Jamaica Bay Preserve

Jason & I decided to see how far we could go on our subway cards...we ended up at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Preserve (really a bird preserve). It was fun to explore. We were completely fascinated by the Horseshoe Crab shells that were literally lining the shores of the bay. I had never seen such a thing...we really wanted to see one that was alive, but seems only their shells were left for us to play with. It was a good, easy and free way to get away from the city for the afternoon, which we are always up for!

Hiking Breakneck Ridge

While the title of this hiking area doesn't exactly encourage those who are not sure-footed, we needed to escape the city for a day, so escape we did. We grabbed a Metro-North train up to Cold Springs and hiked to our hearts content. This area doesn't have too many hills, so there wasn't a ton of elevation climb, but there were some nice viewpoints and we were away! The only bad part...after hiking 7 miles, we couldn't locate the other train "station" (a ten-foot wooden platform) in time to catch the train back to Cold Springs and we ended up walking the 2 miles back along the tracks, then having dinner at the Cold Springs French restauarant. We saved the other dinners from our hiking stench and opted to eat on the patio :)

Our very 1st visitor!

My best-friend, Julie, came out to visit her brother along with Jason & I. It was such a gift to be able to see her. The only bad part, I'd just started my job and couldn't take any time off to hang out with her. We made-do with visiting in the evening and had a wonderful time catching up.

Carrie gets a job!

It's only a temporary position, but it IS a job! It pays enough that we can afford to stay in the city. We don't know what God has for us here, but clearly he is enabling us to stay, at least for today. We are so thankful for this tremendous opportunity to experience a new place. Oh, I'm working for the investment banking division of Bank of America as an administrative assistant. I know nothing about investment banking, but I guess I am going to find out!

Jason gets a job!

Wow! God provides in some incredible ways, all the time and always beyond our expectations. Jason & I knew that we could only afford to live in NYC 6 weeks without jobs before we'd have to leave & see where God was leading us instead. However, just 2 weeks after arriving here, Jason has a job!!! He will be working at an 8th grade history teacher at a Preperatory Charter school in the Bronx. I am so proud of him and excited for him! Since this is also my birthday, I call this an incredible birthday present! Now, I need to find a job too, so that we can actually afford to stay here!

Chickens in NYC???

As I was getting ready for church this morning, I heard a very familiar sound...one I hadn't heard since living in Tonga. The crowing of a rooster!! I could hardly believe my ears! I looked out our back window and sure enough, scavenging through area behind an abandoned building were two chickens! Of course, I had to take a picture! The sound that used to wake me up hourly beginning at 1 am for the 6 months I lived in Tonga had followed me to the biggest city in the USA! While some might have been annoyed to hear this, Jason and I delighted in it and in the memories it brought of our lives in Tonga.

Moving to NYC!

We hopped onto a red-eye flight last night in Seattle and arrived in JFK this morning ... anxiously, hoping and praying that the apartment we had arranged to sublet (sight-unseen) was not in fact a scam. Thankfully when we arrived, our new building "super" was sitting on the stoop watching as our cab driver grumpily dumped our bags out of his trunk into the middle of the street. Al helped us hoist our bags inside and up the narrow, slightly slanting steps to our new home - at least for the next 6 weeks. Inside, we were delighted to see that the place looked exactly as beautiful as it had looked in photos we'd seen. It felt like we had just walked into a lovely bed & breakfast.