End the Summer in New York City- A Travel Journal Part 1

 

I think any weekend is a great weekend to be in New York City, but we had exceptional weather this Labor Day. A perfect end to the summer.

We arrived Friday around noon and were lucky to be able to check in to our hotel at Hyatt Place Chelsea. We’d never stayed at this hotel before, but we love the Chelsea area and thought we would check it out.

On the 21st floor, our room had a gorgeous view of the city. The room was small and simple but everything we needed for a weekend trip. The only negative I would say is that the elevator situation was pretty bad. There were 4 elevators but the timing of them was terrible and at least twice we decided to walk down the 21 floors because we were tired of waiting. 

We dropped our stuff in our room and headed out to Chinatown. We got a cheap lunch of crispy duck and pork with rice that fed us both for under $10. Chinatown is a great place for delicious cheap eats, but many of the restaurants are cash only.

My husband also wanted to get a haircut at this little barber shop in Chinatown. He loves the way this barber cuts his hair even though there are only a few words that they are able to use to communicate. The barber speaks primarily Chinese and my husband does not. That doesn’t seem to matter, my husband is happy with his cut every time.

Saturday Church at NYTW

Then we headed down to this cute little wine bar called, Parcelle, to meet one of my husband’s colleagues from a previous job. We sat and drank wine at a little table outside and enjoyed catching up with her for a bit. It was a perfect evening to enjoy chatting and people watching as the sun set.

We ended the night going to see Saturday Church a new musical starring Bryson Battle from the Voice, at the New York Theater Workshop. It tells the story of Ulysses, a young LGBTQ+ youth struggling with his identity, caught between the worlds of his family's church and an LGBTQ+ sanctuary that finally allows him to be himself. It's an excellent show, with great singing, dancing, and music written by Sia.

We had planned this trip in part to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday and decided to make it a mini-family get together in the city. Both my brothers and their families flew in and we met up with them Saturday morning. The early risers of our group headed out to New York City Bagel and Coffee House to get a quick breakfast before we met everyone else for brunch. I get super hungry in the morning and get a little hangry if I have to wait until everyone else gets up.😂

The birthday girl and the rest of the family joined us for brunch at Maman, where we celebrated with mimosas, great food, and lots of laughs. 

Maman's eggs and farro salad

Next we were off to see a matinee of Heathers The Musical a dark musical comedy based on the 1980's cult classic movie, with Christian Slater and Winona Ryder. 

The theater buzzed with energy from the crowd even before the musical began. The audience screamed and cheered throughout especially when the three Heathers arrived on stage for their popping rendition of Candy Store. Everyone jumped to their feet for a standing ovation at the end. 

If you're in New York, go see this, it's BIG FUN!!!!

How did you celebrate Labor Day? When was the last time you went to NYC?  

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Stay tuned for Part 2 of NYC Labor Day Trip, where our journey takes a dark turn as well. 

Heathers is Big Fun!

Also don't forget to stop by tomorrow for my IWSG post! 

Love, 

Kathy 💕💕

New York: Love It or Hate It

View from a  rooftop bar

New York City. 

It seems that whenever I tell people I'm going to New York, I get two responses;

"Oh I just LOVE NYC!"

or "Oh really? I hate New York."

My husband and I adore it. Every chance we get, we escape our life in Cleveland and catch a quick flight to the Big Apple. For us it's only 59 minutes away. So as long as there are no delays or cancellations at the airport its super easy to get there. 

As soon as the Manhattan skyline comes into view we sigh, feeling somehow like we are home again. Though we both grew up in the Midwest and have lived in Ohio for 18 years. 

Yes, it is dirty especially on trash day. Yes, sometimes you will see an occasional rat running down by the subway tracks. Yes, it is crowded and there are homeless people lying on the sidewalk.

But 1.6 million people live in Manhattan alone and on weekdays the population swells to 3.9 million according to the World Population Review that's approximately 170,000 people/square mile on a workday.  If you count all five boroughs there are roughly 8 million people, double the amount of Los Angeles. Fun fact, there are also over 800 different languages are spoken in NYC! That's pretty cool!

Of course there will be problems with that many people. But there are so many positives. Here are just some of them.

1. You can pretty much find any type of food you could ever want to try. You can go as fancy as you want spending thousands on a meal, especially if there is alcohol involved, but there are plenty of cheap eat options. A few weekends ago, my husband and I stuffed ourselves with the most delicious pork buns and dumplings in Chinatown for under $20! 

Brunch is my favorite meal of the day and two of my favorite spots are Jack's Wife Freida and Balvanera. Hmm I'm getting hungry just thinking about them.

2. The entertainment available is infinite. From small intimate comedy shows, new plays, and less well-known bands to the glitz and glamour of Broadway, superstar performers like Billy Joel playing Madison Square Garden, or a night at Saturday Night Live. Oh and don't forget all the professional sports you can watch. They have it all, baseball, hockey, basketball and football, take your pick! You can find whatever type of entertainment suits you. 

