During Independence Day weekend, after helping Ben to move into his new Manhattan apartment, I kept having the phrase “New York City?!” go through my head. I hadn’t visited this wonderful “country within a country” since a work trip back in June 2001, when the World Trade Center towers still existed. I’m super-excited for this new adventure for Ben in what is a very dynamic and action-packed place. Just while I was visiting there were multiple national headline news articles covering stories from the Big Apple. Even Ben himself was interviewed about his perspective about a Legionnaire’s outbreak in the Upper East Side where he now calls home.
For 250th anniversary Fourth of July celebrations there were flyovers by various aircraft and motor-bys by numerous ships, along with a Macy’s 50th anniversary concert and huge fireworks show which caused fires on the Brooklyn Bridge. Additionally, 2026 FIFA World Cup football/soccer matches were hosted across the river in New Jersey, and we ran into hundreds of Norwegian and Brazilian soccer fans in Times Square and elsewhere across the city. So fun!
I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the city, and poor weather kept me from seeing as much as I had planned, which just means I’ll have plenty to do during future visits to see Ben!
Yes, it is a pricey place, but we enjoyed some really top-notch meals there — what an excellent food scene! We took a food walking tour and sampled Chinese, Italian, Jewish, and Latin American treats along the way, mixed in with plenty of history lessons.
I found driving in NYC to be much easier than expected, and we even found a free (available and costless) parking spot in front of his apartment building entrance! The holiday weekend presumably helped, but I was nonetheless pleasantly surprised.
In Ben’s neighborhood I also found loads of Czech sites!
Farther south in Manhattan, one subway ride away from his apartment, Ben is leveraging his new fancy office space at One Madison Avenue!
While in NYC, I took advantage of the proximity to Brooklyn to visit Green-Wood Cemetery, a large and very pleasant and well-kept cemetery where some of my Gordon ancestors who moved from Canada to Brooklyn are buried.
Philly and DC bonuses:
To break up my drive back to Asheville from NYC, I’m spending a couple of nights in each of Philadelphia and DC, two other important 250th American anniversary cities. I feel fortunate to have been able to see old copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, and to have been to both the building where Thomas Jefferson wrote the declaration, and to Independence Hall where it was signed.
Today’s World Cup tangent videos:
The Viking row led by the Norwegian team is catchy! And since all “my” other teams are now out (US, Sweden, Czechia, and Croatia), I find myself cheering for Norway. Argentina is almost too exciting to watch lately!
And from my “happy place” country of Croatia, here’s a video featuring Croatia’s superstar footballer Luka Modrić, along with John Malkovich, an American actor with Croatian heritage. John’s at Zadar’s wonderful Sea Organ, a spot from where I have fond memories with multiple family members:
Today’s Stoic quote:
“Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
Major Meander 
Love it, can’t wait to visit Ben!
Heck yeah!