Baby Steps off the Subway

So, this summer has been quite a rush for me. I went to New York City for the very first time in my life. My old roommate Whitney had a wedding to attend in Town College, Pennsylvania. So we did a multi-stop trip starting in New York City. We walked an average of 9 miles a day while in the city and I will just tell you a little bit about how that went for me.

** Bonus for anyone who knows where my post title is from**

I love to walk, I am an avid hiker as you have probably seen. However, I have neuropathy in my feet. If you aren’t sure what neuropathy is, it is a condition as a result of the following symptoms:

Gradual onset of numbness, prickling or tingling in your feet or hands, which can spread upward into your legs and arms
Sharp, jabbing, throbbing or burning pain
Extreme sensitivity to touch
Pain during activities that shouldn’t cause pain, such as pain in your feet when putting weight on them or when they’re under a blanket
Lack of coordination and falling
Muscle weakness
Feeling as if you’re wearing gloves or socks when you’re not
Paralysis if motor nerves are affected

Ironically if you have ever hiked with me or even seen me, (haha yes seen me) you know how uncoordinated I am. I always have bruises and scrapes all over my legs and sometimes my arms as well. However, no matter the pain it causes me I decided after my open heart surgery not to let my pain or conditions control my life anymore. So yes, this entire 5 day trip was extremely painful for me. We didn’t do any actual hikes, but the number of miles we walked was enough to cause immense pain in my feet. (I’d recommend also taking some low dose Aspirin or Tylenol to help with the pain)

Day two started with my feet completely numb before the day even started. I was able to stop in a drug store and get two sets of insoles that helped to some degree, but still did not leave me feeling comfortable at all and we ended up walking about the same number of miles the second day. I will say , though I didn’t try the “New York” Cheesecake or a “New York” Bagel, I did partake of the iconic New Yorker Pizza and had some of the best “pub” food of my life at a Jacob’s Pickles*** in Manhattan.

When we left New York on day 3 we headed to the city of brotherly love. I will tell you, I had no idea how green Pennsylvania is and I absolutely loved and missed the greenness of home while I was there. We met up with two of Whitney’s friends there who were also attending the wedding and were able to visit Reading Terminal which, is not as it sounds a lovely bookstore with endless books for your enjoyment. It instead is a market full jam packed with food vendors. I am not the biggest fan of crowds, especially when stuffed into small spaces. This market was maybe the size of a small Target and the equivalent of a full-fledged farmer’s market jam packed into it, with an area for eating in the middle.

I never before considered myself a stereotypical claustrophobic person, but that made me feel extremely claustrophobic. It was quite the experience for a small town girl from the rural outskirts of Indiana.

After a few days in Philly, we made our way through the farms, across the Delaware River through Intercourse (Amish country) for the wedding, located in State College, PA.

All together the whole affair cost around $700, with split hotels, etc, and it was well worth the money spent to get a number of new experiences under my belt including: