Yes, He Ate the Whole Thing

That started off as a whole Cougar Tail, the BYU stadium concession that is the equivalent of four maple bars. Niels ate one by himself.

Spence kindly shared. It took years, but I finally succumbed to the Cougar Tail. Verdict: tasty.

Thanks to Uncle Kent for sharing tickets for his mega-good seats.

Rogerses Take New York

Disconcerting

As we took in the Manhattan skyline on our anniversary cruise, we spotted Spence's building. It was frighteningly easy to find. I hope this was just the night that the janitors clean every floor of the building . . . at the same time . . .

NY, NY

Returning to the Big Apple was great.

There may not have been any visits to the projects or funerals or stabbing sites. And there was no chatting up Jerry Seinfeld, stalking Tom Cruise, getting in the car with strangers in Staten Island, knocking doors of suspected Islamic extremists, auditioning for the Rockettes, attending fundraisers with John McCain—not even a Washington Heights basketball tournament. I guess you just never see the five boroughs like you do as a New York Daily News intern.

But there is always more to love about the city that never sleeps. Especially when instead of a dormitory-style closet on the Upper West Side, you get to wake up in a king-size bed in a swanky Midtown hotel and create a day for yourself. While Spence was in training, I saw Broadway in Bryant Park, woke Niels up to the live performance of One Republic playing that song he won't stop playing, did the MoMA thing, cycled Central Park, overate at the Mandarin Hotel's Asiate in Colombus Circle, failed at getting Shakespeare in the Park tickets, and paid respects at the World Trade Center memorial. And when he was off the clock, we discovered a few gems that should be on your must-see list:

1. Highline Park

2. The Frick

3. Tram to Roosevelt Island

FWIW, Newsies on Broadway is alright. Also, you can skip Jones Beach, though it was worth the adventure.

Five

Six years or so ago, Spencer traded in a plane ticket to Puerto Rico, where he was signed up to sell security systems all summer, for a ticket to New York, so he could visit a girl he'd known for only two-and-a-half weeks. During that four-day weekend we ate pizza under the Brooklyn Bridge. And yesterday we celebrated our five-year anniversary boating under that same bridge. With any luck, we'll find ourselves under this bridge again.