Nothin' Like Summer in the City

Sam and I have gone into both NYC and Philadelphia in the past month. It makes for a fun weekend outing, and it’s been fun to see different parts of the cities that we haven’t noticed before.

It’s also nice to start liking some cities a bit more *cough cough* New York *cough cough*

I don’t know why I’ve never really connected with New York City. It seems like it’s the ultimate love of every basic white girl, and I fit the mold of a basic white girl most days. But not when it comes to New York City.

Maybe because it’s too big and crowded. And smelly in the summer. And how I really cannot figure out the Subway system for the life of me.

But this time with Sam it was better. Why? I think because 1) we had a very specific plan, 2) when we got tired, we went home, and 3) I was with Sam. It makes a difference.

Highlights of this NYC trip?

Walking along the High Line and along the Brooklyn Bridge. I’d never been outside of Manhattan before, so it was good to venture to another borough.

Sam also made his debut as an Instagram husband.

[He is taking these selfies because I can apparently only take good selfies of myself.]

[And he also took this one. Because he will be taking pictures of me to put on my Instagram account for a very, very, very long time. A true sign of modern love, right?]

We also went to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. It was very well worth our time and good to remember what happened that day and what came afterwards.

[I thought this work was particularly beautiful. They are squares of the blue of that September sky.]

Philadelphia

Sam and I go into Philadelphia more than NYC—and I think that will mostly be the case while we live in Princeton, because we both like it better (we just—do), and Philadelphia is home to the nearest LDS temple for us.

Once when we were in Philly, we ran into an old friend in the Philly Temple (incredibly randomly), and he was really kind and took us to get food and ice cream afterwards. We went to an ice cream shop called The Franklin Fountain, and it had a really old-timey, soda shoppe (I feel I have to write it like that) feel. It felt just a bit like I had stepped into 1903, and that was fun.

[Isn't it cute?]

[So fun]

[Also, the ice cream came in Chinese food cartons, which was also fun. 10/10 would recommend.]

Philadelphia (II)

Sam and I also went down to Philadelphia last weekend to see his—ours! I keep forgetting that—sister-in-law. It was SO INCREDIBLY HOT. Like. What is this heat? What is this humidity? It made me feel a lot more connected to the signers of the Declaration and the Constitution, that’s for sure. Ugh. Philly in summer heat is miserable.

But art museums are not! Especially the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Love this museum.

[This was Sam's favorite picture]

[And I really liked this one.]

[This one always reminds me of an episode of "Arthur".]

[We tried to re-create some of our engagement photos.]

[I was also exhausted by the end of it all. And so of course I proceeded to take angsty selfies while waiting for the others to come out of the bathroom. I mean. Obviously.]

[And then a not-so-angsty but still v exhausted photo.]

[Outside of the Rodin Museum]

Do you know what is also not terrible? Fountains. You bet that we dipped our toes in.

Another great thing was the Reading Terminal Market, where we ate the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich and salted caramel doughnuts. Seriously. Still dreaming about them. (And unfortunately unphotographed, but they will always remain in my heart.)