No, I didn't get a crazy offer from a NY publisher. But I am going to Manhattan for a long weekend.
Right now I'm in a really nice hotel room near PDX, listening to the fan in the bathroom whine like a vacuum cleaner outside our door. We've got winter weather coming in with a vengeance, including the promise of freezing rain, so we reserved a spot yesterday afternoon. Our inner sense of perfect timing was operating at peak efficiency because hours later all the hotel rooms near the airport were sold out. I felt badly for the two ladies at the reservation counter stuck with the choice of getting a single king bed suite (the last room available) or setting out farther south in hopes of finding a two bed room. We would have traded with them, but, well, we have a single king bed suite.
So why Manhattan? My DH travels for work and we spend a lot of time apart, which is ideal for writing but not so great when it's your 26th wedding anniversary. Plus, I've always wanted to visit the American Museum of Natural History and (apparently its neighbor,) The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I'd be hard-pressed to think of something more fun than spending the day viewing dinosaur skeletons and Van Gogh. So he got us a great hotel room on 8th street right in the middle of it all, and we'll be boarding a red eye flight early this evening, to arrive just in time for coffee and donuts in NYC. Maybe there will be snow in Central Park. I haven't Googled to find out. I want it to be a surprise.
While my DH is working, I'll be shepherded by, check this out, my grade school through high school best friend who was also my next door neighbor from 1978 through 1985. I've seen her only a pair of times since then, the last time being about twenty years ago. I think we'd be hard-pressed to figure out which of us is more excited. On my side, I'll be visiting for the very first time (except as a toddler) a legendary city that's at the hub of the American experience. On her side, she'll be showing me her town, something I personally enjoy immensely when we have people from all over the US and from around the world come visit us in the Pacific NW. When I told her I'd like to see The Met, she said no, we're seeing all the museums. All of them. (You're awesome, H!)
Fortunately I have all my main holiday shopping done, so I won't be tempted to pick up anything bigger than a stocking stuffer. And yes, I know I have a million pairs of gloves (I love gloves) but I'm going to keep a lookout for a pair that comes up to the elbows. One must have a goal when one is looking at window displays on Fifth Avenue, something I've been told by friends that I must do. And also I have to have my picture taken in front of the massive tree at the Rockefeller Center. That won't be a hardship. I love big, beautiful trees.
From the writing standpoint, I'll be paying special attention to all things 18th century. New York was thriving by the 18th century, and was a place of political and strategic importance. I'm sure I'll find all kinds of interesting things about New York when we see all the museums. All of them.