racking up those airline miles

i had most of the next day to just chill at home, even squeezing in a barre class before it was time to head to the airport.  it was finally time to head back to the east coast to collect my child and then turn right back around to come home.  we’d discussed spending one night in the city, maybe catching another show or finding something fun to do, but in the end the bean decided that they’d been away for too long and just wanted to go home.

i’d booked myself a redeye, with a stop in dallas before landing in new york just in time to pick my child up from columbia.  and because we weren’t staying overnight, all i needed was a carry-on bag. 

after i got through security, i had plenty of time to kill before boarding began.  it was pretty late - 11pm - and nothing in the terminal was open aside from a grab-and-go snack and gift shop.  i spotted something interesting - a space sponsored by the california science center with several giant monitors with an animated aquarium.  i found a seat in there and watched the fish and sharks swim past until the gate attendants finally started calling up boarding groups.

with no baggage to worry about, i made myself comfy pretty quickly and passed out for most of the 3-hour flight to dallas.

we arrived in dallas at 5:30am, and of course my connecting flight was in a different terminal from the one we’d landed in.  DFW is gigantic and really spread out, but the skylink makes it easy to get from one end of the airport to the other.

and of course, the flight was delayed by about an hour with a gate change announced just before boarding was to begin.  so by the time i got onto the plane, the sun was coming up.

i was torn between going back to sleep and waiting for breakfast, but i figured i could eat first and sleep with a happy belly.

the flight took just under four hours, which was enough time for a fairly decent nap.  and by the time i woke up again, we were already descending into the city.

welcome (back) to new york!

if you’re ever on a redeye flight and want to freshen up a little, these little disposable toothbrushes come in clutch.  highly recommend.

i caught an uber as soon as i got off the plane, and a mere half hour later i was finally reunited with my child, who i’d missed dearly.

their roommate had already been picked up and was driving back home to texas, so we took one last look around to make sure that nothing had been left behind.

we had just enough time for one stop before heading back to the airport to catch our flight home, and of course that one stop was here:

after going through security and dropping off the bean’s very heavy, very full suitcase we had enough time to find the american airlines lounge to sit back, relax and get ready for the trip home.

and then it was time for the first leg of our journey.

till next time, new york!

a few hours later, i found myself back in dallas.  but this time, we had a five-hour layover - enough time to meet up with MIL and get some texas bbq.

the time went by all too fast, and pretty soon she was dropping us off at the airport for the last leg of our trip home.

i’d told the bean about the faux-quarium at the airport, so we stopped in for a second so they could check it out.

and then we went downstairs to pick up their suitcase and head outside to meet up with the hub, who was already waiting for us at the curb.

it had been a very long day for me, mostly spent sitting on an airplane.  but the bean was safely back home and we were all happy to be reunited.  yippee!

slime time

the window for check-in at columbia was from 11:00 till 4 in the afternoon.  i figured that meant we had a good chunk of the day to squeeze in some more NYC fun, and so after we got ready and the bean’s suitcase was reorganized and packed we summoned an uber to take us into the city.

i’d seen posts about pop up bagel online, so that’s where we stopped for breakfast.

their bagels are meant for the “rip and dip” method, so we picked a couple of flavored schmears and happily dug right in.  the bagels were fresh and warm and delicious, although i’m pretty sure that the bean still preferred their mr. nova lova from ess-a-bagel.

i’d seen something online that i knew the bean would love, so i’d booked us a couple of tickets timed so that we’d still have time to grab a late lunch before heading back to the hotel to grab the suitcase and head to columbia.  it was about a 10-minute walk from pop up bagels to sloomoo institute.

yup - that is, indeed, a slime museum.  the bean still loves the stuff and i knew that they’d love it.  as we walked in we grabbed name tags and read all about the history of slime as we made our way down the hall.

i’ll bet you didn’t know that there were so many different kinds of slime, did you?

there were giant tubs of slime that are remade every morning before they open for the day, and i have to admit that it was pretty fun testing them all out.

there was an interactive room that we didn’t really understand, but went in and giggled at anyway.

there were ASMR rooms too, and each one offered a different kind of noise to enjoy.  we liked the sounds of crackly plastic and keyboard tapping.

here you could pay an upcharge to don a poncho and get slimed from head to toe (we did not do this).

the next room was very obviously meant for little kids, but we stood in line and smirked at the shirt the security guard was wearing.

there was a huge glob of slime to walk through and a pile of squishies to step on.  i know we probably should have been grossed out by all of this, but we went in and played for a few minutes anyway.

the last activity was the make-your-own-slime station.  there was a display of all the different types of slime so you could choose your “slime starter.”

and then you could choose your scent after sniffing the samples mounted on the wall.

this one was a hard no.

and here’s our finished product.

of course, there was a gift shop at the exit.

just a couple of doors down from sloomoo institute was a poléne shop, which i’d been wanting to check out for awhile.  it’s a fairly new handbag brand out of france, and the one day i’d had to visit the tokyo shop was one of the days they were closed.  and since the bean was happily playing with their slime, i got to go inside and take a look at the goods.

this is my favorite style - the numero neuf mini.

and then we had just enough time to have lunch, and just across the street we found a favorite:  eataly.

we had a really lovely lunch, and then as i summoned the uber to take us back to the hotel i realized that i hadn’t factored in something really important:  rush hour traffic.  by the time we retrieved the luggage and called for another uber we had exactly zero minutes to spare before check-in ended.  yikes.

i breathed a huge sigh of relief when we finally approached the check-in desk.  i peeked over and saw that there were a decent number of student badges still left to be picked up, and the staffer assured me that we were good to go.  i got to stay long enough to walk the bean to their room, meet their roommate for the week and watch as they unpacked and got settled.

and then it was time for me to leave.  orientation was beginning and the bean was all set to start a week of theater tech, and all of a sudden i was on my own.

as i headed out of there, i spotted something fun across the street:

i browsed through the store for a few minutes before deciding that i didn’t need to spend any more money, nor did i have room in my luggage to cram anything in. and so i hopped into another uber and went back to the hotel to hunker down for the evening.

based on recommendations from my friends back hom, i hit up uber eats for some chicken and waffles from sylvia’s in harlem, which i enjoyed over another episode of “selling sunset.”

it was really weird to be all by myself for the first time in weeks, and i found myself struggling to fall asleep (and stay that way).  i typically don’t sleep well without the hub, which i know sounds kinda lame, and i knew i had a long day of travel ahead of me so i forced myself to just lie there and not pick up my phone or turn the tv on. 

i am such a wuss.