I am fortunate that in this life I have had the opportunity to travel. I’ve been all across this country, traveled to many different countries and every trip was a unique adventure. This trip was especially meaningful because it was a gift. My in-laws wanted to celebrate their 60th birthdays with a family trip to New York. That meant that not only was this trip overwhelming, but I made absolutely sure to not miss a second of how lucky I was to be there. Their generosity, caring and acceptance of me in their lives is something that will never be taken for granted, and I will forever show them how appreciative I am of just being in their company. I couldn’t have imagined how great our trip to New York was going to be, and it turned out to be one of my greatest travels to date. I’m not going to bore you with a bunch of tall building pictures and every little detail of what we did, but there is so much worth sharing and I really do hope you enjoy reading this. So if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to take you on a highlight reel of our little adventure.
First off, I have to ask a question. When did airline seats get so small? Or do I need to lay off the IPA a bit? Holy Kid Table Batman, coach seating is tiny, but it was worth it! I have been waiting for the chance for Amanda and I to fly somewhere together; get on a plane, eat airplane snacks, pay way too much for a drink, watch a movie on a small screen, all the fun things about flying. We finally had that chance and I loved every second of it (super small seat and all).
We flew in late on a Thursday night so our adventures didn’t really start until Friday morning. At least the view from our hotel room wasn’t horrible. You can’t go wrong if you get any view of the Empire State building:
Though to be fair, the view from the top of the hotel was much better (and had a pretty cool bar)
I am a movie and TV show geek, so prepare for the references. The New York Public Library kicked off our adventures, because you know, we start small 🙂
There is so much history here I could see a person spending days in this place. Among everything there is to see in this amazing building, two things stood out for me. 1: The original Ghostbusters movie filmed their opening scenes here. And 2: There were SO MANY scenes recreated from here for the movie The Day After Tomorrow. We couldn’t find the room with the fireplace though, and we looked! (I told you to prepare for the references, and there will be more!)
Radio City Music Hall is definitely a must on the New York list. You have to book a tour to see it, and it’s worth every minute. There are SO many things inside and more stories than I can tell or spoil for you.
Getting to meet a Rockette was a pretty fun part of the tour, though my favorite part came when we were taken to a private apartment at the top of the building. It’s used for high rollers, and we weren’t allowed to touch anything! There were photos of famous people that had stayed in this apartment over the years, and once we found this photo of Walt Disney on the wall I knew Amanda and I were in the right place:
Topping off the first day was going to a real Broadway show. I’m happy I married a theater lover; I’ve always loved going to shows at the San Diego Civic. But this time, we got to see an actual Broadway show ON BROADWAY!!! And before the show we had dinner where only a few tables away from us was Meryl Streep. Because you know, that’s what happens in New York I guess! And it was crazy that no one was bothering her. There was no paparazzi, no one asking her for autographs, she could have been just anyone sitting in a restaurant. I’m just glad the place wasn’t overrated 😉
So, something to know about New York theaters. They are tiny, and they want to get as many seats as possible in them. So, they hired the skinnier relative of the person that designs coach airline seats to build the seats we were sitting in for Waitress. I have never in my life had a seat leave a bruise in my side. I know I’m a big guy, but COME ON!! It was the souvenir I didn’t know I would get, but it was worth it to see Waitress!
The music for this show was written by Sara Bareilles who I am a big fan of. And believe me, the music in this show had her style stamped all over it. I highly recommend this show if you’re ever in New York, or if it ever tours to your city.
The next day’s big highlight was Central Park. New York can’t do anything small, so this park could take you an entire day to see and take it all in. We did a Pedi Cab ride and got to see some of the best parts.
My mother-in-law Debbie was sweet enough to make sure I made it to Strawberry Fields and the Dakota. She knows I’m a huge Beatles fan and didn’t want me to miss out. Strawberry Fields is a great tribute to John Lennon. It’s very simple, there’s not a lot of flair to it, but that’s what makes it perfect. There were a TON of people around it but we managed to still get our time to appreciate it.
