NYC Days 3-4

Day 3

That Monday in NYC had to be one of the best.

First of all, my wish to visit the 9/11 Memorial Museum finally came true. I will tell you more about it in the next post.

After the 9/11 Memorial Museum, I had to hurry out--it was time to head to the NBC Studios to see Jimmy Fallon!!! It was amazing how we were able to get tickets (which were free)--even if it was just for the Monologue rehearsal! We got in line as one of the first, since we landed with priority seating tickets. We waited around for a while, then were led to the waiting room, where we waited some more. We then had a studio member get us pumped so we'd all be laughing as hard as possible to help Jimmy feed off of our energy. 

It was hard to believe what was happening as we entered his studio--set up the way you always see it, with the NYC backdrop, the blue curtain ahead, and the jazz band off to the side. We sat only a few rows back, right behind the camera in the center. There was Jimmy himself. We must have looked like kids with huge grins on our faces, all giddy with excitement. The rehearsal seemed to go by very quickly within its half hour span, but we laughed a good amount. It was an awesome experience!!

P.S. for anyone who doesn't know me super well, my hands always seem to be purple.

Once Jimmy Fallon was done, our whole group all headed over to the Wicked Lottery to try to win tickets. Emily had wanted to go so bad with Stevey, so we did all we could to get them tickets. We entered our names and if any of us were selected (there would be 13 people), then we would get 2 tickets each. After coming back an hour later, 3 of our names were drawn! Some of the guys already had tickets to School of Rock, so our party of 6 headed to the show! It was my 3rd time seeing it (2nd this year), but I didn't mind seeing it again and was happy to stick with the group. It was as amazing as ever and I was glad everyone who didn't see it finally could!

After Wicked, we headed to the Rockefeller Tower to go to the top! I was unsure about its expensive cost, but I will say it was one of the best experiences for the trip! The elevator rushed us to the top with flashing lights above, and once we got to the top, there was a small museum about its history we hurried through (because let's be honest--we just wanted the view.) And certainly, the view was incredible!! Seeing all the lights across the city in every direction was breath taking!!

This was Dan, who had to be one of the kindest security guards. He took our pictures for us. I decided to give him one of the "Love to Breathe" tokens and explained its significance to him. He loved it!

I cannot forget...one of our fun, spontaneous times was when we found this motion-censored, light-changing room at the top. Since we wanted it to keep changing colors, we decided to have a dance party right there and then!! People shook their heads as we were being kids, but deep inside they were probably jealous of the fun we were having. ;) 

The night ended with my health hitting rock bottom, and it was painful, but I couldn't help but think of what a great day it had been!!

Day 4

Our final day in New York was...an adventure. We mostly packed in the morning, and some went to the MET art museum, while the rest of us headed to Brooklyn Bridge. The architecture with how long it's held up was fascinating. We had fun taking pictures and having a good time there.

These 2 hooligans in our group are fun and darling :)

The problem was...we thought our flight was at 5:35 instead of 5:05. We thought we'd be fine being home by 2, and when we headed back from Brooklyn Bridge, we faced train delays and realized we hadn't left on time. We ran to our Air B&B to meet up with everyone, but then waited a bit to have Travis's travel arrangements figured out, since he'd be on a different flight. We hauled our luggage to the train station, intending to be at a stop where an Uber car would pick us up, to then find the train didn't bring us very far. We got stuck in horrible NYC traffic and there we were in our Uber car, laughing hysterically at what was happening, in disbelief--we were missing our flight.

And surely we did, but Southwest Airlines was so gracious. They allowed us to get on the next flight through standby with no charge or penalty. We checked our luggage on, went through security pretty smoothly (my equipment took a few extra minutes as always), and then went straight onto the plane for the next flight.

I was reminded how good God is. Sure, we didn't make the wisest choices that day, but he allowed us to get home safely!! (And remember how I had my last final to take--I didn't want to miss it!)

I know someday I will be able to tell this story to my children, and maybe grandchildren, adding it to "the crazy things mom/grandma did." It sure made a good story. 

Another funny story for your amusement: On the plane, I asked for a whole water, and no, they don't give it out in bottles--they give it out in blue cans. By the time I stepped off the plane in Salt Lake, I was so physically drained and dizzy I literally could not walk in a straight line. To make matters better, for some reason I still had the blue can in my hand. I must have looked like I drank too much, even though it was only water.

NYC was incredible. So fun. So spontaneous and also transformative.(Now read the next post about the 9/11 Memorial Museum.)