A New York State of Mind – Part 2

Touchdown…

I landed, and a rush of nervousness spread from my head to my toes.

Laguardia was definitely overwhelming. It was old and full of characters straight out of a Black 90s sitcom. It was the best kind of circus to be apart of. Well wait…not when you’ve never been in it. I take that back. Luckily my buddy was on hand and waiting for me at the airport. Thanks Tyrrell, you helped make me appear less awkward. After clumsily picking up my bags and getting pimp slapped by 37-degree weather followed by the infamous NY “hawk,” we hopped in an Uber and I was on my way.

The car ride was awesome as far as I’m concerned. It was well worth all of my lil $40 (yes brace yourselves for an up-charge in any service you need while in the city). I’m sure I annoyed everyone in the car but you know what… YOLO fools! I had my “mild” fan girl moments as we passed up historic landmarks and buildings. I soaked it all in. Even the wall unit ACs made me excited. Needless to say, my friend likely thought I was out of my mind but decided to humor me with useless facts and all the New York nerdy things. That’s one thing I really appreciate about New York, there’s so much to learn and I want to learn all the things, cause duh – nerd.

Anyway, we dropped off my bags at my new temporary home in Times Square (the hotel) and got to wandering. Of course it started with food because that was just the right thing to do in order to keep me from terrorizing anyone in New York with my Texas sized hangriness. So I was fueled up and we were off!

As you might have seen in my Snapchat (@msdcwright), we did team too much…

Time Square

Union Square

Soho

Battery Park

I took pictures of literally everything, including the Metro-Card dispenser at the train station. I’m legit turning into my mom. Sue me! I don’t care, I was just so into the experience. Tyrrell obviously took his tour guide role seriously because he answered all my questions, and made sure that I didn’t look like a lame on the train. That would have totally been tragic.

I would say out of all the places in Manhattan the 9/11 memorial was one of the toughest things I’ve seen so far, monument wise. I had this eerie feeling wash through me and literally became nauseous the closer I got to the names on the wall. I’m glad I had an opportunity to see it but I don’t know if I’ll be going back to it any time soon. It was a spiritually taxing experience but soooooooo beautiful, go see it for yourself. The folks who created it put a lot of love into it but, I in all of my incorporeal beliefs, couldn’t help but wonder if I was taking in some seismic, beyond-this-life, kind of energy. And with that said, I don’t have time to start hearing and seeing spirits in New York or Texas. That’s not in my ministry. Since I legit sat there thinking I was turning to the little boy from 6th Sense, I asked to move to the next location and the nausea instantly stopped.

Next on the tour was Battery Park. I’d seen the famous hood on television and it wasn’t too far off from where we were so I was excited to stop in, and cherry on top, I got to see the lady of the hour. I’ve always dreamed of seeing the Statue of Liberty and let me tell you, even from a distance she’s beautiful. I needed to see her, especially during these times when so many people try to challenge our freedoms but I won’t even go there right now. Just enjoy the picture.

So hours of adventuring passed and I finally made it back to my room. My room was fabulous by the way and I’m so glad I chose to stay in a hotel near everything. I was absolutely worn out. I’m not made for that life but it was cool. I called up my friend who I grew up with and as soon as she got off work, we went to this amazing spot called Tonic. Now, I wasn’t expecting a gourmet meal but let me tell you, I was so happy in the depths of my soul. It was on point. Thank you Brittany, you made a wonderful suggestion girl!

Lots of girl talk and catching up ensued throughout the remainder of the evening. I felt so grateful to just be in the presence of friends.

The rest is on deck for later. Night! <3

-D.Wright