My birthday trip to New York City is now officially the stuff of memories–amazing memories that have me grinning ear-to-ear as I’m writing this blog. It was everything I wanted it to be and a million times more.

It started early Thursday morning…

My flight was on time, the shuttle into midtown was relatively uneventful, and I was able to check into my hotel room several hours early. On Judy’s advice, I chose to stay at the Algonquin on West 44th Street. The very sweet doorman took my picture out front just so all of you could see me on my adventure (though, in all fairness, the picture doesn’t come close to doing the outfit justice–purrrrr).

**Pssst. You can click on the images to make them a little larger**

After soaking up my home-away-from-home, I wandered up to Rockefeller Center in the hopes of finding a bakery (check!), a birthday candle (check!!), and a handful of chocolate caramels from Switzerland (uh–check?). Okay, so maybe the latter wasn’t part of the original plan, but those things were oh-so-very-incredible (and, *ahem*, fun ) to eat. Mmmmmmmm……………

The weather, being as beautiful as it was, made it very hard to head back to the room in preparation for the second half of my birthday. But anticipation, thankfully, won out.

I saw Hairspray on Broadway (Cheers’ Norm played the mom–very funny), had a wonderful dinner, wandered the streets at night, and made it up to the Empire State Building at midnight for what had to be one of the all-time most spectacular views I’ve ever seen! And if sharing all of that didn’t get me misty-eyed enough, I got to blow out my single yellow candle to the sweetest rendition of “Happy Birthday” I’ve ever heard.

Fortunately, my trip wasn’t over. I still had Friday, Saturday, and Sunday…

Now, for those who have followed my posts throughout December, you might remember that my decision to go to NYC for my birthday (rather than a beach) was ignited after stumbling across a black and white photograph of a snow-covered bridge in Central Park while perusing calendars at work. Less than a week later, that same exact bridge flashed through my mind during an MRI, calming my nerves and inking my decision right there on the spot in the tube.

So, after my actual birthday was behind me, I set off through Central Park in search of my bridge…armed only with an image that had emblazoned itself in my mind a full month earlier. I wandered along quiet paths, navigated my way around century-old trees, dodged hard-core runners, and sidestepped a few bikers as I tried to locate my bridge with the help of the skyline.

As you can see, I found it!!! And, as silly as it may sound, I am convinced that bridge is going to change my life one day. Maybe it will be a backdrop in the novel that makes me millions , maybe it’ll be the site of something truly amazing in my personal life, maybe it’ll–

I don’t know.

I just know, somehow, that it’s going to play a big and beautiful part in my life. Though, come to think of it, since that bridge is the reason I ended up in NYC for my birthday, it already has. In many ways.

On the way out of the park I came across a sidewalk vendor who was selling black and white photographs of various landmarks in NYC. And, sure enough, he had the snow-covered picture of Gapstow Bridge that started my journey four weeks ago. A picture that is now hanging in my home as a reminder of the wonderful things that can happen in life when you find the courage to stop, take a deep breath, and believe in yourself no matter what life throws your way.

Hugs,
~Laura

**A huge thank you goes out to everyone who sent a voicemail, dropped me an email, sent a card, or even threw a cake at me on Facebook. You helped make my birthday a special day. A day to celebrate and look forward.

Oh, and for those of you who were hoping I’d be greeted at baggage claim by a guy wielding a “Laura” sign…does breakfast with a former Abercrombie & Fitch model make things right???