new york? no way!

so it was the day after a night of no sleep madness...I went to my first class... definitely skipped the second one... I only slept four hours that day...woke up and played a little frisbee... then somehow it was time for dinner...
and there I was...alone in the cafeteria... sure, I had a great time the night before, but a cloud in the distance of my imagination promised a not so exciting fall break... *sigh* there had to be SOMETHING or SOMEWHERE to go... but no... every idea and every attempt failed...and now my parents had disappeared into nothingness... I had nearly accepted the fact that perhaps I might be spending the next four days with just my lil old self, when I stopped to chat with some friends on the way out of the cafeteria... just chatted for a bit... then saw some other friends at another table and their conversation kinda sparked an interest in me... They were complaining about how they weren’t going to be able to make the trip to new york because they hadn’t a vehicle... I talked to them for a bit and then...I suddenly heard myself offer my car for their journey...so long as they pack me in somewhere... By the looks on their faces I could tell they didn’t know whether or not to believe me... heck! I couldn’t tell whether or not to believe me... but we made the plans “20 minutes...I’ll pill you guys up.”... well, on the way to my room I stopped to talk with this girl and I offered her the amazing opportunity of joining us for this unexpected vacation...and surprise unto me...she took it...car and all... and with her came ANOTHER friend...and an extra car, which turned out to be a very blessed thing, because my car ended up not even being driveable (oops...it’s the thought that counts)...
Off we went... destination: new york city! It was an awesome journey...I can still hear myself repeating “I can’t believe we’re on our way to new york” at random moments throughout the trip. my mind was bursting with excitement...err either that or lack of sleep :) (considering i’d only had about 4 hours in the last 48) ...oh but it had been worth it... stotrum stotrum i had no idea what a wonderful fall break this would turn out to be. it was humorous to think that only a few hours before i had been a little upset because the break seemingly wasn’t going to turn out the way i was hoping...
Some time during the night, one of the guys took an uncomfortable position on the floor so that perhaps I could sneak in some much needed shut eye... of course, I didn’t realize that was his intent until afterwards, but stotrum all the more for sacrificial people... After a little bit of sleep and 16 hours of travel... I was awakened with a nudge, shot out of my sleeping position, and opened my eyes to an awesome almost over sunrise from the middle of some bridge... I couldn’t stop exclaiming, “wow”... complete awe... gosh! :)
so we arrived in the city a few hours after that and barely managed to find parking ($16 for 12 hours!!!!)... once we got everything taken care of we set off ready for an adventure... first stop: subway station... where we purchased a metro card: unlimited for 24 hours... only 7 dollars! I think one of the things I enjoyed most was navigating the group around nyc through subways and streets... we visited central park, grand central station, time square... tried to visit a vineyard church... we did waste a lot of time looking for somewhere to stay that night.. Oh well..it’s just the fact that we WENT that really matters.. Next time we’ll be better prepared... But we did have a blast... thoroughly enjoyed exploring new york city whenever, where ever, and however our free hearts desired...sometime during the course of the trip a friend and I were able to share our faiths with a woman in central park, a man and his daughter, and two teenagers on the subway... I think some of my other favorite times were being able to meet new people and minister to them hopefully in some way... and also getting to know the people who accompanied me a little better was a blessing... hmm.. It was all great...
We ended up deciding not even to stay in new york city that night... so our ventures lasted about 12 hours and then we decided to head out and perhaps stop somewhere fun on the way back home...that was definitely a fun trip... we pulled into a school parking lot about 4 hours out of new york to attempt getting some rest... I was exhausted and the majority of us hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before... it was a bit chilly out (very cold), but for some crazy reason (one I can’t comprehend) the boys decided they had to sleep outside for the night...maybe there just wasn’t room enough in the car or something, I don’t know... so we gave them all of our blankets and tried to tough it out in the little car... sooo cold...I can’t even tell you how many times I woke up with my whole body freezing or with everything from the waist down asleep...fun stuff like that... unbeknownst to us, the guys weren’t able to handle the freezing night air (duh) and had taken ALL of our blankets inside the other car with them... ugh... but it was okay... we survived...
We spent all of Sunday driving.. Nearly died because of um... lack of highway driving experience...got that taken care of though...and driving...one member of the “team” took off his pants and lounged in the back seat with mere boxers....more driving... that member later (after he put his pants back on) received what my roommate and I refer to as an “anal spike”... um... doesn’t sound clean, but I promise you it’s pure...more driving... ate at a cute little country restaurant and had ourselves some REALLY awesome food... soooo good...sooo goood.... then more driving... driving driving...*sigh*... FINALLY lexington! Stotrum! We stopped at a coffee house to enjoy some...well...coffee.... And lounged for a bit and then after I made a recommendation...we stopped to visit with a wonderfully awesome amazing friend... yay!
We really just showed up and went in just as a bible study was getting over with... they were really excited to see us :) ... one of the girl “members” on our “team” (the one who did ministry in the park with me) and I went to wal*mart with some of the bible study members and it was awesome because we were able to do a little witnessing there as well... I was really blessed...I met three awesome people...2 of which were christians already...hopefully my words encouraged their walks... I love doing that sort of stuff... it’s like a breath of fresh air...and reassurance from God....
After that, we went back to the friend’s house and took SHOWERS>>>oogh felt so wonderful.... I was blessed... we moved to someone else’s home and decided to “sleep over”... it was great...I ended up staying up SOO late and got to know a friend a lot more than I had before...I love LOVE being able to see a little deeper into someone’s heart...getting to know them and why they tick and why the do what they do... I really really enjoy it...
But when I hit that couch at 5 in the morning... I was out of it within seconds... I was so comfortable, so calm, so relaxed, so at peace... so happy... :) I was blessed... man, new york and back in two days... how awesome is that? So that’s really the end of our adventure... I had to wake up and go to work with kids (fun fun fun) at 11 in the morning, but that ain’t no thang.... but as I drove away...I couldn’t help but say to myself with a smile, “I can’t believe we just went to new york.”