We took a red eye flight out of Salt Lake on Tuesday night...and arrived in New York City Wednesday morning around 7. We took a shuttle to our hotel, The Salisbury on 57th Street and 6th Avenue, right in downtown Manhattan by Rockefeller Center and Central Park. It was old...the elevator had a maximum capacity of 10 people (10 people with NO luggage). We got breakfast at a little place called Fresh Co. just down the street. It offered high quality ingredients and organic foods, with a healthy theme. It was delicious! After that, we explored the city until we could check into our rooms, then we got ready and rode the subway down to Battery Park. Half of our group went on the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. Since we had all done that already, we went with Alicia (Chic On A Shoestring) and her friend Angie to the Century 21 department store. It was like Nordstrom Rack...times 57. It had 5 floors of designer everything at a much-discounted price. Later on, we met up with the rest of the group to go see the 9/11 Memorial Museum. You could feel a special spirit as you walked around Ground Zero; it was very humbling and touching.
Thursday, we went to a taping of the Nate Berkus show at the CBS Broadcast Center. Nate was short, and wore really tight pants. The audience coordinator’s name was Dena and she was hilarious. She does comedy on the side and her title is "One Funny Mother". She told us to "sit up, suck it in, fix your hair, look pretty and don't pick, itch, or rub anything". She kept us laughing. After the show, we went to the Serendipity Restaurant (where the movie was filmed) and had lunch. It was the cutest little place ever and the food was really yummy. We all tried their signature "frozen hot chocolate" and then shopped in the little gift shop before heading to the H&M store on 5th Avenue. Later than night, we got all dressed up and went to the Shubert Theater where we saw the Broadway show, Memphis. I loved it; I'd say it was one of the biggest highlights of the trip for me. After the show, we went across the street to an Italian restaurant called Carmine's. We shared a pasta dish with broccoli and sausage- and I even ate a stuffed mushroom. It was creepy, but I did it.
Friday, we went to the original Macy's department store at Herald Square (it had like 10 levels, restaurants, and even a lounge to rest in between shopping). They hosted a delightful breakfast and fashion show for us before the store even opened. I felt like a VIP. :) We shopped most of the day, and Alicia helped us all pick out an outfit that made us look fabulous - I got lots of good tips- like what to wear when you're a midget...:) It rained hard this day, but we wanted to see the Empire State Building, so we took a break from shopping and walked up a few blocks with our umbrellas - the guy at the door told us there was zero visibility and there were no refunds if we went up and couldn't see anything. He talked us into going on a ride that simulated being in a helicopter flying over the city instead. It sucked. We were all a little disappointed, but at least we tried. On our walk back, we stopped at one of my favorite stores, Forever 21 and made a few purchases, then back to Macy's to pick up all our bags. We had LOTS of bags. It was rush hour in NY and we couldn't get a taxi. So when the guy on the bike asked us if we wanted a ride, we took him up on it. He was pulling a little car seat behind him that would really only fit two people, but we squeezed in anyway. I sat on the edge with my feet on the bike's bumper as we zigzagged through busy traffic. It was a thrill ride for sure...I was afraid we weren't going to make it bag in one piece. We figured it wouldn't cost more than a taxi, which would have been about $10, but when he dropped us off, he told us it was $20 a person for the ride. WHAT????!!! Then he gave us a "really good deal" and charged us $40. We got totally jipped, but we learned our lesson. We were all soaking wet and our bodies were aching from all that shopping, so we ate snacks for dinner and went to bed.
Saturday was "tour bus" day! A biiiiig shuttle bus picked all 13 of us outside our hotel that morning. The driver's name was Frank and we liked him. He drove us all over the city and we would get off and shop for a while, then drop off our bags and shop some more until it was time to go to the next stop.
We went back to Century 21 where I hit the jackpot...(it’s there that I bought a whole new set of luggage to get all my other treasures home in). Then we visited Topshop, H&M, Uniqlo, and Chinatown.
This trip was a girl's dream! I'm so glad I got to go. It was so fun being with Lisa and Joyce, and getting to spend quality time with them. Several of the girls commented on how neat it was to see my relationship with them. I feel very blessed to be a part of their family, and I feel very blessed to have my sweet husband who I missed so much while I was gone. He is so supportive of me and everything I do. He gives me so much and makes opportunities like this possible and fun. Next trip better to be to Moab in the buggy...and hopefully soon!
The day we flew home was our 2-year anniversary. Chad and his dad picked us up at the airport, and after we dropped off our luggage, the two of went out to dinner at Ruby River to celebrate. I can't believe it's been two years. I am so happy! I have found my place in this world, I know where I belong, and it's right next to Chad. Wherever he goes, I want to be there holding his hand.
