Beat The Heat!

The heat wave has finally (sort of) passed! I didn’t think we’d make it there for a little while. It’s tough working on the beach when the temperature hits 104 degrees with 100% humidity. You know it’s bad when people don’t come to the beach because it is just too hot. We all spent our time in the ocean, under umbrellas, and consuming tons and tons of liquids. I did not pass out, so a successful workweek was had.

I had off of work on Tuesday and went up to New York to spend the day with my favorite Akron-located roommate (see how I did that ☺). Of course, Tuesday ended up being the hottest day of the week (record breaking actually). B and I decided to play a game – how much fun can we have in NYC without stepping foot outside? It ended up being a blast. Too often when I’m in New York, I feel like I’m wasting time inside. There are so many sights to see just walking around, and going inside a store feels like a wasted trip. On Tuesday, B and I had so much fun taking our time walking around high air-conditioned locations. We began our day by meeting at 30 Rock. I can’t even begin to tell you how envious I am that B’s sister T gets to work in such a fun building. B and I drank coffee, watched all the fabulously dressed workers walk by, and discussed how much our lives had changed since we last saw each other (3 whole weeks ago!) We left the building and took our first cab (there would be two more cab rides that day) to the Museum of Natural History. We spent the first 30 minutes searching for a bathroom…no joke. We were laughing the entire time about how silly we were (who can’t find a bathroom?!). We then saw everything! The African exhibits, the Asian exhibits, the Native American exhibit (6 times!), the elephants, the big whale, the deer, we had lunch in the food court because traveling outside for food was not an option, we saw rocks (and we watched a man give a tour about volcano ash that became rocks – B could have given that tour). We saw gems, a big boat, and the evolution room, and then decided it was time to move on.

We stood outside the museum for two minutes before we realized we would bake if we didn’t find cool air. We hopped in a cab and drove down to Columbus Circle. I had been in The Shops at Columbus Circle, which is this mall-like building with fun stores inside, before, so I thought that would be fun to try. We went to J-Crew, Bebe, and Sephora, and agreed that the shops were a fun place to stay cool. B had the woman at Sephora do her make-up (she looked fab!), and I bought more nail polish (it’s becoming a problem). The large glass windows overlooking Columbus Circle allowed us to feel like we were still in New York, but we didn’t have to suffer through the horrible weather – win/win.

A favorite place of mine has always been Serendipity on the Upper East Side. You can get the best ice cream there, and on a hot day such as Tuesday, ice cream was a must! B and I sat at our cute little table and ordered two frozen hot chocolates. They were so yummy and were exactly what we needed after an afternoon of shopping. When I asked B later what her favorite part of the day was, she said Serendipity – I was so happy she liked it!

After Serendipity, we decided to do more shopping…why not right? I bought adorable flip-flops at Aldo, B and I found awesome sales at H&M, we walked through Steve Madden, Victoria’s Secret, and the Gap. It was such a great way to just catch up and spend time with one of my favorite people – she also has totally caught the NYC bug. If T and I work hard enough, I bet you we may have a little New Yorker coming out here next summer. After our fun, yet exhausting day, B and I made our way back to 30 Rock to wait for T. Unfortunately, I had to catch my ferry home and was unable to see her after her first day, but I’m sure we will have many more chances to catch up. I hugged my little roommate goodbye, and I won’t be seeing her again until late August when the whole gang comes out to visit, but it was so great knowing that she will be coming out often over the years. Thanks T for moving back to NY. I have a feeling I will be seeing lots of B over the year!

And that, my friends, is how you beat the heat in New York.