3. Roof-top Bars. There is nothing like watching the sunset over the NYC skyline at a rooftop bar sipping a Negroni or a Paloma! 

4. There are an endless amount of beautiful cathedrals, historical museums, art museums, and historical places to visit, like Alexander Hamilton's grave and Fraunces Tavern and Museum which was a key meeting place in the Revolutionary War period. 

5. Shopping! You can buy anything you could possibly want in NYC. 5th Avenue has all the super fancy big name stores like Gucci, Dior, Tiffany, Bergdorf Goodman etc. Even if you're not buying they are fun to browse.

Brooklyn Bridge

6. The parks are great! Of course Central Park is the biggest of them all. You could spend an entire day there; walking around, enjoying the lake, taking a boat out on the water, just sitting in the grass having a picnic, getting your exercise by running or biking in the park, and there are pull up bars and other gymnastic work out equipment in some parts of the park. 

Washington Square Park is another of our favorites. We could spend hours sitting on a bench by the fountain simply enjoying the weather and people watching--and ooohing over all the cute doggies that walk through. 

7. We also love that NYC is such a great walking city. You would never have to take a car, you could walk pretty much anywhere, and when you're tired or in a hurry (or it's pouring down rain and you forgot your umbrella) you can always take the subway or grab an Uber. We have clocked over 20,000 steps in a day on some trips. 

After all New York City is one of the top destinations in the world to visit! We already can't wait for our next trip!

What do you think? Love it or hate it? What are your favorite spots in NYC?

Kathy :)

Wanderings

Plans are great but sometimes wandering is even better.

Don't get me wrong, thinking ahead and planning out life is a super important skill as I've desperately been trying to teach my teenaged daughters... often in vain, but there are times when it's refreshing to let go of all planning and allow the moment sweep you along.

I've always loved serendipity but when it comes to traveling, my husband and I have well planned routes and itineraries to make the most of our time away from home (my husband is always the mastermind behind the planning! :).

Enjoying Central Park

But this last week we did things a bit differently.  First of all, we left the kids at home with grandma and grandpa which we never do. I can't thank them enough for this!! Then we flew off to New York City for a week with basically no plan. We've been there before so we didn't feel the pressure to see all the touristy spots but I still kind of wondered if we could pull off a fun, relaxing trip in the Big Apple without advance reservations and plans for everyday.

So what did we do?

Well, we wandered.  And it was lovely.  We took a day and strolled through Central Park, sat on a rock near Gapstow Bridge and watched turtles sunning themselves and ducks swimming aimlessly.

We found a quiet spot elsewhere in the Park, stretched out, and looked up at the clouds and talked.

We walked 5th Avenue and wandered into Bergdorf Goodman.  It was fun to see what they had though I'm not really a $3000 pair-of-shoes-kinda-girl!

New York Library

We meandered through Bryant Park on 42nd Street, drank coffee at a little table in the sun, and decided to check out the New York Public Library's ornately beautiful Stephen A. Schwarzman Building built in 1911.  How I would love to sit at a table in there and write all day!

Breakfast at Jack's Wife Freda

On Thursday, we traipsed all the way from our hotel on 42nd street down to West Village finding adorable breakfast spots like Jack's Wife Freda, (one of my favorites) and little coffee shops.  All along the way we just talked and took in the
moments together.

Believe it or not even after 22 years of marriage there is still plenty to talk about!  Our kids, future retirement plans, future travel, where to eat dinner, and more heavy topics like:  why we can't seem to take better care of the mentally ill, as we passed an old man who slowly rose from his "home", a ratty old blanket in the corner, with urine and likely feces soaked pants, who even we'll forget about once we're back home in our cushy lives; and the sad state of our nation that seems to only care about hating everyone who is different and "my team/group against yours".

After wandering most of the morning, we found ourselves in the Chelsea Market area and we decided to go check out the ice rink at Chelsea Pier.  As pure luck would have it, one of my best friends from college, that I haven't seen in twenty years happened to be on the ice teaching a lesson. (I did know she taught there, but I had no idea what her schedule was.)  It was great to spend an hour with her catching up and it probably wouldn't have happened if we'd tried to plan it!

We made our way back uptown, with Stumptown Coffee in hand and decided we would hang out by Rockefeller Center, where the ice rink had just opened.  We sat and watched skaters go by, then the ice was cleared and a couple came out alone. We watched the guy very carefully and not too gracefully get down on one knee and propose.  Everyone around cheered for them as she seemingly said "yes", I held my breath as he attempted to get back up.  I envisioned him slipping as he rose pulling her down with him, not a good start to an engagement! But luckily he wobbled and then stood and they skated carefully off.

We sat and watched the city go from daylight to brilliant city lights.  Then we went up to the Top of the Rock, (a tour that takes you to the top of Rockefeller Center.  We decided to do this a couple hours earlier and purchased tickets online.)  There is nothing quite like New York City at night.  The weather was beautiful. Just a slight autumn breeze and crystal clear skies.

