HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! NYC BOUND!

Wow! Turning another year older didn't seem to phase me much but I was never great at keeping up with dates. I always have to subtract my birth year from the present year to figure out my age and when it comes to remembering my wedding anniversary...forget it. Matt always laughs at me but I guess it's a good thing for him that I don't remember it all the time. For this birthday though I was excited just to escape from the house with a dear friend whose birthday is the day before mine. Our plans have been ongoing for years that when Matt and I returned stateside to an area near home, my friend and I would celebrate our bday's together. The plans were on for 2008! The plan was to meet Matt for dinner and then afterwards she and I would head out to have some fun. Friday night my parents picked Brian up to sleep over with them and once they picked him up, the rest of us were out the door on our way to Frederick to meet Matt. We didn't know where we were going to eat, we just knew we were going to meet him at the Exxon. Matt told me the Exxon on 40 and across from the FSK mall. I didn't realize until I got there that he actually gave me two different locations. We drove by the first location on 40 and didn't see him so I continued on to the mall area. We pulled in to that Exxon and waited. He should have been there by now BUT because he lost his phone the day before, we had no way of communicating with each other. Well, finally he calls. We are not at the right place. We then tell him to meet us at a mexican restaraunt that we had passed on our way out. I get back onto 70 and no where is there an exit for 40 going E. So I see Frederick come and go before we make it to an exit outside of Frederick for me to turn around at. About 30 minutes later, we finally meet up with Matt. By this time, both Katheryn and Ethan are asleep. At the end of the meal the waiter hands me the black folder with the bill. He says that since it's my birthday, he would hand it to me. Ofcourse my immediate response was, "yeah, it's my birthday, he is paying" and I give the folder to Matt who ofcourse pushes it back my way saying that he gave it to me. Grant it, we share the same account so I was a little annoyed that Matt wasn't taking the bill. Then he tells me that he left his wallet in his car so ultimately I had to open the folder up. As I'm opening it, I'm thinking to myself that there is a lot of junk in this bill...why so many papers?! Then I see my friend's name on one of the papers and I asked her how the waiter knew her name and if she had given him her credit card already to pay because I thought I had gotten her bill. I was baffled when she said no and so I kept digging through the papers in the folder to then discover Broadway tickets to Phantom of the Opera and meal vouchers....OH and LOOK...plane tickets too! I was so engrossed in trying to figure out why the heck I had Wendi's name on our "bill" that I wasn't really able to give Matt any other kind of reaction. He and Wendi, my friend, ofcourse are laughing hysterically at me. So it's now around 9pm when I find out that we are leaving the next morning at 4am!!! I was happy and excited but at the same time flustered because I only had a few hours to pack. As every girl knows, nothing ever fits that is in your closet.

Wendi and I holding "the bill" at dinner

Wendi and I then trucked on out of there taking Matt's car while he took the kids home. We drove to the outlets to find that they had just closed. We went on to the mall and the same thing. Thankfully Target was still open....for 20 minutes....and I was able to find two sweaters and a scarf. A scarf is a main necessity in NYC! When we were told to leave Target, we headed to WalMart but found nothing there. We got home around 11pm and ofcourse I had to go to the internet to see what I could find that we could do in NY. I got some directions but that was about it. I got to bed by 2am but didn't really sleep well since I knew I had to be up in about an hour and a half anyways.

At 3:30am we were up and by 4:30am we were out the door and on our way. I couldn't find our digital camera...I just had it a few days before...but it seems lost now. We got to the airport but it was too close to boarding that I couldn't check my bag. I threw out some hairspray and some makeup remover and prayed that they wouldn't take my MK facial cleanser and cream that I just bought. Hooray! I made it through security! We got onto the concourse and thought that we would miss our flight because we almost were crashed into by another one. We finally get to our gate and there's no time to pee....they are boarding!!! Off we go!!!

On the plane to NYC!!!!

We arrive to JFK by 7:15am and hail a cab to take us to our hotel....The Hilton Millenium. The cab ride was a shocking $45. Yikes! The hotel is right next to the plot where the World Trade Towers stood. We didn't realize that until we looked out of our room window. You could look straight down and see the construction going on. It was unreal to imagine what went on that day. After dropping our bags and freshening up a bit we were ready to hit the city and grab some breakfast. We ended up by Trinity Church, which is right near the hotel, and taking a look inside. Then we grabbed breakfast at a typical NY style cafe. It was really neat. We each got a veggie omlet and croissant and a hot beverage. We ordered from the cook and paid at the cashier. I think that was the cheapest meal all weekend.

Hotel...the shiny black skinny scraper...you can see the crane from ground zero on the left Ground Zero from our hotel window

View of NYC from hotel window

mmmm...breakfast!

