Mallory met us at the hotel, as we checked out around 10:30. The three of us walked down to Dumbo (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) for a last meal together. We may have had overcast skies, but we were thrilled to get a few final hours with Mallory.
On our departing days, we always tend to end up at the Time Out Market for our meal. It has a wide selection of restaurants, which is funny because we always end up at Ess-A-Bagel. I cannot get enough bagels when I am in New York.
Stephanie and Mallory stopped first to get iced matchas, and then we ordered 3 different bagels at Ess-A-Bagel.
After the meal, we walked over to Brooklyn Flea, the flea market held directly under and adjacent to the Manhattan Bridge. We have visited this flea market many times. Perhaps the most unusual thing we have seen for sale there over the years, in a tent selling vintage clothes, was an Owasso Oklahoma FFA Jacket. We did not buy any jackets today.
By this time, the sun was coming out and it was shaping up to be a gorgeous NYC day. Stephanie and Mallory both ended up at a stall selling sunglasses, and both made a purchase. (The stall owner said he uses a sunlight app to determine where the sunniest spot is, and that’s where he sets up shop to sell his sunglasses.)
You may not know it by the review of our Whitney Museum visit yesterday, but I have a favorite New York City artist – Natchie! We have made purchases from Natchie at her Bryant Park Winter Village Holiday Shop during previous trips, and her Instagram promoted her being at Brooklyn Flea this weekend. But Natchie and her stall was nowhere to be seen. I commented on the Instagram post that I couldn’t find her, and she messaged me that she woke up unwell and was so sorry to not be there. How kind of her to respond to me given her situation. Don’t worry, Natchie, I will be back!
After shopping, we got some ice cream at Odd Fellows, and enjoyed it on a bench at Brooklyn Bridge Park, just a few feet from Jane’s Carousel.
Mallory shared a story of a game that she and her friends have played called “We’re Not Really Strangers”. It is a game that can create deeper connections with others (if you let it), and it works by giving answers to meaningful questions. During a recent game, the question was to share your favorite thing about your Mom, and Mallory shared her answer with us. Mallory loves how Stephanie is so unselfish and will do anything for you, including learning a new skill or driving cross country. “No ask is too big”. Mallory made her Mom tear up! It was so sweet to hear that story. And to top it off, Peter chimed in with his own comments about Stephanie based on their relationship while he was in high school. It was A+ Story Time!
We made time for one last shop visit – at Modern Chemist. This has also turned into must-see shopping when we are here. How to describe this store? First, it is a pharmacy, but mainly it has a wide array of house & home, travel & technology, and giftable items. It reminds Stephanie of a favorite store of ours in Stillwater (Typo Market) that has a very similar vibe. So Stephanie refers to this store as Dumbo Typo. It is a compliment!
While I was browsing an aisle, a Mom walked past me and said out loud (to me, or to herself, I’m not sure?) “It is so weird to turn around and see your kids playing with a vibrator.” Yes, Dumbo Typo has a bowl of vibrators out on the table in the middle of the store. Let’s move on.
I did purchase a 7-in-1 pen that I thought would be an asset to my backpack and my travels. We shall see. It listed the 7 features, and the 7th one was that it was a pen. Not sure if that is a positive or negative.
Mallory had afternoon plans with her friends to visit a Thai festival at Herald Square, so we had to draw our reunion to a close. But not before walking past the intersection of Washington Street and Water Street to get one last epic picture.
We left Mallory at the Manhattan Bridge subway entrance, and then made our way back to the hotel to change into our travel clothes and grab our bags for the airport.
Even before we left the hotel, our first flight was delayed by 30 minutes. Shortly after arriving at LaGuardia, there was another delay. It eventually became time to queue up and load, and while we were in line, all the passengers began getting texts of yet another lengthy delay. A collective groan.
It was now impossible for us to make our connecting flight in Houston, back to Tulsa tonight. I called Southwest and was able to secure 2 seats on the Sunday morning flight from Houston to Tulsa. All we needed was to at least make it to Houston tonight. And we did. The flight took 3.5 hours, and we landed in Houston about 45 minutes after our connecting flight took off.
So an unexpected night at the Marriot Courtyard at the Houston Hobby Airport. Our advice – you can do better. The hotel was clean, but WEIRD and run-down.
We had breakfast at the airport Sunday morning, our flight was on-time, and we had a first-class ride home from the Tulsa airport by friends Tom & Phyllis. Home by 11am, about 12 hours later than expected.
This trip was amazing and we both cannot recommend Iceland enough as a destination. Great people and natural beauty.
Takk fyrir minningarnar!
(Icelandic for Thanks for the memories!)
Another great Traveling Kings visit in the books! Thanks for stopping by
Wow! I have whiplash from all the awesome, yet completely unique and different experiences you packed into those 2 weeks! Thanks as always for doing the hard work of writing this blog. It’s always a pleasure to follow along!