In a neat little trick, Chris and his best friend since second grade have arranged to do a house-swap. Today, our family of five country mice is headed to New York City to stay in David’s high-rise, mid-town, one bedroom-with-fold-out-couch apartment.
We will park our car in the garage under his building, zoom up the elevators with our bags and air mattress, run outside if we want ice cream at 3 AM, enjoy watching the fish in his aquarium, marvel at the views from the 52nd floor, and use his comfy place as our NYC HQ.
City mouse David, meanwhile, will be taking a train to our little suburb with his girlfriend. When they arrive at our quaint, historic brick train station, they’ll hop in Ian’s battered bronze Volvo, which we will have left parked in the lot, and motor down to our house, a half-mile away.
We hope they will enjoy the trees and daffodils, the free and ample parking, the kitchen big enough to swing a cat in, the bathroom with soaking tub, the newspaper in the driveway, and the total privacy.
I have gone back to a post from early winter of this year in which many of you gave great recommendations for things to see and do in New York City. We have mapped out a rough schedule and order of operations – always subject to change – and I will report back in this space on Monday.
I will assume that just as in Aesop’s fable, the city mouse will be ill-prepared for and amazed at the dangers in the country, and vice versa, and that we will all be happy to be back in our own cozy nests at the end of this experiment. Having experienced each other’s realities, we will be energized by the experience, but content to return to normal.
Ever done a house swap? Which do you prefer: Hyatt, hostel, or house? Any vacation dream-or-nightmare tales?