The Dakota in itself is a beautifully haunting building, right across the street from the memorial. Of course no one is allowed in unless you live there, and Yoko’s penthouse overlooks Strawberry Fields and Central Park.
Now being a Beatles fan, it’s my first instinct to stand on the corner and want to yell at the top of my lungs “You broke up the band, Yoko!!” But for as much as we all think we missed by not having the Beatles stay together, imagine a world without….well……Imagine. Or almost anything from Paul McCartney and Wings, or George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass. And Ringo…..well……he was in the 80’s not so blockbuster hit Caveman, so we’ll give him that.
Topping off this night was a 2nd Broadway play, this one a little more serious. The Glass Menagerie starring Sally Field, or as a friend of mine who was in New York a few weeks prior put it, that lady that played the mom in Mrs. Doubtfire. Oh Michael, there is so much to teach you…….We were lucky enough to get autographs from the cast after this show was over, and Sally played to the crowd with the class everyone expects but rarely sees in actors these days. I honestly gained a lot of respect for her seeing how she carried herself. We like you Sally, we really like you.
If you’re in New York, do a movie and TV show tour! I didn’t know what we were getting into and the inner geek in me went CRAZY on this tour. First of all, be a Seinfeld fan. I’m not, so I honestly missed out on a bit of what we were looking at. But there were 2 things that stood out and I’ll never forget.
Watch any episode of Friends and watch for the outside shot of the building they supposedly live in. Here you go!
Of course there is no Central Perk, but for those die hard Friends fans, the theater that Joey supposedly does his plays from is right around the corner:
Now, this is one of my favorite moments and one that got me a little choked up. Ghostbusters was a childhood movie that my brother and I hold a special bond with. So when we pulled up in front of the firehouse they filmed parts of the movie from, I couldn’t believe I was living that moment. The real firemen even made their mascot a ghost similar to the movie and painted it on the sidewalk. The building was covered in scaffolding but I didn’t care, I knew where we were.
The Ed Sullivan Theater. I try not to have regrets in my life, but one that I do carry is that I never got to see David Letterman live. I followed Dave since I was a kid and he was on NBC after Carson. Dave was the reason I was late to school a lot. It was always a dream of mine to make it to New York and see Dave do his show in the same theater the Beatles first performed in 1964. That was not to be, but we at least got to see the building where Stephen Colbert now resides. Hello Deli was another favorite of Letterman and he often used Rupert Jee’s deli in his skits. Of course the ONE day we’re in that part of New York was Sunday, and Hello Deli was closed! Well, there’s always next time. And there WILL be a next time.
Final day, 1 World Trade Center. This new tower and the reflecting pool next to it are beyond description, and just to be there was both sad and humbling. A memorial like that shouldn’t exist, but if it has to then America did it right.
We then did the tour of the 9/11 museum. This is where I’ll only post 1 picture. To tour this museum is a walk through a life no one should have lived, and to meet an actual survivor that worked in Tower 2 brought a true realism to that day. This is a must for anyone visiting New York and getting a feel for the type of resilience this town and the people there have. There were things in the memorial that just can’t be described, so I implore you to make the effort and visit if you are ever in town.
The one photo I will post is the most haunting. There is a quote on the wall “No day shall erase you from the memory of time” surrounded by blue tiles, each one representing a person that lost their life. On that day the sky was a perfect blue, not a cloud to be seen. Each one of these tiles is a different shade of blue, no 2 are alike. This is one of the most perfect tributes I saw that day, and I couldn’t stop staring at each tile and thinking of who it would have represented.
After all this, it was time to head home. This was one the toughest trips I had to come home from because I truly didn’t want it to end. Again, these are just the highlights of an unforgettable adventure. I had the perfect partner to do this trip with, and I was also so happy to be in the company of my in-laws Debbie and Mark, my sister-in-law Tara and my future brother-in-law Andy. I can’t thank them enough for making me a part of their lives, and I will never forget any moment of this trip. It may be a while, but I already can’t wait to go back and continue where we left off.
Thank you for being here 🙂