Travelers: Day 1 & 2

Dave and I just returned from our trip out East.  We had a blast with each other and with our friends who braved it with us.  I say braved, because it was COLD!  We spent most of our time near the Atlantic Ocean so the cold winds chilled us to the bone some days.  Fortunately, we spend most of our time indoors.  

I must confess, I have some issues with germs and this trip defiantly solidified those issues, just in case there was a little wriggle room for doubt.  I'll get into that in a bit...

We landed in Providence Rhode Island, picked up our rental car and drove straight to NYC!  That took about 3 hours but the time went by pretty quick because we were looking at the scenery and gearing up for our adventure. 

Enter...New York City!  Lights, skyscrapers, taxi's, people, trains, strange smells, etc.  I'd been there before, about 17 years ago, but I'd only gone in for a few hours to see the Rockettes Christmas Show with my sister in law Marcia.  This time was different.  I actually talked Dave into staying a couple of days in the city and taking in a show on Broadway.  If you know Dave, you know he HATES crowds, and to be put in situations that he isn't in control, and in NYC, NO ONE is in control!!  It's pretty much a free for all!  

I/we quickly discovered that I couldn't live there or in any other large city.  I'm just not built for it.  I love to visit but the thought of having to live in that grind everyday...no thanks!

In the morning we set out to the Temple in Manhattan.  It was so different to see it sitting there in the middle of chaos, surrounded by towering buildings and traffic, complete with honking horns, flashing billboards and much hustle and bustle.  Yet, when we entered, it was like every other Temple I've been in.  Peaceful, quiet and beautiful.  I couldn't hear the sounds from outside and very quickly, I didn't feel like I was in the biggest city in America.  

 


After returning to the streets, we caught a taxi to the area of Broadway, honestly, I was lost the entire time!  It's a good thing we had cell phones with GPS and other navigational tools of them.  Every taxi that we took was an adventure, and I'm pretty sure the drivers were all named Muhammad!  Nice enough, but they all seemed tired and stressed, which is not necessarily a good combination for a taxi driver, I'm just sayin...

We did a "typical touristy" thing and rode on the double decker bus for a city tour.  It was highly recommended from someone I trust so we did it and boy, I'm happy we did!!  We didn't realize that we had planned out trip into NYC on St Patrick's Day!!  

Holy drunk leprechauns!!  Thousands of them!!  They shut down a major street (I'm not sure which one because I was lost)  for the parade, complete with bag pipers, horses, bands, etc.  There was NO shortage of alcohol and cigarettes.  But we were able to watch all of the crazies from the comfort of our slightly filthy bus and listen to our very sarcastically funny, dry witted tour guide.

 

The tour was actually really good.  It got us OUT of the mess, it gave us a nice overview of the history and layout of that city.  It took us by places like, Chinatown, SoHo, Greenwich Village, a pub where George Washington frequented before becoming President, the Statue of Liberty, battery park, 5th Ave, Wall Street, the "canyon of heros" where they had the celebration of winning WWII, etc.

Then we headed to Wicked!  The show was great!  But to be honest, I was a little underwhelmed by the theater itself.  It seemed a bit run down and tired but they still put on a great show.  The actress who played Elphaba was AMAZING!!  I could have listened to her all day!  Dave was a good sport to play along with my wishes.

 Next, we hit a diner called "The Stardust" where the servers sing and dance and basically audition in public, hoping for that big break to land a show in a theater.  These kids are really chasing dreams, working hard and are very talented.  We had a blast there and the food was amazing as well, but being a mom, I just couldn't shake the thought of what these kids lives must be like.  I think that NYC and the hope of becoming a Broadway star often eats them up and spits them out faster than I could imagine. There was a part of me that just wanted to sit them down and listen to what they are going through.  Such a hard life, but at least they are working!

 

More to come later...