NYC Getaway:)

So it's no secret that May kicks my butt EVERY year!!!  This year was no exception!  Honestly, I can't just blame the month...the entire spring semester about does me in every year.  So after months of Chris being gone/kid's activities/piano stuff, etc...Chris mentions to me that he was going to NYC at the end of the month with an easy-going group and wanted to see if I wanted to come.  HECK YES I did!!!  I'm facing a crazy busy summer so I figured a quick getaway would be just what I needed!  Little did I know that I was embarking on a grand travel adventure across the U.S.

So Chris left on Wednesday.  I stayed behind one more day to get my kids all squared away with my mother-in-law and to get all my piano students through their lessons this week.  No biggie.  I was taking the exact same flight that Chris did, just a day later.  What a difference 24 hours makes!!!  My flight left Phoenix at 6:20 am on Thursday, all was perfect.  I had a stop in Nashville, all was well, ahead of schedule, great!  Well, New York was experiencing a down pour of rain and that was really messing things up!  My flight from Nashville to Newark was delayed for 2 hours, then 3, then 5, and then CANCELLED!!!  UGH!  What was I supposed to do?!  As this was a weather issue, the airlines were not putting us up in hotels or anything and what was I going to do in Nashville anyways???  Well, I know Heavenly Father was watching over me as I was next to a very nice lady in line to re-route my ticket.  Between her (and Chris on the phone) I decided to re-route my flight to Baltimore, MD and then catch a train.  There was a flight leaving immediately to Baltimore and so they quickly printed me a new ticket and I RAN from Gate 4 to Gate 29!  I made it!  All was well again!  Well, this flight to Baltimore had one stop in Raleigh, NC.  No problem.  We arrived on time, I stayed on the plane, new passengers came on, we made it up to the runway JUST about to take off when...we were NOT cleared for take-off!!!  They kept us in the plane for about 2 hours before letting us off at the terminal again letting us know that our 6:05 pm flight to Baltimore was definitely leaving that night but NO promises as to when!  Once again, bad weather was backing everything up!  UGH!!!  So I waited...and waited...and waited...until FINALLY at 12:30 am they loaded us on a plane.  I arrived in Baltimore, MD at 2 am.  My next journey was to the train station where I was to catch a 3:30 am train into Penn Station, NY.  So I sat outside at the train station--dark and cold--but I was surrounded by some of the nicest people I have ever met.  We were all in the same boat together and we were all exhausted and absolutely worn out--which is what I guess made everything SOO FUNNY!!!  We talked and laughed at everything for the 1.5 hour wait!  Again, I know Heavenly Father was watching over me because being at a train station at 2 am is NOWHERE I wanted to be:)  The train came (on time--HALLELUJAH!) and I got on the train for a 3 hour trip into NYC.  This was the only place I got a tiny bit of horrible sleep.

So I was in a twilight/dazed state when I arrived at the NYC Penn Station.  I'm honestly not sure if I was awake or asleep when I received a VERY timely text from my hubby asking, "HEY!  Are you here yet?!"  It was then that I realized that I was FINALLY in NYC and that my train had been parked for who knows how long--I think less than 10 minutes but who knows?  I was completely FREAKED out for about 3 minutes as I realized that I almost slept through my stop so I grabbed my suitcase and got off that train before it went back to Baltimore.  My contacts were TOTALLY dry in my eyes so I must have looked ridiculous blinking and blinking because I couldn't see anything!!!  I got my eyes working again, went to the lovely bathroom in the train terminal to run a brush through my CRAZY hair.  I then looked at my watch, I had left Phoenix at 6:20 am the day before and finally arrived in NYC at 6:40 the NEXT morning.  So my 6 hour flight turned into a 24 hour adventure!!!  And it STILL wasn't over yet--almost!!!  From there I bought a subway ticket into the city where I finally found Chris and the group.  Everyone was well aware of my travel woes and were sooo nice and understanding as I ditched the group to go to my hotel room to shower and take a short nap!!!

So I was THERE!  YAHOO!!!  I had already missed one day (and one show--Phantom boo woo!) but I still had 3 days left so I was going to make the most of them--and we did!  I hit the ground running and didn't stop!  Chris and I broke away from the group on Friday night to go and see "Pippin."  OH MY HOLY HECK!!!  The most AMAZING show I have ever seen!!!  I was really worried about falling asleep if I sat still for too long but there was NO falling asleep in this show as it has been re-vamped into a circus-themed show.  The stunts they were doing on stage were breath-taking!!!  My eyes were WIDE open as I watched these crazy-talented performers--contortionists, trapeze tricks, etc...and the singing was of course amazing as well.  Crazy good!

We also did alot of the touristy things with the group--NBC tour, Top of the Rock tour, 9/11 Memorial tour, Intrepid tour--where the group actually performed--this was a high school group from Florida made up of their Band/Orchestra/Choir programs.  The directors of these kids were so much fun to be around.  Thoroughly enjoyed this group!

The Group in Rockefeller Center


Rockefeller Center

Central Park--Belvedere Castle

View of the park from the castle

So this was definitely one of those times that I'm so glad that I DIDN'T know what was ahead of me because I probably would have never left Phoenix!  But what an adventure it was!  I feel so much more like a "seasoned traveler" now!  I never would have thought that I could do something like this but I did!  I had a fantastic weekend and am now trying to catch up on my sleep just in time to go to Girl's Camp next week!  Sleep is SOO over-rated!  WOO HOO!!!