then trekked over to the park near our house, the time already pushing 8:30, and gave Mimi a few pushes on the swings.  It turned out Mama wanted a go as well.

I can't say that I'm looking forward to finishing up our packing - let alone the unpacking once we finally find a place in SF - but I have enjoyed taking a few trips back in time with Sumie these past several days.  I can't wait until Mimi's a bit older and we can share them with her.

Steve