NYC 2019

The highlight of this summer was a trip to New York City without the kids! The last time I was in NYC was in 2002 for one day on a road trip stop with some college friends. It was definitely time to visit again.

The idea for this trip began last year around this time when I discovered that the American Classical League, a professional organization of Latin and Greek teachers, was holding their 100th anniversary summer institute in New York City. I also knew that they offered a lot of scholarships to first time attendees, so I started the ball rolling on applying and hoping I might receive one of them. We had also been saving credit card points to pay for some sort of trip and began planning how we might use them for this trip. Thanks to the help of some generous recommendations from colleagues, I won a scholarship and the dream became a reality.

​The conference was a fantastic experience, and I hope to attend one again in the future. I was able to reconnect with some colleagues from graduate school, attend several excellent sessions that will benefit my students, and listen to a panel of fairly famous authors who write in the worlds of Ancient Greece and Rome. Most importantly, I got several fresh ideas that make me excited to head back to school in a couple weeks.

In addition to my scholarship we were able to use my airline miles from several past Italy trips to get Melissa a free flight and credit card points to extend our stay past the conference. Of course, Melissa jumped at the opportunity to go to New York City, and obsessively began planning her Broadway theater experience while I was doing conference stuff. She managed to attend 4 musicals and 1 play in three days while I was conferencing, and I was very impressed with her accomplishments. Fortunately, I was able to sneak in a couple shows as well, including Mean Girls and Hadestown, this year's Tony winner for best musical. We had been unsure about Hadestown because ticket prices kept rising, but we bought some right before the Tony's and the subsequent skyrocketing of tickets. The tickets were not cheap, and we sat in the very last row, but the show was worth it. It was a thrill to see the story of Orpheus and Eurydice portrayed with such art and originality. If/when it comes to St. Louis, I foresee a class field trip.

I love museums, so naturally I could not miss the world class museums in New York City. The two big ones on my list were the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History. I went to the Met on the first day of the trip with a group of other teachers and spent several hours exploring as much of the museum as I could. I focused on a lot of the ancient art, obviously, but there were a lot of other great galleries also. I could definitely spend a week exploring everything there and still not see everything.

The Museum of Natural History was a great stop as well, with the most impressive galleries being the various types of animal life. I also had to visit the Easter Island head to have a little Night at the Museum moment.

Finally, I cannot talk about a trip to New York City without discussing the amazing architecture. Everywhere you turn there is a unique building to explore, both old and new. Much of our time in NYC was just spent walking around and exploring the various neighborhoods. It is overwhelming how big the city is and how diverse the experiences are around the city. From wandering the streets and open markets of Chinatown to the hipster scene in Brooklyn to the modern architecture and living space along the High Line walking path between Chelsea and Hudson Yards to the lights, tourists, and excess of Times Square, there were so many different and amazing places to explore. The best way to show everything is through some pictures.

Our trip was a lot of fun with many great experiences and memories, but mostly it was worthwhile for some time spent with my favorite person and no kids! This was the first time we had done any extended travel together in the five years since we have had kids, and it was incredible. I will be talking about this trip for a long time!