Life's Journey

We just got back from an over-the-top fantastic trip to New York City! I am so grateful to a few angels that helped make this trip happen. I couldn't have done it without you all. Thank you doesn't begin to express my gratitude.

I've been to NYC quite a few times. This was the go-to spot for me and mom when we would take trips together when we lived on the East Coast. We would go shopping, go to Broadway, having amazing meals and just enjoy the city. I have many fond memories of these trips. That's part of what inspired one of my bucket list items. I wanted to go see The Book of Mormon on Broadway. Not only because I love the city, but I and love the theatre and I've heard so many great things about this show. One of my angels in NY reached out right away and said "We got this one, we want to take care of tickets to the show for you". Wow! This was great news not only because it's such a nice thing to do, also... these tickets are hard to come by. Getting to NY from Arizona is a little daunting - it's a long trip and comes with a hefty price tag. But, thanks to one great angel our flights were taken care of and we were on our way. When researching to book a hotel I wanted to find something that was close to Central Park because that is by far my favorite part of this amazing city, but I didn't want to pay "Plaza" prices. I reached out to a friend in NY asking for recommendations only to get a response that another angel had us booked and we were ready to go. (I told you this was an over-the-top fantastic trip - right?!?!) The trip was booked about two months ago… now we waited… and waited… it felt like forever, I was so excited for this trip.

The day finally arrived - we were on our way to the city! The flights were trouble-free. We caught a cab and headed to our hotel. We stayed at the New York Athletic Club. Ok, let me tell you about this place if you haven't heard of it. It's a private club that was founded in 1868. It was originally designed as an athletic club that trained and developed many US champions and Olympic athletes. It has evolved into even more. There are 6 floors of guest rooms, a rooftop patio and solarium, a dining room, billiards room, library, card room, tap room, and 7 floors dedicated to everything from raquetball to boxing to locker rooms and even fencing. It boasts a grand lobby and strictly enforced dress code. Lucky for us there is a back entrance for the underdressed tourists :). The building is amazing. We went to our room on the 19th floor and it took my breath away. The room was quite large and there were 3 large windows that had sweeping, unobstructed views of Central Park. I've never seen the park from this perspective and I couldn't look away. It was beautiful. This truly wouldn't have been possible without the help of some angels and I am forever grateful - you gave me a memory I will never forget. We didn't even want to leave the building so we decided to explore a little more. The rooftop was gorgeous with the same views of the park and views down to Times Square on the other side. I could've spent the entire weekend up there and been a happy camper. But we decided it was time to venture out.

We hit the streets in search of adventure. We walked to Rockefeller Center and explored some of the surrounding area. Then headed to Rue 57 for dinner. I'd been here on a previous trip with my mom and remembered they had great food - they still do. It was a nice dinner, we were able to sit outside and watch the city go by as we ate and drank. After dinner I was pretty wiped out from the travel and walking so we picked up some crown and diet and headed back to the hotel for a nightcap on the roof. This view at night with the city lit up was quite romantic. We had a nice evening just sitting talking and enjoying the view.

The next day in true form we were up early and ready to go. I wanted to go to the Boathouse in Central Park for brunch. I've never been there and wasn't able to get a reservation so I figured lets just get there when they open and hope for the best. We had some time so we got up leisurely and I drank coffee overlooking the park (seriously I could've stared at this view the entire trip). Then we walked through the park, took some pictures, and got to the Boathouse right when they opened. We were able to get a table right away and it was right on the water = perfect. Mimosa's and Eggs Benedict on the water in Central Park on a beautiful day. Ahhh… this is the life. I quickly remembered the many reasons I love this city. After breakfast we walked to the NBC Building to go to Top of The Rock. I think this is by far the best way to see the entire city - the views are awesome and you can get city photos with the empire state building and statue of liberty included. We were even able to see the new World Trade Center Building. It's a nice addition to the skyline. We did a little more exploring before I needed a rest… back to the room for a nap before the show. We met up with my angels/friends for dinner before the show. We had a nice time catching up and enjoying dinner. When we got to the theatre we were taken to our seats… in the SECOND ROW! Holy moly! Not only did one of my angels pull off getting tickets to a sold out show but he managed to get them in the second row! The show definitely lived up to it's hype. It was hysterical - I highly recommend this one if you are not easily offended because it is quite, um, raunchy? Frankly, I laughed my ass off the entire time! What a great way to finish off a great day! And I was asleep before my head hit the pillow…

We woke to a gloomy rainy day. It wasn't supposed to rain til the day we left but apparently someone missed the memo because it was early. It was actually a kind of nice change of pace for us since we don't see much rain here in the desert. I purchased a rain/wind jacket from the club (I wanted something from here anyway and this seemed like the perfect opportunity) and then went and got us umbrellas for today's adventures. We walked to a little café that I had read about called Sarabeth's for breakfast - loved this place, the food was delish! We hopped on the subway and headed to the 9/11 Memorial. It was overwhelming. The memorial is so well done and the emotion of what happened here is still in the air. Tears welled in my eyes many times while we were there. The museum isn't open yet but we were able to look into the windows. They have build it around the remains of a staircase from one of the towers and a few beams that were still in tact. This is when the tears rolled down my cheeks - it's impossible to see this and not be taken by all that has happened here. After this we decided we needed something a little more uplifting… and indoors because it was still raining pretty hard. Back on the subway we went and headed to the Natural History Museum. Holy cow this place is huge! I love a good museum and this is for sure a good one. It reminded me of the Smithsonian in DC (my 2nd favorite city). Here's a quick lesson though… rainy day in the city on a Sunday = PACKED museums! It had been a long day and I was exhausted again. We popped into a Ray's pizza close by for a slice. In my opinion this is some of the best pizza ever. Then headed back to the hotel for a rest. We decided to take it easy this night and walked down to Whiskey Park for a few beers and sliders before calling it a night.

Our final day was still a little gloomy and humid. We watched the news in the morning and the weather guy said it was "soupy and humid". Soupy? What a strange description for weather, I mocked. We headed down to Sarabeth's for another yummy breakfast and decided to spend the morning wandering Central Park. Within an hour of walking I turned to Roy and said "I feel… soupy!" LOL I totally got it and it was btw a great description for the day. We spent a few hours walking through the park before heading back to shower, pack and get ready to head home. We took so many pictures it was hard to choose what to put on the site - check out the photos section for a few extras It was an over-the-top fantastic trip that I will never forget. Thank you to everyone that made this possible.

Sending hugs & smiles,
Sarah