Apartment Photos Finally and Saying Goodbye

Anthony flies home today, and I can only imagine the sadness he felt at having to say goodbye to Kira this morning. Lucky for us, she has a classmate from Auburn who is there from her internship in D.C. and they will be spending the weekend together exploring and attending church.  One of our biggest desires for Kira while she lives in NYC is to get involved in a local church, and thankfully for us and for her, there are several she is interested in visiting.  Her friend will leave late tomorrow afternoon, and work begins on August 5th.

Yesterday was the last day of sightseeing for Anthony and he finally got to do his cruise to Liberty Island.  Until they went, I assumed that the Statue of Liberty was on Ellis Island.  It is not.  So much for assumptions.  They did photograph Ellis as they passed by, but it was too hot and they were too tired to stop and visit.  Plus, there were tons of people, and they were a bit weary of that aspect of sightseeing.  They also made Kira throw away her self defense items she forgot she had with her, so there is that.  Turns out, you can't mail pepper spray to NYC, so guess who will be taking some with her in October?  I did manage to send some non aerosol items to her, so she will be prepared.  She was most upset that she had to get rid of her small aerosol deodorant that she wanted to tell them was fine on the plane, but why alert TSA unnecessarily.  They are pretty strict about security when you are going to see Lady Liberty, which was evident by the armed escort.  I am glad about this, because no one statue represents what our country stands for than her, and she is best viewed in person.  When I went, it was rainy and windy, and cold, so I got a few shots of her and then retreated.  Anthony captured some beautiful views.

He also got a nice shot of Ellis Island

                                          The skyline is always beautiful, and this girl looks at home.

After resting for a few hours, they headed back to the city to meet up with family who were visiting other family who live there as well.  We learned at the family reunion a few weeks earlier that we have a cousin on Anthony's side, who recently moved to the Upper East Side and who is in the FBI.  A cousin in law enforcement who can keep an eye out for our daughter?  Yes please.  Anthony had never met him before, and he had his mom whom we had talked to at the reunion up for a visit, so it was the perfect time for a meet and greet.  He and his girlfriend both live in that area, and although Kira does not, she is not far from them, and they readily agreed to be a source for her should she need them, and this makes Anthony and I both very happy.  Family is everything, and having someone close by in such a big city is everything plus.  We are very grateful.

Their last dinner for the  visit was of course pizza, and Kira declared it the best margherita pizza she has ever eaten.  Anthony liked his calzone as well.  All good trips should end with pizza.

As for her apartment, I finally have photos!!!!  She lives in East Harlem, which is not really East Harlem, but more El Barrio, or Spanish Harlem, but it is really not that either, and has recently been referred to as South Harlem.  It is all very confusing.  All we know for sure is that it is close to Central Park North, is relatively safe, and she is between the red and green lines of the subway.  There is also a pretty pricy grocery store in her building, but she will want to do the majority of her food shopping elsewhere because of the price.  She lives on the 8th floor in an apartment with five bedrooms, and they are actual bedrooms.  Some are smaller than others and the rent reflects that.  She has one of the smaller ones, and it is SMALL.  One of her roommates lived in the Upper East Side for two years and said he is thrilled to be in this apartment, because his prior room was about the size of the elevator!  Must have had one of those "flex" rooms.  To state that rent is expensive there, is not even touching the word properly.  There is a lot of gentrification in Harlem, which is good for parents who are sending their daughters to live there, but not so good for those living in poverty who are being priced out.  It is a very complicated situation, and there are pockets around Kira that are still quite dicey, and she has to keep her wits about her at all times.  Thankfully, there is a large police presence, and there are cameras everywhere.  Anthony has given it his stamp of approval, and has walked the streets with her over and over again, and believes she will be fine.  I will not worry about her being there anymore than I worried about her being in Auburn, or Jacksonville, and I worried every day.  Danger is everywhere and all we can do is keep our kids covered in prayer and hope they and everyone around them make good decisions.  

Here are photos of her apartment.  The first one is of the living room and I love the windows and the view.  I did not include one of the kitchen because when Anthony took them, there was a mess with people moving in and moving out.  Only one roommate stayed.  The rest moved out for various reasons.  The girl who had Kira's room is headed to  medical school, so there was not a lot she could take with her, and chose to sell Kira her furniture, which was a huge advantage, because she also sold her the portable A/C unit!!!  It is very hot in NYC right now, so this purchase was worth every penny and she got it at a fraction of the cost of a new one.  She also scored big on the mattress that Kira has declared the most comfortable one she has ever slept on.

Kira has an eclectic style of decorating and I love it.  She can make any room feel cozy, and when I bring the rest of  her stuff, it will be even more so.

Kira's room

That's it.  Her new home.  May she make forever friends and memories, and have the time of her life.

I am counting the days until I can see her in October, and until then, I will pray fervently and hopefully talk to her frequently.  Is every day too much to ask?  :)