Getting Settled...

We are here in New York, finally settling in to our new apartment and our new city. We had a hectic day of travel on Thursday. We left home around 6:30 am in the Penske, prepared for the trip to take somewhere between 8 1/2 and 10 hours. We made great time during the early part of the day, got slowed by an accident in Delaware, but really lost major time trying to fill up with gas in New Jersey. NJ state law actually prohibits self-service of gasoline. We waited in line for gas for almost 40 minutes at one of the travel plaza service stations just so that someone else could pump gas for us. Even after these minor setbacks, we were still on target to make it to NYC (we were less than 10 miles away) by 4:00. I called the apartment building to see if we could move our things in upon arrival (rather than waiting until the following morning) and they agreed, expecting us around 4:00. When we got to the Lincoln Tunnel to cross over into Manhattan, we waited in traffic for about 45 minutes just to get through the ramp to pay the toll, and then another 30 minutes in bumper-to-bumper traffic (CRAZY) for the 1 mile through the tunnel. When we finally got out of the tunnel and into Manhattan, I sent Todd on a wrong turn and we got funneled through the bus terminal and...................(and this was the REALLY bad part).....................BACK THROUGH THE LINCOLN TUNNEL in the wrong direction!! So, off we went to wait in the 45 minute line to pay the toll (again). By the time we got back into Manhattan, rush hour(s) was in full swing. We slowly made our way through, passing the Penske truck right through Times Square (Hello New York!) and arrived at the apartment around 8:30 pm. Thankfully, they did let us move our things in and 2 very kind souls from the building helped us move the heavier stuff. We unpacked, ordered a pizza and crashed about 2 a.m. Friday morning we returned the Penske truck, went to the grocery store and did a little more organizing at the apartment. We squeezed in a walk around this beautiful island (we call it "Pleasantville"), then showered, changed and made our way to the trains to get to NJ for a wedding. We had a fantastic evening, got home late and, again, crashed around 2 a.m. This morning we slept in and spent the better part of the day exploring Manhattan. We went to Ground Zero/WTC memorial and also the the South Street Seaport near the Brooklyn Bridge. We had dinner in Little Italy, did some window shopping in SoHo and caught our train back home. Unfortunately, we've got another drive home ahead of us tomorrow (to get the dogs) and then it's back to NY on the 1st. We're looking forward to getting some rest once we return! I'm posting some pictures of our apartment.

I.C.E. and a Little History of this Adventure

Starting in January, I'll be attending school at I.C.E. (The Institute of Culinary Education) in New York City. I'll be taking classes in Baking/Pastry and also in Culinary Management. My interest in baking started long ago. When I was a little kid, I'd help my mom in the kitchen (she loved to bake) and every year, we'd make batches upon batches of cookies at the holidays. Throughout school and ever since, I've been cooking and baking for friends and family. Over the past 5 years, my love of baking has grown and it is now my favorite pastime. I decided early in 2006 to pursue it as my career and have been taking the steps to make that happen. In May, we visited New York and I interviewed at two culinary schools (I.C.E. and the French Culinary Institute). Although the FCI was nice, I felt something at ICE that just felt "right." Later in the Spring and Summer, I also visited a couple of culinary schools in Chicago and, again, although I loved the city and enjoyed visiting the schools, I kept coming back to I.C.E. After our visit, I continued to be excited about the possibility of training at I.C.E. and asked Todd to check wiht his company to see if he could go with me. They agreed and we both became more thrilled at the possibility of living in New York for a while! When we returned from vacation in October, I had a message waiting for me from the Admissions Counselor at I.C.E. I was "in" and classes would begin January 4th! I turned in my notice at my job and started the process of transferring my pharmacy license to New York. (I plan to work part-time there while I am in school.) Since then, we've been getting busier and busier with the planning and we officially leave for New York in 10 days! We have an apartment in New York City, a rental truck and our things are making their way into boxes. Time is quickly approaching and I am SO EXCITED! I.C.E. and New York City, HERE I COME!