hiii :) it’s been a while since i did a lucky 13 so i figured no time like the present.

1. call me crazy or wimpy but i think new york can be a little overwhelming depending on where you are - just sensory overload in every sense of the term. but while on this trip i figured out that i loveeee the chelsea/ meatpacking district area. obviously there’s still a ton more of new york to explore and things are constantly changing but it’s nice to find that little spot where things are mellow in case you ever find yourself in the middle of too much.

4. when it comes to east coast trips, no matter when i fly in, what time of year i’m visiting, or how long i’m there, one thing that remains consistent no matter what is that i only halfway adjust to the time difference, even though it’s literally just 3 hours - i will stay up until 3AM (which is 12 PST) and then get up around 6 or 7AM. which is completely backwards from what you’d expect. i don’t get tired or anything like that and it’s nice to not feel like i’m wasting the day (or night). it’s also cool to go out and see everyone on their commutes and carrying on with their typical routines.. kind of a wierd “outside looking in” type of situation.

5. another thing i’m always going to love about new york is how you can experience completely different things just by crossing the street or going up one block.. from the architecture, to the colors, to the people, to the energy.. all of it. magic.

7. going back and forth between the two coasts so frequently has brought up the question of whether or not i’d ever move out there permanently. i don’t think i would full-time but i also recognize i could be jinxing myself big time by saying that.. i could see a 50-50 thing happening purely because i own too many scarves for somebody who has a permanent address in southern california. and jackets. and boots. and beanies.

8. two other questions i have been asked a lot as of late: “do you get lonely traveling by yourself?” sometimes, but i don’t think about it or dwell on it too much. and not a question, but “you get sooooo lucky every time you travel!! like good things just happen for you! that never happens for me!” well.. i don’t really believe in luck. being nice to people and being open to things (like mentally open to whatever is going to come your way) is what i think “luck” comes down to. anyone can get angry at a flight delay but you just gotta stay calm and think there may be a bigger reason you’re spending extra time in the airport. be a good person. it’s mentality, not luck.

** and no i’m not that obnoxiously optimistic person who never gets frustrated BUT i can speak from experience: the day i flew in, all of the flights were delayed because of weather. at around 1PM, most of the people who were originally scheduled for my 12PM flight switched to get on the 11AM flight because that was going to take off first, and they were understandably sick of sitting around. but believe it or not.. my flight boarded not even 2 minutes after and ended up taking off maybe 20 minutes after the other flight with about 12 people on it (including the crew), so yes, being patient and polite is not so bad :)

10. spent one morning walking the brooklyn bridge with amanda. i love how she is 99% the most happy-go-lucky person ever and then comes the rare 1% where the snark comes out and she just tells it like it is.. and it’s not even mean; it’s just the driest, most sarcastic comment ever. and you’re never expecting it which makes it even funnier.

11. a few other fun things that aren’t pictured:

• all the times waiting for the subway. sounds boring but hanging with her and carlton and having the most random talks.. the best. it really is about the people you’re with. better to be in a janitor closet with people you love than at the top of the eiffel tower with someone yucky, no?

• starbucks runs with carlton and then taking uber back the 10 blocks (shameful) because we were freezing or it was raining. and laughing over nothing.

• a few late nights of pizza and french fries (yes, from the same place). i neverrrrr eat late and hate doing it but when you get dragged out for a night of fun.. you get hungry.

• the 3 of us were out one night and literally crossed 2 streets and were “somehow” in times square.. nope. i literally ran out, it’s so overwhelming haha. never again

• and can’t forget hanging in central park on the prettiest sunshine-y day ever. i just love seeing squirrels out and about haha so excited to do it all over again in june

9/11 Memorial & Museum

13. saved this for last. i spent an evening at the 9/11 museum and it was.. a lot. i don’t know exactly what to say, and i don’t want to say the wrong thing. i do remember 9/11 really vividly and with my dad being in the military, it obviously affected how i grew up and my perspective on certain things. i think everyone should visit the museum at least once (i know there is some controversy from some of the families about the remains repository, which is completely valid. and the fact that there is a store, and that events occur on-site just doesn’t sit right with me. and it’s not even about me.)

the museum heavy and a lot to take in at times but it just.. makes you think. and it’s such an important part of our country’s history. 

(also they place a rose on the name of each person who died during the attacks on their birthday as a way of remembering them and bringing attention to each person as an individual - in the top photo, the rose had somehow fallen but that’s the story behind roses).

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