NYC Trip Highlights

Life has been so crazy busy. After I got home from my extended weekend trip to NYC, I feel like I am a week behind. Playing "catch up" is not always fun but well worth it considering the amount of fun I had. Wow is just about all I can say! I had such a great trip to NY. Like I said before, I have never been to New York City but always wanted to visit. It was great to go with my girlfriends and experience some really great sights, people and food. We flew out on a Thursday night (red eye) and arrived early Friday morning. We dropped our bags at the hotel and were on our way. We first walked through Time Square and that is an experience. I can't remember the last time I saw SO MANY people and they were all speaking different languages. It really felt like a melting pot! It was kind of cool. We then made our way to the Rockefeller Center and passed by Fox News. Now if any of you know me, I am a real Fox News junkie. I love politics and catching up on the news. I love Bill O'Reilly and Hannity (it drives my husband crazy) so when we walked by I had to get a picture. Outside of the studio we saw "Don King" and a bunch of photographers taking pictures of him. He was promoting the US Open....who knew Don King was a big tennis fan!?! After we asked for a pic all the photographers began taking pictures of us. They were in our faces taking pics, and we felt like we were famous (totally silly but it was my one moment I felt like a star!). After our brief run in with Don King, we made it to the top of the Rockefeller Center and saw Central Park, the Empire State building , and the Ms. Liberty herself. It was so beautiful and I couldn't believe how BIG the city was. Crazy!

Later that night we went out to dinner and caught a show. Dinner was a total experience. Our Italian waiter began to hit on me and told me that "I had his heart,". I wasn't sure how to react. I was flattered and a little embarrassed because I am only used to my husband paying attention to me. I am sure he was just looking for a good tip (which he got), or maybe it was the "smokey eye" make up (thanks to my makeup artist Robyn) but whatever the reason we received a free desert from him so at least it was worth it!!

(This is a nervous smile on my face!!)

After dinner Tracy and I went to see Wicked. Let me just say how phenomenal this show was. I LOVED IT. I have heard all the great reviews from friends and family so I was optimistic that it would live up to the hype, but wasn't sure. It completely blew me away. It is by far my most favorite show. We also saw Mary Poppins which was fun. Wicked was just the best I have seen. This was one of the great highlights of my trip. Before I left on my trip Avery told me that she wanted to be the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz for Halloween. After seeing this show I am so excited for her to be a witch! I love Elphaba!

After our show we took the subway to Serendipity 3. We got some frozen hot chocolate and carmel sundae and it was SO GOOD. I can see why it is a big novelty and so many people go there. I love the movie Serendipity so it was fun to see where the actual place was!

The next day we went shopping. And boy did we shop. We first stopped at Ground Zero where the twin towers fell. It was very sobering. I told my friends that I didn't know if I should smile for the pictures because I almost felt disrespectful. I remember being in England when 911 happened and shocked, just like everyone else, that people could be so evil. I am glad I was able to visit the sight and honor the people that died. There is a very reverent spirit there. It caused me to pause and reflect about my freedoms and how grateful I am for those who fight to protect that gift!

We then shopped at Century 21 which is INSANE!!! There are SO MANY people. It felt like Christmas shopping, but the lady at the check out said we came on a good day. I couldn't believe it. I hate shopping shoulder to shoulder with other people and feeling like I am in the way. But I did find a lot of great deals so I will probably go back the next time I am in NYC. We then went to Greenwich Village and SoHo. I loved both. Greenwich Village was probably my favorite. I came upon a cute little book shop where I found a lot of really great finds. It was a fun area of NYC, very different from the dirty hussel and bussel of Time Square. We then made our way to Canal Street which is something everyone needs to experience. People hardly speak English but they are willing to negotiate with you. I found a lot of great items there. We had fun laughing at all the knock offs that were misspelled , like Hogo for men and Donna and Robonna. Too funny.

The next day we went to Mary Poppins, Central Park and the temple. Mary Poppins was very cute and well done. It didn't follow the same story as the movie and that took me a little off guard. It was still very cute though. I think I was the only adult sitting on a booster seat! That is sad, I know!! We then took a carriage ride around Central Park which was so great. I was tired from all the walking we had done so it was a nice way to see the entire park, relax and enjoy the scenery. We saw all the spots where the movie Enchanted was filmed which was fun. Then we made our

way to see the temple. They were doing some renovating on the chapel so we weren't able to go to church there but it was great to see the temple in the middle of this busy busy city. Then we made our way to dinner. Robyn's relative who visits NYC often, recommended Rosa Mexicano and it was one of the best meals I have ever had. I loved it.

The last day we were there we finished off our shopping in Uptown Manhattan. We went to H&M, Forever 21, Daffy's, Rainbow and Conway's. We found so many great deals! I can't wait to go back!!

I have given a pretty lengthy report on my trip, which I apologize to anyone that has stuck with me and made it this far. Bottom line....I had so much fun seeing all these sights but the best part was being with my girlfriends. I don't think I have ever laughed so much. I am blessed to have 3 of the most wonderful friends in the world. I know I can count on them for anything and that is a real blessing. I learn so much from each of them. I can't wait for our next trip together!