The Big L in the Big Apple

In September, my brothers John and Opie and I ventured off to Alaska as a Christmas present to our father. He always wanted to visit Alaska, so we took him up there for 10 days of fishing, hiking and relaxation.

This past weekend, it was Mom's turn. She used to spend her summers in New York City when she was growing up, but hasn't been able to make it back since she was in her teens. Knowing how much she wanted to revisit NYC, Opie and I booked her a ticket and headed out there with her.

All in all, it was a really fun weekend. The company was great, but the weather was lousy. It was cold, damn cold actually, and it snowed like crazy all day Friday. At one point, while waiting in line for a ferry to Ellis Island, my feet went numb. That was not a fun experience.

We had planned on visiting the Statue of Liberty that day, in addition to Ellis Island, but we ended up not being able to. The weather had gotten to the point that the Coast Guard asked them to stop running the ferries.

Ellis Island was really interesting and I highly recommend a visit there. For us, it was a little more special though as our grandmother came through from her home country of Wales when she was 2 years old. It was interesting walking around the island, knowing that's where she got her start in America.

After that, on Saturday, we ventured up to 116 East 63rd St, where Mom spent her summers visiting her grandparents. The lobby door was open and they let us look around a little. We could tell it meant a lot to Mom to be there again and she called her sisters to let them know where she was.

The whole weekend was a lot of fun and it was great to take the trip up there. Our waiters at Pellegrino's restaurant in Little Italy even sang Happy Birthday to her. She's got a big birthday coming up in a few weeks, but Opie and I have been sworn to silence about her age....under penalty of death if we reveal it.

So with that, I'd like to thank everyone for a great weekend and to wish the Big L luck tomorrow morning. She'll be heading under the knife tomorrow to have her gall bladder removed. Apparently it's become an issue and needs to come out, whatever it is.

Good luck tomorrow Mom, make sure Dad takes care of you. Or at least calls Opie to check in on you if he forgets and heads out for the day.