Thursday Adventure!

I was long overdue for an all day adventure. So on Thursday, as things fell into place, an all-day adventure emerged and not only was it a lot of fun but it also wore me out!

Thursday morning the group met Kathy in the lobby and then we did something we had all talked about doing but never did: ride the #1 to it's final downtown stop.

For those of you unfamiliar with the #1, it's the subway that I probably use at least once a day. There is a stop two blocks up from the hotel (on 79th Street) and then a larger station five blocks down from the hotel (on 72nd Street). With the #1 you can get pretty much anywhere on the west side of Manhattan and the Bronx -- from Times Square all the way to the Kingsbridge Library in the Bronx!

But we have never gone from 79th Street to Rector Street, the final downtown stop. It was a long ride, but we all found seats and relaxed.

As we got off at Rector Street, we only had a few blocks to walk to reach the National Museum of the American Indian. The museum is housed in the old customs building and is part of the Smithsonian network. It's the only Smithsonian museum not in Washington D.C.

But the group is really glad this museum is in NYC.

After going through security, our first stop was the big rotunda where the customs hub use to be. A giant circle of granite was in the middle and the space had high vaulted ceilings that allowed sunlight to stream in. It was a beautiful space and very grand.

Off to the side of this rotunda were several exhibits. There was both contemporary American Indian art as well as artifacts from tribes across the world. It was interesting to see all these varieties of art and the way it was set up allowed the viewer to have a greater appreciation for the artifacts. My favorite exhibits where C. Maxx Stevens House of Memory (contemporary and focusing around the idea of what "memory" is) and Julie Buffalohead Let the Show Begin (watercolor paintings focusing on storytelling and motherhood).

The group split up once we were finished touring the museum. Some headed back to the hotel, while Whitney and I caught a #4 train. This train covers the east side of Manhattan. Let the adventuring begin!

Our first stop was Dylan's Candy Bar. My friend, Anna, recommended we stop there. It is crazy.

I mean, a store full of candy is always crazy. This building was three levels, all filled with as much kind of candy as one can imagine. You could buy it by the pound, by the slice, by the piece, or by the packet. So many options. Whitney and I took advantage of some free samples but didn't buy anything else because there was almost TOO much to chose from.

After that little adventure, we walked down the street to Serendipity 3. This restaurant is popular for several reasons. One, it was a major meeting place in the 2001 Jon Cusack movie Serendipity and it boasts the creator of the frozen hot chocolate. Again, Whitney and I were here based on friends' recommendations.

Apparently we should have made reservations because we ended up waiting for 20 minutes before being seated. There was a man seated at a small table taking reservations over the phone and we later discovered this was the owner, Stephen Bruce. Whitney and I ended up ordering a frozen hot chocolate to share and a piece of pecan pie with butternut ice cream.

Beautiful menu

Owner Stephen Bruce

IT WAS SO RICH AND DELICIOUS. Sugar overload. And I don't say that very often.

Our sweets ;)

Good thing we had more walking to do to help digest all that delicious sweetness! We actually headed to the Union Square area just to say hello before heading back down to the National Museum of the American Indian. Susan had recommended a reading that she was going to and thought we would enjoy it as well.

The reading was in their conference room of sorts, which was a big beautiful room in the lower level of the museum. The museum had paired up with Poets House to host a weekend filled with American Indians sharing their writing. The official title of the event was Native Innovation: Indigenous American Poetry in the 21st Century. 

Joseph (center) and Joy (far right)

On Thursday night it was a reading and conversation with Joy Harjo. The conversation portion of the event was lead by fellow poet, peer, and friend Joseph Bruchac. It was a fascinating conversation and I really enjoyed Harjo's work. She has most recently published a memoir which she read from and also some of her poetry. After the reading, she just talked with Joseph and I learned so much about her and her style of writing. It was fascinating to hear her thoughts on the world, time, and writing. It was such a good way to end Thursday night.

And there you have it, a fun-packed Thursday adventure. One for the books, that is for sure!