Kevin and I spent Valentine's weekend in New York City! We had a ship inspection on February 14th in Bayonne, NJ, so we went out a few days early and spent some time in The City. We arrived at Newark Airport around 2:30pm (thankfully without any delays due to the massive amounts of snow that had accumulated the day before) and then hopped on the New Jersey Transit Train into Manhattan. The train took us to Madison Square Garden and then we walked about 6 blocks to the hotel (in Times Square) in the slush and cold.
Now my idea of fun in the city is going to see as many Broadway shows as possible, but Kevin could really care less. So on Thursday night (the day we got there) we went to the TKTS booth in Times Square to see which shows were selling discounted tickets. There were so many shows I wanted to see, but I knew the one on the top of Kevin's list was Avenue Q. So around 7pm - one hour before the show started - we got tickets that were marked 40% off for Avenue Q. This is now an Off-Broadway show, but is still located right in the Theatre District. After we purchased our tickets we headed for the theatre, by way of an Irish Pub. Once we got to the theatre they were selling drinks and snacks like at a baseball game. It was a very different, but fun experience and atmosphere. Kevin had a few beers and I enjoyed a "Hairy Monster" to go along with the show theme. If you don't know about this show, it is like Sesame Street for adults or Muppets go Wild. I saw this show when I was in New York last year and it was still on Broadway....and I was slightly disappointed. But this performance was awesome! The cast delivered a better performance and the theatre experience was so much more fun!
Now the theatre nerd in me wanted to go to the stage door after the performance and boy was it a memorable experience! First of all, because it was an Off-Broadway show, Kevin and I were the ONLY people at the stage door! I felt like a total goof, but it was so fun to talk to the cast members. One cast member spent a good bit of time talking with us and come to find out he was from Colorado. Not only was he from Colorado, but he was also from Colorado Springs. Not only was he from Colorado Springs, but he also graduated from Doherty (the same school that Kevin and I both went to)! Long story short - we found out that this person had Lynn (Kevin's mom) as a choir teacher at Sabin Middle School! He is also dating a girl that Kevin sang with in choir in high school. It is such a small world and I am so glad that we had the chance to meet him!
Kevin and I with our new friend - Cullen Titmus. Such a small world!
Catherine Zeta Jones! Pretty cool!
On Friday we went to Astoria to see Ryan's house and eat lunch. We ended up spending the entire afternoon there! Nick also joined us and we had a great time catching up!
Even though almost 6 years has passed (wow, that time went fast!), we picked up right where we left off! Such great friends!
I think that is the Queens Bridge behind us - but who really knows!?! Ryan and Nick sure didn't!
I wanted to see another show, but Kevin was apprehensive about spending too much money on tickets so I suggested the lottery. The lottery is something that just a few of the shows offer, but it is such a good deal - if you get selected. You put your name in a bucket and each show picks about 20-26 people to win cheap tickets (about $25 a piece). We decided to enter the lotto for In the Heights, and Kevin won! The really cool thing about the lotto is that the tickets are cheap and the seats are always located in the front row! People on stage were practically dancing in our laps! We had a nice romantic dinner before the show and then went to the stage door after the show! Corbin Bleu from the High School Musical movies was the star in the show, so it was very cool to see him at the stage door. He seemed so genuine and excited to meet so many people. It was such a great show and experience!
Does this really need an explanation?
This is Robin de Jesus. He was my favorite in the show and he is going to be in La Cage in April! I sure hope I can see him in that too!
And finally Corbin Bleu! He was awesome and pretty good looking too! :)
On Saturday morning I left the hotel a little early and went to the Next to Normal lottery. Kevin did not want to see another show, but I thought if I could get a lotto ticket I would go see a matinee. Unfortunately, I did not have any luck at the lotto, but I got to go back to the hotel and spend the day with Kevin! It was a win/win situation really – see a show or spend the day with Kevin – I can’t complain!
The one thing that Kevin really wanted to do in NYC was go to Katz’s Deli. This is a deli that is located down in SOHO and has been featured on the Food Network Channel – specifically on Man vs. Food. Kevin was going to go to the deli without me if I got a ticket to Next to Normal, but I am so glad I got to go with him. Everything worked out the way it was supposed to! We took the subway down to SOHO and when we got to the restaurant there was a line out the door! This was a very good sign! Come to find out, this is the restaurant featured in the movie When Harry Met Sally – the famous orgasm scene. When you went into the restaurant, you could choose to have self-service or table service. Kevin chose table service and it took us about 15 minutes to find a table to sit at (yes, it was that packed). The wait was well worth it! I am pretty sure the sandwiches and pickles were the best I have ever had – even better than the Stage Deli or the Carnage Deli in Times Square! It was such a fun and delicious experience! I am so glad that I went to the deli instead of the matinee!
The outside of the deli
And the inside of the deli! I'd say it is a pretty popular place, eh?
This sign hangs over the table that Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal ate at in the movie. If you look close you can also see it in the picture above.
We really wanted to go for a walk around SOHO after lunch because we were so stuffed, but it was FREEZING, so we opted to head to the Empire State Building instead. While we were standing in line, we realized that Cullen (from Thursday night) had sent Kevin a facebook message to ask us to meet an hour earlier for dinner – which turned out to be about 30 minutes from the time we saw the message. So we quickly hopped out of line and walked about 10 blocks back to Times Square to meet Cullen and Renee for dinner. It was so nice to finally meet Renee (I have heard so much about her from Linda – my high school drama director – because Renee played Adelaide in Guys and Dolls before I did when Doherty performed the show in the late 90’s) and get to know Cullen better! They were so nice and I really hope we can meet up with them again in the future!
On the way to dinner we stopped at the Hair stage door to try and get a photo with Will Swenson – my mom’s favorite. Our timing was great, but somehow he bypassed me when he was signing playbills. This is my sad face! So sorry mom! I can’t say I didn’t try!
After dinner with Cullen and Renee, we went back to the Empire State Building. I thought it would be so romantic to go up to the top for Valentine’s day (one day early), but I was so wrong! First of all, we ended up standing in line for almost 2 hours! We rode one elevator 80 floors up, then waited in another line, and finally rode the second and last elevator 6 more floors to the top. When we got to the top we of course went outside, which was mistake number two! I don’t think I have ever been so cold, windblown and miserable! I am also pretty sure that Kevin muttered the words “I hate you right now” while we were outside – so much for romance :)! We stayed out in the cold for about 5 minutes for some quick photos and then quickly went back inside! As horrible as it was, I am really glad we had the experience. I am able to laugh about it now and it is a great story for the blog! Lets just say I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else!
The Empire State Building
Just outside the entrance
Just inside the entrance
Can you tell how cold and miserable we were?
Lit up for Valentine's Day
We got back to the hotel around 9pm and grabbed our bags to go to the hotel in New Jersey. Why we didn’t just stay in Manhattan, I am not sure! We got to the hotel around 11 and crashed! We had a hell of a time getting on the ship on Sunday morning (Valentine’s Day), but finally prevailed after about 1.5 hours of waiting in the cold. We worked quickly because it was still so cold and then went to the airport. We got some dinner at McDonalds and saw Montel Williams doing the same thing! Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of Montel, but I thought it would be fun to tell you we saw him. Even stars eat Mickey D’s!
It was such a fun trip and I am so happy Kevin and I got to share these experiences! New York will always have a special place in my heart and I love sharing that with Kevin! I know he doesn’t feel quite the same as I do, but he is such a good sport about making me happy! He really is a keeper and I so look forward to our future!
Sorry this post got a bit long, and took me so long to get posted! Thanks for checking in on us! I will try to be a better blogger in the future!
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