A by-product of attending the APHC show on Saturday night was to have been in New York City, and the opportunity to visit the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. You’ve heard the story before, about how I had proposed marriage to Edith while ice skating under the Rock Center tree in 1997, so the tree is always special. Each year we make sure we watch the tree lighting broadcast on television, and we try to visit the tree in person as well.
After the show, we took a walk up 5th Avenue to Rock Center, paused for a family photo, hung out at the rink for a bit, and wandered over to stand under the big tree itself. The crowd was pretty big, but not insurmountable; the weather was cold, but not as cold as 1997. From the tree we crossed 5th Avenue for a stop at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, then with starving and tired children in hand we walked back down 5th to 43rd to grab a bite to eat. Finally trekked back to Penn Station where we just missed the 11:11 train and had to wait for the 12:34 back to Summit. Arrived home at 2:00 AM.
On Sunday, we woke at 6:30 to be at Breakfast with Santa by 8:15 AM; Will and the 4th graders were serving as Santa’s elves, for two breakfast seatings. We got back home at Noon, and were back out again at 2:30 for the annual drive out to Rosemont Tree Farm to cut down the perfect tree. Again it was cold and windy, and we hunted for over an hour, but finally found a tree that was just right. Tied it onto the roof of the car and drove home, trimmed off some of the lower branches, cut a half an inch off the bottom, and brought it into the house. The tree looks good from any angle, so getting it set into the stand was a snap. Lighting was deferred until Monday night, and Edith and the kids took care of the decorations tonight.
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