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We're in the middle of planning a short trip to New York City , with an excursion to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to visit my cousin, his daughter, and my parents. It has been over a decade since I spent meaningful time in the latter. And, though we did go to New York in November, 1999, when Skylar was thirteen months old, it has been a very long time indeed since I visited the neighborhood in Astoria where my father grew up and where I spent a week each summer with his sister's family from 1973 to 1979. It's understandable that a person making a rapid trip to the area would stick to the sights in Manhattan. But I've really been wanting to show Skylar where her relatives are from.
Serendipity must be on my side for once, because the place we've found to stay in New York is A) near the airport where we're landing; B) a block-and-a-half from the main East-West subway line through Queens and therefore with fast, easy access to Midtown; and, most importantly, C) within walking distance of 2213 38th Street, my father's old home, and the surrounding bustle of Ditmars Boulevard and Steinway Street that made such a vivid impression on me when I was five and six. In other words, I'll get to show Skylar the museums and tourist destinations she wants to see and show her something of her heritage without having to make a time-consuming detour. The only thing that worries me is that my nostalgia might lead me to purchase Twinkies and strawberry soda, something only my aunt permitted me.