At breakfast

From there, we mosied on up to the metro/subway only to find that most of the red line was closed. The tracks were being serviced and I guess most of the subway was being rerouted and new trains were running routes that weren't normally supposed to. This is not great for tourism!!! I found their system to be a little confusing at times...okay, most of the time. If you get on at a certain stop, you better make sure it stops at the stop you want it to stop at. Even though it's an orange line doesn't mean it stops at all the orange line stops. The lines also had numbers and letters that you had to pay attention to. Anyway, we managed to get onto the subway (after running my ticket through several times before it worked) and we headed uptown to Union Square. On the subway, we met an artist name Phyllis. She was very nice and recommended some places for us to shop. She also shared her story of 9-11 which was again unimaginable for me to place myself there. So, then it begins to rain but we see the shoe store, DSX, I believe, straight ahead and that's where we go. The shoes were pretty reasonably priced but we didn't buy anything. It was fun just to look. We went back out and headed towards the Salvation Army. We wanted to see what the thrift stores carried in NYC. Probably not a typical tourist site but it was interesting to see "Nine West" in the thrift stores. We atleast found 2/3 of the thrift stores we were looking for. As the rain continued to poor and Wendi's feet ached, we trekked on to Payless and TJ Maxx to see if we could find some shoes more suitable for walking. I was okay but Wendi was really hurting. Having found none, even after Old Navy, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel so we could get ready for the main event...dinner and Phantom!

Wendi and I on the subway

We got out our map to decide our course and then went to the Concierge just to double check our subway directions and headed to dinner. Our vouchers were for the Maison, a french restaraunt. It was really quaint and the tables were practically on top of each other. Definately no privacy for conversations. The meal was okay...I probably wouldn't recommend it but it was still really nice to be out having a nice dinner. I mean, c'mon, it's NYC!!!

In the elevator on our way to dinner Maison Restaurant

Me at Maison

Then we were off to the opera!! Majestic Theatre here we come!!! Now, do we go right or left or continue straight after exiting the restaurant???? After walking a few blocks, we pull out the map. Ooops! We were supposed to go the other way!!! We had 10 minutes before showtime and the Majestic was not in site. So we start to move faster and then faster again. Finally with about 3 minutes to spare, we found our seats. Matt had gotten us orchestra seats. We were really close to the stage and I am proud to say that I did not fall asleep this time. Yes, this is my second viewing of the Phantom. The first time I came, years ago, I fell asleep from exhaustion. I do not feel bad now since the lady to my right conked out and I had to keep nudging Wendi to keep her eyes open. It was truly wonderful to see Phantom from start to finish. I really enjoyed myself.

Majestic Theatre

Me outside Majestic after the show

With no time limit, we started to venture off into Time Square. It was so bright and just how I remembered it. Wendi had looked online and found a Swing dance club so we were on a mission to find the club. I do not swing dance...heck you're lucky to see me even shake my hips on a dance floor....but c'mon...NYC!!! You've gotta do something fun! Wendi dances and loves to dance so this was fun for both of us. As we were trying to find our way there, a lady ahead of us overheard us and we stopped to chat a while. Turns out, she went to Shippensburg University, where Matt graduated, years ago. Small world. Finally we get to the dance club and it's not very busy yet. There are a few people on the floor but not many. I find a corner seat for us and Wendi gets us some drinks. We hang out and talk and realize there's a red wine glass at our table. Ten minutes later and a guy asks if that's his. I ofcourse said something to him about thinking he had gotten it for us and well, it turns out, he was the owner of the place and he took me to the bar and introduced me to the bar tender and told him to get me whatever I wanted. So Wendi and I got two martinis on the house and before I could even finish my martini, he told me I was doing a shot with him. LOL! FREE drinks!! Free was great since for our first drinks...only two mind you....cost $20!!! This is definately not a city for the poor. As we were sipping our martinis, this guy kept coming by our table and he would stop a few feet in front of us and would just stare at me. I wouldn't look at him and Wendi and I had this deal that if a guy not worthy would hit on her, I would tell him to back off and that she was with me. Well, after the second time the guy came by, Wendi asked me if she should kiss me now! LOL!!! We got up and took our drinks to another table closer to the dance floor and darn it if that guy did not find me again. He stood a few feet from our table and just stared waiting for me to look his way. I engrossed myself in conversation with Wendi until he went away. We left a bit later...never did I do that shot...but that's okay. We were having a great time without the alcohol.

Wendi and I at Swing 46

Band at Swing 46

Me looking VERY tired!

Our next stop, the Comedy club. We got a great deal...$5/ticket when everyone else paid $10. Whoo-hoo. We were ready to laugh. We got in there and it was such a disappointment. We left when the third comic came onto stage. I told the guy who was checking us out that we did not have a great time and he took us next door to the dueling pianos and told the guy there to get us great seats and to get us whatever we wanted so we could have a great time. Whoo-hoo! More free drinks!! LOL! The dueling pianos were pretty neat. They had a drummer there also. You could get up and dance on stage with them if you were so drawn to do so. We didn't, we cut a rug near our seats for a song and that was about it. We stayed about an hour I think..maybe less...and decided to head on back to the hotel. By now it's 3am and we couldn't find a working subway. So we hail a cab. Thankfully this ride was only $11 compared to the $45 from the airport.

