Started off the second day with a lovely breakfast at HGI Danbury.

After packing up and checking out, we left the Connecticut side of things where I used to go to the mall, YMCA, and Stew Leonard’s. Back to New York!

One more drive through my town of Brewster, admiring the lakes in the area.

Oh that steep hill that pictures can’t seem to do justice to. I remember many a bike ride down and walk up that thing.

At the base of the hill is this giant house, which was always a great mystery to me. I think it’s two units. Looks so grand!

Once we arrive in the city, we swing by Dominique Ansel Bakery, which I am told is where the cronut originates.

No more cronuts, so I went for the magic souffle instead, which they cooked in something like 10 minutes.

As we walked towards the World Trade Center area, we saw this cool tent set up for #TalkingTransition.

Fancy a bike ride? No problem! I’d rather walk though.

I saw a bright sculpture and just had to have some fun with it.

Underneath that bench and bike racks you’ll find a vent for the subway station. Strange sort of place to sit.

Have you ever tried stacked parking? I haven’t.

Upon arriving in the WTC region, we were greeted by this large balloon sculpture.

We were told to check out the Canstruction exhibit and this rollercoaster was my favorite.

A very poignant memorial for 11 American Express employees lost in 9/11.

We got tickets for the 9/11 memorial and came across these cute trees on our way over.

Just as we neared the 9/11 memorial, the sun came out to light up the new One World Trade Center building being built.

Here we go into the memorial… first it took us through a line winding around buildings and through a security check.

The brochure and tickets we got.

Aw, that’s so sweet of them.

A ton of people were there looking through names and taking in the rushing water.

I think they did a good job designing this memorial. It’s a powerful image paired with impressive sound to give you enough of a haunting feeling.

Adorned with yellow ribbons… this tree got plenty of visitors.

Memorial guides were available in many languages.

When we left, I saw this police guy watching the entrance to the memorial.

And another funky watching station the NYPD uses.

Check out this massive mural for those who have fallen and those who have carried on.

Random eyes in the subway station are kind of awkward.

For dinner, we went to Ollie’s! I gobbled down hot and sour soup meant for 4.

Panda shared some of his wonton noodle soup.

I also got the xiao long bao (juicy pork dumplings).

Panda helped me eat one and loaded on the ginger. The couple next to us literally stared at him as he ate it, apparently in disbelief that he could have all that ginger.

I was so excited that they have potato strips! One of my favorite dishes, but few restaurants offer it. They’re so crisp and wonderful! This one was SPICY though.

Panda gets his all-time fav dish: salted pork chops. We were very full by the end of it all.

After taking the bus back to the New Jersey side, where our hotel was, I noticed the skyline visible in the distance as we walked. Nice!

The next morning, we had breakfast with my friend and then went to meet up with my Singaporean friends. Saw this randomness in the subway station.

We found the Singaporeans at the MoMA gift shop browsing. It took me a sec to figure out these calendars!

I almost got these at the MoMA store, but they weren’t large enough for the measurements I wanted.

After a brief visit to the city once more, we were back on the New Jersey side, getting a great view.

The rest of the day was spent driving home. As the sun lit up the sky in pink, Philadelphia came into view and I passed out for part of the ride.

For dinner, I found a Mexican place in Delaware and tried something new.

They gave us such cute little dessert lollipops!

On our way through Baltimore, we passed by Johns Hopkins as we avoided the toll roads. Soon enough we were home!

A perfect start to our trip!

This reminds me of the time my friend yelled HEY while driving… what she meant was HAY (on a truck), lol.

I’d like a side of gas station with my tobacco outlet please.

Crossing over…

A quick pit stop at a ginormous Whole Foods leads us to these yummy apple samples.

We totally pigged out on the chips and guac alongside some employees. It had quite a kick!

I was sooo excted when I saw marinated mushrooms, but after buying them and trying them, I found they weren’t the taste I was looking for.

I *almost* bought one of these, but I’m holding off til we move.

What a fun basket cart you can wheel around!!

Such pretty colors. I’d love to hop in one and explore a river.

I’d forgotten what it was like to drive on roads like these.

The first memory we revisited: Westchester Community College, where I had Chinese school on Sundays. I still remember the parking lot area!

And that’s the building where I learned many years of Chinese and took a cartooning class, a paper cutting class, an oil pastel class, and more…

Whoa, check out that super modern Wendy’s!

IT’S MY TOWN!!!

Good old train station where we’d pick up my dad after work.

Aww, my old house! We were the first tenants; I wonder how many have lived there since.

I took a quick peek at the house where I used to babysit a family of 5 kids. The only family I’ve ever babysat for!

Our neighborhood is up on a STEEP hill. I don’t know if you can tell but take a look at the person walking up. Great views from here!

Hello, middle school. This is where I learned how to make tweeties, played full-contact basketball with the guys, and went to some awkward dances.

Across the street from the middle school is the deli that I remember so fondly.

They still have my fav sandwich, the Pesature, which I liked mostly because I knew the people it was named after.

I love this place because of the deviled eggs. I’ve never been able to find ones that I like better.

So of course, I had to stock up on those eggs! The nice lady threw in two for free when I got half a dozen. NOMMMMM

Such a pretty sunset out here.

My old high school, which did not have the left half when I moved away. Too bad I couldn’t see the old part, where I knew everyone in my graduating class (and many in other grade levels too), took way too many classes at once, learned of 9/11 (and got sent home), and always had snacks to share with friends.

I watched Fiddler on the Roof when I was a sophomore and it was cool to find the poster up, albeit at the far end of the hall where it might get phased out in a few years. I still recognize many people in the pictures!

If only I’d stayed to graduate from this school, I might just have made it on this poster.

It was a brief visit, but good to see my old school. Go Bears!

Tuned in to my radio station from back in the day. Over a decade later and I still like what they play.

I only vaguely remembered Stew Leonard’s and I really wanted to show Panda the singing cows.

It’s massive inside and like an IKEA, where you follow a single path winding through the store. Tons of electronic animals will sing to you as you pass by or press a button.

It’s such a homey feel in here.

As we were leaving, I caught a glimpse of Christmas trees that were hidden away in a tent. I just had to investigate!