The New York Saga
Friday: We left Maryland at 5:00. Of course we ran into traffic near DC/Baltimore, but I had borrowed a GPS from a co-worker and it had a traffic sensor thing so we were able to take a slightly better route. On this trip were R, K, and S (and me!). We talked and listened to Christmas music and played stupid car games. We arrived in New Jersey where we were spending ths ight (because it was cheaper than NYC) and checked into our hotel room. We played around with makeup and perfume and then K said "do you smell cigarette smoke?" and we all agreed we smelled something. And then we realized it wasn't cigarette smoke. Oh no it wasn't. So we called management and it got stronger and stronger and the people next door were really loud (there was apparently some huge wedding) and they finally moved us to a new room. It smelled TERRIBLE. And then they comped us the night. So we didn't have to pay! Yay!
Saturday: The next morning, we drove into NYC to the Hilton Times Square. R is a Hilton diamond member and was able to get a free night at that hotel. Though, if we hadn't shown up, they were going to charge her like 1,700 dollars for the night. So we made sure to show up.
The GPS took us to the front of the hotel, but not to the valet. We didn't know where it was so R (who was driving) got out to check us in and told me to drive around the block. For the record, I don't like city driving. AT ALL. But K and S are too timid really to drive in a city. Especially Times Square on a Saturday afternoon with pretty crappy weather. So I took the wheel. I was like, "is that SUV letting me in?" and the girls in the back were all, "No..." and I replied "Too bad, I'm in front of him!" and then, "Is that taxi moving?" "Nope." "Oh well, I'm merging anyway!" "That taxi is honking at you" "So? There's nothing I can do, there are people in the crosswalk and I am not running them over." So yeah, driving, yay. We went around the block and...found the valet. So we got the car parked, and put the luggage in storage until we could officially check in since the room wasn't ready.
We walked through the rain and mist to Macy's. It was a zoo. Of course. I didn't buy anything. They had a lot of stuff but nothing I really wanted. Oh well. After that, we hiked to the car because we had forgotten the coupon for dinner. We stopped in a theather shop while we waited for the car and I got two music books (Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella and Irving Berlin's White Christmas). Really, that was the only thing I bought (other than the theater tickets and food) for the trip. After collecting our coupon, we headed up to Rockafeller Center. We passed the theater on the way so we knew just where to go for the show that night. The weather was pretty hideous but the skating rink was full. And the shopping under the rink was a zoo. My main impression of it is...it is a heck of a lot smaller than I thought it was. I was expecting a much larger ice skating rink--it always looks big on TV and movies from what I remember. We saw the tree and Radio City Music Hall and then went to the shopping under it all. Still didn't buy anything. And I almost lost my eyes a dozen times because short people with umbrellas hold them right about at my eye level. Stupid people, it wasn't raining *that* hard. We then trekked back to Broadway for dinner. While we were at dinner, the rain/mist turned to snow and we had really nice views out the window to watch it. Well I did, R and S had their backs to it mostly. I also got to watch the M&M World screens all through dinner. After dinner we walked back to the hotel to check in, get our luggage and change for the show. It was really cold so the other girls decided not to wear their dresses. Me, being a trooper, toughed it out and wore my sweater dress with tights and heels. Oh yeah, I'm the boss. We walked down to the theater and saw the show.
The show: It was good. David Ogden Stiers was General Waverly. That was awesome. The guy playing Bob was...not so great. His singing was fine but he kept stepping all over his lines. And they changed the tempo of White Christmas right at the beginning of the show and he just sang the songs, he didn't really feel them the way Bing seemed to. The girl playing Betty was not bad but I didn't like the arrangement of the "Love" song. They turned it into a power ballad when it really was more of a lament. Phil and Judy were not as fleshed out as they were in the movie but overall okay. The great things about the show were: General Waverly, the granddaughter, the housekeeper, the snoring man, the set design, and the ensemble and their tap dancing! The tapping was AWESOME! Seriously awesome. The bad: the theater was pretty darn cold. When we got outside, even though it was like 10:30, it was as bright as day. My poor night vision liked the light provided by all the blinkies but it was so strange looking.
After the show, we were all tired from the first day and a little grumpy so we headed back to the hotel and to bed. I got the floor both nights. But the second night, it was my choice because the roll-away was too soft and my back was hurting. I also chose the floor the first night because R snores like you wouldn't believe and I am a restless sleeper and it wouldn't have worked. Next time, i am bringing a blow-up bed. :-D
Sunday: S and I got up early to go to church at St. Patrick's. It was nice to walk in the city when there weren't the huge crowds. We got breakfast after church and then headed back to the hotel. R and K were finally up and they wanted to go to Sephora which was right by the hotel. I stayed behind so we could call for the car in time to not get charged for another day. We packed up and checked out headed over to the Italian section to get lunch and come canolis. It was good. After that, we were spent and decided to head on home. The drive back was pretty boring overall and we were all tired and a little grumpy. But I swear, we had to stop like six times for those girls to go to the bathroom. Weak bladders I guess.
so, that was the trip. I didn't buy anything that said "I <3 NY" because I don't know if it would be true. It was fun, but really, we didn't see much of the city. Broadway/Times Square is what I'd imagine Tokyo looks like. I'd like to go back and see more, but eh, I think I am a Chicago girl at heart. And paying liike $40 dollars in tolls just to get up there and back seems so absurd.
The End