Joyful Adventures: A Little Slice of Heaven in NYC

Last updated on March 27th, 2024 at 02:33 pm

I spent the past weekend in NYC, and it felt like a little slice of heaven. There were plenty of mini joyful adventures, dancing, cocktails, rooftop terrace dining, and time spent with old and new friends.

I have always loved the Pierre Teilhard de Chardin quote: “Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.” This weekend’s road trip was definitely joy overload and filled with laughter.

I laughed silly over the weekend, to the point of crying with my stomach aching. I love that!

Serendipitous Joyful Adventure Trip

I decided to travel to New York City at the last minute when a friend of mine from overseas informed me that he’d be around for a few days. I wanted to spend time with my friend, a lindy hopper.

I contacted a handful of friends until I found a place to stay. And I decided to drive down for Saturday night’s swing dance at St. Jean Baptiste Church in Manhattan.

The church hall located in the basement had high ceilings and gorgeous hardwood floors, loved and coveted by dancers. The band Svetlana and the Delancy Five were playing, and another friend was DJing between band sets.

The crowd included a number of regulars and some dancers in their 70s or 80s who could still cut a mean rug. I danced with a man named “Ice,” who had to be 70+ and who was dapper, with a sharp gray suit and green accents, including shiny green leather shoes. The crowd was, in fact, older than at most dances I’ve been to over the years. A college-age crowd often comes to dances, and the rest of us tend to be in our 30s and 40s. It was relaxing and nice to dance with older dancers who might’ve had a more limited range of movement but still had a strong sense of rhythm. These were good dancers!

My friend, on the other hand, is a talented dancer who surprises you with every 8-count. It’s kind of like riding a carnival ride. You never know what’ll happen next!

The whole evening, from the gentler, slower dancers to the fun rollercoaster dances to the live music and the spirit in the hall, was just full of joy for me. I was so full of joy that it spilled over. Dancing does that for me!

A few of us went out for sushi afterward, and I learned more about the history of lindy hop from my friend, who’s been on the scene since the revival of the dance in the 1980s (I started dancing lindy hop in 1998). Lindy hop is a special dance that originated within the African-American community in the ballrooms of Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s. It’s the grand-daddy of all swing dances, an antecedent to West Coast Swing, jitterbug, East Coast Swing, etc.

Friends of mine were instrumental in reviving it after the dance had been “dormant” for years, including recruiting some of the original lindy hoppers, most famously Frankie Manning, to teach.

I am thankful to them because, without their guidance, I would never have had the chance to learn this dance, which has become such a big part of my life. Lindy Hoppers is one of my global communities, too. Just about anywhere I travel around the world, I can stay with dancers and/or go to dances.

Lindy Hoppers always welcomes their kind! We’re a friendly sub-culture, always very welcoming to other dancers.

Sunday Joyful Adventures! 

On Sunday, I camped out at a sweet vegetarian cafe called Snice in Chelsea to get some work done. Lunch was a vegan dish called “Thanksgiving leftovers,” which included Tofurky (“fake” turkey slices made of tofu), cranberry drizzle, baked sweet potato slices, roasted Brussels sprouts, and greens.

That, and a vegan whoopie-pie-style dessert: chocolate cookies with peanut butter filling. Outrageously delicious!

My visiting friend met me at the cafe at around 4, and then we wandered around Chelsea looking for somewhere to get a drink and a bite to eat. We settled on an Italian restaurant with a rooftop terrace since it was a lovely fall afternoon.

Since we were dining early, the terrace was mostly to ourselves. We spent a few hours there, sharing stories.

We laughed mostly —and laughed and laughed and laughed. I sipped a cocktail made with fig vodka and ginger.

When we finished up, it was getting dark. I’d originally planned to meet another friend to dance to Brazilian music, but she was too tired to head out, so I offered to give my friend a ride back to Harlem. We also picked out another bar along the way since my evening was now free. It was one of those days when you didn’t want it to end. I wanted to just keep hanging out, laughing, and sharing stories.

It was also one of the most uproariously hilarious days I’d spent with anyone in a while. My stomach hurt from laughing so much, and I’d had to wipe away tears (of joy and laughter!).

That’s what I call a successful day in the city—or anywhere, really; as my friend pointed out, it’s not the location that matters as much as the company. And I was in divine company.

A Slice of Joyful Adventure Heaven

For me, “heaven on earth” is joy and laughter. It’s when we connect deeply with someone or when we don’t want our time with them to end. It’s sharing, connecting, and enjoying new experiences together. My weekend in New York City was a slice of heaven.

I love the city, too, and I love exploring. I even love driving in NYC, which many people seem to fear or not like. I am not intimidated by it in the least. It was a good reminder that I must drive down to the big city more often to dance, see friends, and have random joyful adventures. There is no place like New York City, that’s for sure!