Kari Visits Ithaca (Part Deux)

Finally, a story to tell. It has everything you could ever want in a story. A beginning, a middle, an end... a princess... a knight!

Of course, it is missing a major conflict and resolution so ok, ALMOST everything you would want in a story.

~

The story begins on Saturday morning. I borrowed a car from my friend Steve and drove to the airport to pick up Kari. I arrived just in time to walk through the automatic doors and look across the terminal (it is a very small airport) to see her walking past security. It took her a few seconds to spot me but after that, it was magical. Music was playing, bells were tolling, confetti was flying, fireworks were exploding... it was magical alright.

Kari had taken a red eye flight out of LA and, after a layover in Jersey, finally made it to Ithaca, New York.

Our first priority was food. We went to the Ithaca Farmer's market but what seemed like warm weather to me, was actually quite cold and we moved on to Ithaca Bakery. Astonished to find a meager breakfast menu there we moved on to Friendly's (friendly Denny's) and had an incredible breakfast of pancakes, french toast, and a pot of coffee.

Later that evening, after a lazy afternoon catching up on sleep and TV shows (Get some Glee!) we headed to Moosewood Restaurant to meet some of my friends for dinner. It was great to introduce her to everyone and, after we finally were seated, we had an awesome time with everyone.

Sunday, after she had sufficient time to recuperate from her journey, I took Kari to Cornell for a tour of my studio and daily rituals. The weather had turned gray for the weekend (It is Always Sunny in Philadelphia... It is Never Sunny in Ithaca).
After trooping around campus we picked up some movies in Collegetown and went to lunch at the Collegetown Bagels, downtown. This is me and though my face is expressionless, that bagel, is awesome.
After lunch we walked over to Ithaca Coffee Company to get some work done. It was nice to integrate Kari into an activity I do fairly often: going to coffee shops and architecting.

We were fairly successful and to congratulate ourselves for such discipline we decided to go back to my apartment and watch an afternoon movie. Kari was cold and I don't remember how she manager to get wrapped into such a ball but she makes the most adorable bean bag I have ever seen.
That night we went to Sushi O Sake Japanese food for dinner. What we had intended as a light meal ended up a little extravagant.

After dinner we went to Madeline's for dessert. Kari had a swirl cake that was delectable and I had a raspberry creme brulle that was divine. Overall it was a good night for our palettes.
Monday morning came only too quickly. A mere 48 hours after she arrived in Ithaca I was taking her back to airport. We sat at the airport cafe drinking flavored cappuccinos, the kind that a machine makes by mixing a mystery powder and hot water, and tried restricting our conversation to happy thoughts, the kind that make you fly in Neverland.

It was a fantastic weekend, a sweet treat in our overly busy lives.