Ah, we had a wonderful time in New York! I got to catch up with many of my best college friends and attend some thought-provoking events such as seminars and lectures.

About the only negative was I drank too much the final night of the reunion. I thought I was OK until I woke up the next morning and had to throw up. I haven't done that in years! I gradually felt better, but I didn't sleep well any of the nights I was there. Too much drinking every day was part of it, plus being in a strange bed, plus probably my mom senses being a little fraught from not having the kids around. This was the longest we've ever been away from them--from Thursday morning (we left before they woke up) to this morning (we got in at 2 am after our flight was delayed a few hours, so we didn't see them until around 7am when we woke up to get them to school and daycare).

We got to spend some time in Manhattan Thursday and Brooklyn Sunday, on either end of the reunion (which was in Bronxville). Even though the expenses added up more than I would have liked, we had a great time. And some of the places we ate and drank were actually really reasonable, on a par with or slightly cheaper than comparable offerings in Minneapolis!

One thing AS realized was she was feeling a little shy of talking in the seminars and feeling a little stymied vs. inspired by everyone talking about all the stuff they do. Over the course of the weekend, we realized that working at home all the time may be having a negative effect on her. So once we pay off the tax and dental bills, we're going to look at co-working options so she can get out of the house and be around others when she works.

So on to spending. It wasn't a crazy amount, if a bit more than I would have liked. We had prepaid a number of things, so those won't come out of the current deficit on the tax bill goal:
Reunion registration $495 (included lunch & dinner Fri. & Sat. plus several cocktail receptions and other events)
Donation to college: $500
Hotel 3 nights: $611.04
Airfare (after CC rewards used): $20.80

So $1626.84 for those in-advance purchases. Then the actual spending on the trip:

Money to one of our friends to help pay for childcare expenses (food, activities, transportation): $100.00
Took our downstairs neighbors out to dinner as a pre-thanks for watching the kids the other 2 days: $67.00
Took out cash for the trip (ended up spending it on subway, used books from an outdoor stand, lunch at a place that didn't take cards, and various other small purchases): $120.00
Lyft from home to airport: $22.07
Checked luggage: $25.00
AS in-flight snack: $5.00
Airtrain from airport +subway fare: $8.00 x3=$24
Luggage storage Thursday while we explored NYC: $10.00
Thursday lunch: $35.60
NT purchases at a record shop: $51.18
Drinks Thursday afternoon: $45.00
Thursday dinner: $140.00
Train from NYC to Bronxville: $46.50 (I bought 3 round trips but we all misplaced our tickets and had to buy new ones Sunday, so wasted $23.25!)
Taxi from train station to hotel: $14.14
AS snack at hotel Friday: $7.08
Hangover snack for me Sunday (fries and soda): $6.51
Train from Bronxville to NYC: $23.25
Subway fare from NYC to Brooklyn: $3.00 x3 = $9
Coffee: $6.36
Airtrain fare back to airport: $6.00 x3 = $18
Checked luggage: $25.00
Drinks at airport: $38.40
AS snack at airport: $10.88
Souvenirs for kids (my impulse purchase): $17.40
Airport snack for NT: $3.58
Taxi home: $42.55

So total additional spending for the 4 days: $913.50

All told, $2,540.34. That comes to a little over $200 per person per day. I suppose that's not too bad for a trip to New York!