Well, if you follow me on Twitter or we are friends on Facebook, you’ve likely been inundated with lots of NYC photos and various status updates – so you’ll know all of this (mostly) already… if you don’t follow me or like me (well what are you waiting for?) – this will all be news to you!

In a nutshell – my four days in New York City were spot on great. Four days is just the right amount of time for a solo adventure in one city. I had plenty of time and opportunity to see and do everything I wanted and I was never at a loss for something to do. This was my second visit to NYC – my first was in 2012 with my mom and that was such a special trip that this recent one can’t compare. There is nothing like exploring a city for the first time with your mom – we saw so much and got to learn the art of map reading together!

For this visit to NYC my goal was simply to walk around and take in the city. I had a few things I really wanted to do and I was fortunate to be able to do these. Highlights of the four days:

– Experiencing Strawberry Fields in Central Park – such a very quiet and respectful spot. I can’t explain what the draw is for me  – but I just really had to see this spot. This was the first thing I did when I arrived – I checked in, dropped my bags, and walked right over.

– The Metropolitan Museum of Art was fantastic. A little known fact is that I’m a huge sculpture fan – I just love looking at sculptures. Paintings don’t do much for me – but I’ll stare at a sculpture for a good while. I walked through Central Park to get to the MET and this was also a top-notch experience – I saw a different area of the park and even had a great conversation with a  lady visiting from Italy (she was freezing cold…) who was looking for the Guggenheim.

– Once The Musical – loved loved loved it. Such a great night. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I really enjoy the music by The Swell Season, so finally seeing the musical was the icing on the cake. Such a great night. I met some interesting people from Chicago and capped the night off with seeing Robin Thicke perform live in Times Square (admittedly I’d never heard him sing before and I thought that he was a she…) and a late meal at Chipotle.

– Hearing the great news that my wee little niece was born on Tuesday evening. Merryn Lilly Thomas is perfectly perfect and has a big brother (four years old) who is looking out for her each and every moment.

– Walking The High Line was a fun way to spend part of the morning. It was very windy that day so I was a bit cold but it was pretty cool to be walking above the city. The park is super interesting with lots of built-in seating through-out providing lots of opportunity to relax and in the summer there are concerts, food vendors and I’m guessing lots of people out. I stopped for a while at the Chelsea Market after this walk – had a great smoothie from One Lucky Duck, picked up a brownie for later, and perused all the food shops and restaurants.

– A final visit back to Central Park on Thursday to explore it from a new direction was the perfect way to round out my trip. I stumbled upon The Positive Brothers  – these guys are a great dancing/breakdancing/gymnast trio who are super funny as well.

In between all this there were some great meals, some good shopping finds, some interesting conversations, and some intriguing people watching. Being able to take such a vacation reminds me of how fortunate I am. I’m particularly lucky to be married to a man who never turns away from adventure. As nice as it is to go away, it is equally nice to come home to the person and cat that you love.

(To see my photos on Facebook, click.) (If you’re not on Facebook…I’ve included some photos below.)

(Oh and great news – my tendons/heals/feet in general felt great. A bit sore on Monday but I think this was due to the airplane-induced swelling. Fingers crossed everything is good-to-go. I’ll go for a run tomorrow to find out. On Sunday I’m attending Mike Stashin’s Run Effortlessly clinic – really looking forward to this.)