Dueling pianos Time Square

After spending about 4 or 5 hours in bed sleeping, again we awoke. The sun was blazing in our room...kinda like that commerical with the Jimmy Dean sausage or whatever sausage that is with the guy in the sun costume. Anyways, we pack up our things and head to check out. We left our bags at the hotel and then headed out once again for breakfast. This time we went to "The Soda Shop." It was okay. I wouldn't recommend it. It was a bit pricey for what you got. I had oatmeal for $8 I think. From there we had a plan to start at central park and work our way back toward the hotel. We get to Central Park and pass one of those buggy's hooked up to a bike. We told that guy no thanks. The next buggy we were curious about the price so we talked to this guy and he said it was $60 for a ride around central park. We said again, no thanks. As we continue to walk we pass a few more and Wendi takes note on one guy and says outloud that he was kinda cute. Well, he heard her and responded back saying that she was kinda cute too! We started laughing and just kept going. A few minutes later, there he is behind us asking us if we would like a ride. So he said he would take us for $40. Okay, let's go! It was an hour ride around the park and we stopped off at a few key places. Our main intent was to get to the Tavern on the Green. I wanted to do some celebrity spotting. We eventually made it through the park and we stopped off by John Lennon's memorial and apartment. I didn't realize he lived next door to Celine Dion. The biggest laugh of Central Park was seeing a big black guy walking two small poodles dressed in hot pink. He allowed us to take a picture and when I asked him what their names were he said Cocoa Chanel and I can't recall the other one. It was funny. Only in NY!

Our Central Park Tour Guide

In front of a fountain in Central Park

Buggy ride around Central Park

"Imagine" J. Lennon's doorstep memorial

John Lennon's Home

Taken from Central Park

Bridge in Central Park

Outside area at Tavern on the Green

The pink poodles!! Only in NY!

From Central Park, we headed toward 5th avenue. Our goal was to reach American Girl place. I wanted to get an outfit for one of Katheryn's dolls for Christmas. It was a total mad house!! Anyway, I got what I needed and we hopped across the street to Saks 5th Avenue! It was beautiful inside. Perfume everywhere! We walked around and browsed and that was about it. We then headed off to Rockefeller center and the plaza. Had I known that the Today show was taping that morning, Wendi and I would have been there on the plaza so we could wave to the rest of America. Instead we settled for standing in front of Dean and Deluca and waved to our cameras.

Wendi on the plaza

Me at Rockefeller Center

SAKS 5th Avenue

Inside SAKS

Radio City

Next it was off to China town. We had to get back on the subway for this trip. We got off and were in the heart of Chinatown. What a busy place. I didn't care for it as much but it was really neat to see. If you want a bag...Cabanna, Dolce, Coach....this is the place to go. It seemed like we were there forever looking for a pastry place called Ferrara's and we just couldn't find it. Turns out, we were walking in the wrong direction...yet again! LOL! We turned back around and found it but were so hungry by this point that we decided to go back to Manhattan to grab a bite from a street vendor. We decided that you can't truly experience NY unless you eat a hotdog from the streets. We saw the Empire State building in passing and made it to a vendor with gyros. We ate that and walked a bit more to another one with hotdogs. By this point, we were both so exhausted and just could not wait to get back to the hotel and get our things. We kept walking and walking that we didn't realize we walked right past our hotel. Yep! Here we go again....we had to turn back around. The funny part was that on the way to our hotel we stopped and looked at Liberty Plaza and kept going. Well, Liberty Plaza is literally right beside our hotel!!!! Crazy!

Liberty Plaza

Beams from WTC that formed a cross

We felt as though we had been in NYC for atleast a week with all that we had seen. We were truly exhausted and couldn't wait to be home in our own beds. Our taxi cab driver to the airport was greek and was very intent on getting Wendi to sit in the front seat with him. Yuck! We finally made it to the airport and were just happy to sit for the hour before our flight would board. We grabbed a McFlurry from McDonald's and waited at the gate with our shoes off.

Matt picked us up from Dulles airport and the kids were all asleep. Once we got back to the house, it was about midnight and Wendi still had an hour yet to drive home over the mountains. I don't know how she did it. We were both so very tired. My eyes had turned red from exhaustion. Thank goodness Matt had Monday off because I don't think I would have made it on my own with the kids that day. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband who loves me and who likes to see me happy. He is selfless and just all around wonderful. I don't know if I could have spent money on tickets and send someone else other than him with me. He really amazes me. Must be why I love him so much. :) What a great way to spend a birthday!

Wendi and I at the hotel...Happy Birthday to us!