By the end of the week it was time to head back to Cleveland, the kids whom we missed dearly, and fine tuned schedules, but we'd had a wonderful time on our wanderings.  I loved not knowing exactly what was coming next and allowing the tide of time to move us along, relishing in each serendipitous moment.  

Kathy

In the Room Where it Happens

Since February, my husband Jesse and my 11 year old son Ryan, have been obsessed with the Broadway smash hit Hamilton: An American Musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  They listened to the music non-stop, until they knew every word in the over two hour long recording. At first my daughters (19 and 17) and I were slightly annoyed hearing it 24/7 until we stopped to listen to the story being told, then we were blown away.  

Fast-forward to last Saturday, June 4th.  The day after my son’s 12th birthday.  The last day of our wonderful week-long kick off to summer exploring New York City.  The next day we were heading home to Cleveland.  My husband told us to dress nicely for a fancy lunch to celebrate Ryan’s birthday.  After a delicious sushi meal we walked back toward our hotel.

We headed up 46th street.  Jesse, holding Ryan’s hand, weaved his way through the gathering crowd and stopped at the line forming in front of the Richard Rodgers Theater.  The kids were a little confused.  Wondering why we’d stopped.  

Jesse with his adorable, mischievous smile looked at the kids and exclaimed, “Confession time, here’s what I got...we’re seeing Hamilton.”  

“What?!”

A smile spread across Ryan’s face.

The kids could hardly contain themselves.  It took all their strength to stay composed in line and not freak out.  They knew tickets to Hamilton were hard to get.  It’s not impossible to get tickets, but right now it’s ridiculously expensive- you can either see Hamilton or you can be financially responsible- not both.

From Box A

Our seats in Box A! :)

There are 10 Things You Need to Know

Number 1.  The girls and I were seated in Box A.  Literally right beside the stage.   Ryan and Jesse were seated below us in the orchestra.  I sat closest to the stage because the view is blocked ever so slightly by the huge stage lights and I wanted the girls to have the full view.  But being able to see the actual tears drip down Alexander Hamilton’s face far and away made up for any missed view.    

Number 2.  As soon as Aaron Burr (Leslie Odom Jr.) steps onto the stage, the entire theater explodes into applause and cheers, and the applause continues as each actor appears on stage for the first time.  I look at my girls who look as if they might faint from the anticipation.  We’re really doing this.  

Number 3.  I wish I could slow down time.  To take in every detail.  I’m staring at the spotlighted actor in each scene.  But there is so much more.  My eyes are drawn away.  The ensemble dancers lift up young Alexander’s dead mother, not like a deceased body but like a pairs skater in an overhead pose.  I’m captivated.   

Number 4. Almost close enough for us to touch, Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda), George Washington (Christopher Jackson), and the Marquis de Lafayette (Daveed Diggs) touch us by staring our way on numerous occasions.  

As narrator of the story, Aaron Burr maintains an orchestrated distance.  

Somewhere in the middle of the first act, Hamilton points his Revolutionary era musket directly at the three of us.  The emotion in Lin’s eyes is almost too much to hold his gaze.  We girls grab each other’s hands in awe.  We do the same when Lafayette interacts with us, and when George Washington looks our way, I know this is crazy but... it’s not Christopher Jackson looking at us, somehow it is George Washington.  We are no longer bystanders in the theater. We are transported 240 years and we, all of us in the theater, cry and laugh as one, we are now a part of the story too.  

Number 5.  The Schuyler sisters were a favorite for the three of us, especially Angelica’s (Renee Elise Goldsberry) Satisfied.  Seeing the entire cast “rewind” for her flashback was like something out of a dream.  

Number 6.   I almost feel like I’m on the field of battle when the canons reverberate right near us.  And when Lafayette leaps off the table during Guns and Ships and begins his rap... there are no words for this, the visual effect is more powerful than my words are capable of describing.

Number 7.  The crowd erupts at the end of Non Stop and from my vantage point, I turn to see the audience. For just a moment I feel as if I’m on stage too, and a chill runs through me.

Number 8.  I’m astonished by Lin-Manuel’s transformation into Hamilton.  He doesn’t seem like he’s acting when he breaks down and cries as Eliza hands him a letter telling him of his friend’s death.  He’s still crying as the scene changes and his next song begins.  He doesn’t have time to compose himself and he’s still wiping tears and trying to regroup halfway through the song.  Is he that amazing an actor, drawing on his own life experiences to make himself repeatedly break down, or is he becoming Alexander Hamilton? How does he do this 7 times a week?  

Number 9.   The end is no secret but the power of seeing it dramatized is too much.  The theater goes black.  The girls and I are sobbing.  The crowd bursts into a standing ovation as the lights return.  The actors bow as one and walk off stage.  Daveed Diggs and Christopher Jackson look into our box for one final time and smile.  Thrilled, the girls wipe their tears, I leave mine.  I look down at Jesse and Ryan.  Lin points directly at Ryan as he walks off stage.  Ryan looks up at my husband, smiles and puts his small arm around him.  

Number 10. I won’t ever forget the story of tonight.  

Jesse and Ryan in front of the stage

Kathy :)