"Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now!!"
"Plannin' for the future, see him now as he stands
On the bow of a ship, headed for a new land:
In New York, you can be a new man!"
"Lookin' at the rolling fields,
I can't believe that we are free!
Ready to face whatever's awaiting me in NYC!"
"These New York City streets get colder; I shoulder
Every burden, every disadvantage I have learned to manage...
When you're livin' on your knees, you RISE UP!"
"Like I said, you're free to go, but look around, look around:
The Revolution's happening in New York!"
"History is happening in Manhattan, and we just happen to be
In the greatest city in the world...
THE GREATEST CITY IN THE WORRRLD!"
"After the war, I went back to New York.
A-After the war, I went back to New York!"
"I am the one thing in life I can control.
I am inimitable; I am an original.
I'm not falling behind or running late.
I'm not standing still; I am lying in wait..."
"I just got home, and now I'm headed up to New York...
Headed to New York, headed to New York!"
"Can I show you what I'm proudest of?
I established the private orphanage in New York City."
"I'm the oldest and the wittiest,
and the gossip in New York City is insidious...."
"He's very attractive in the north, New Yorkers like his chances!"
Okaaay, now for the real trip recap, complete with loads of examples of God's kindness, which I'll count as I go...
Judge randomly gave Doris and I the afternoon off on Friday (1), so I was able to pack and head out in time to beat the 5 o'clock traffic. I made the drive straight from Moore to the Doubletree by the DFW airport with no issues or major traffic problems (2). Every reservation I made went smoothly, and they gave me 2 water bottles and 2 DoubleTree cookies as I checked in (3). I was reminded via FB that Ed Sheeran's new album came out that day (4), which I listened to whilst riding a real Peloton bike for the very first time in the hotel's fitness center (5). FUN!! Ed is seriously the best... he did a live show in NYC on the 13th to celebrate the album release, so I'm happy we were there at the same time. lol Anyway, I spent the remainder of that Friday night in Dallas enjoying my Chipotle dinner whilst watching Pitch Perfect and Harry Potter in my hotel room. All in all, a very good day!
Didn't sleep well due to trip anxiety (I'm always afraid I won't wake up when the alarm is set at 4am), but I woke up in time to look cute before taking their free shuttle (6) to the airport at 5am. I've always enjoyed airports, and they are especially delightful when you are traveling with only a purse and wearing slip-on tennis shoes (7). Garth was my soundtrack at the DFW airport (he gets his own post soon bc I freaking love him), then I read and slept on the non-turbulent, very on-time flight to NYC (8). (Months ago, the original flight time was delayed by 2 hours, so I knew I would be cutting it scary close - arriving at the airport just under one hour before the play began - and I could not afford another delay.). Thank you, Lord, that it was not a problem!
Lyft was cheaper, so I used them for my two 40-minute car rides... my first driver was deaf and the second spoke Spanish and was on the phone with a friend the whole time. Everything was smooth and on time, and I felt safe and relaxed and not pressured to make conversation on those trips, so I'm grateful God worked all the details of that out (9). I talked to Mom and texted with Chet on the drive (10), and we drove through some cute NYC-area neighborhoods that reminded me of The Intern and/or You've Got Mail. (11)
I arrived at 12:42 for the 1pm show... I'll take it (12)!! This trip kinda snuck up on me, and it all felt surreal until I saw the theater and felt the full JOY of this moment! #letsfreakinggo #noragrets
The line for the restrooms were too long to bother, but there was a surprisingly short line at the merch table, so I grabbed a new zip-up HamilTEN hoodie - YAY (13)! Then I headed up this cute little winding staircase to my box seat... it's a box for 3 people, and I assumed I would be seated with a couple, but it was a mom and daughter who were fully invested and animated and singing along to all of it, so I had a lot of fun sitting with them (14).
Start to finish, the play was everything I could've hoped for! The crowd cheered for a solid 2 minutes when Leslie Odom Jr. stepped out to start it all off... and again after Wait for It and The Room Where It Happens. The guy playing Hamilton (Trey Curtis, pictured left) was phenomenal - the best and strongest lead I have seen. Same for Tamar Greene (center) who played George Washington, and of course, Leslie (right) who played Aaron Burr! A truly excellent cast, as you would expect on Broadway, and a fantastic atmosphere in the Richard Rodgers theater - it lived up to my high expectations (15)!! All the NYC-specific lyrics make it feel extra-special to be there!
After the play, I stood in the line hoping for a cameo for about 15 minutes, then decided I couldn't waste any more time there. I noticed another line that had formed outside of the new-to-me Anita Gelato place, so I promptly headed over there and enjoyed some salted caramel and cookieman gelato! It's typically impossible to find a table in any crowded NYC restaurant, but someone left just as I got my food (16), so I was able to sit down and savor it whilst reminiscing as I looked across the street at the Minskoff Theater! lol
The new hoodie I bought didn't smell great, so I popped into Sephora and remedied that by sampling their perfumes. lol This = randomly seeing several brides gathered together... Tiffany said it's Fashion week, so it was probably related to that. Fun!
My good friend, Travis! =)
Pink trees will always catch my eye, and when it's my favorite spot in Central Park (Bow Bridge), I had to grab it! =)
I did some Times Square shopping around, including the M&M store for cute new socks and PJ pants, and Junior's bakery for an early dinner and an oreo cheesecake to go - (to be honest, it was disappointing, and I'd go with another flavor next time)!
I found a cute little table outside and watched the crowds of Times Square whilst eating my mac and cheese and pondering how much my heart toward this city has changed through the years. Where I would've once seen only danger and aggressive crowds, I now see so much beauty and courage. You find what you look for, I guess, and I'm thankful my eyes and ears are more tuned to catch the goodness around me than they were back in 1998 or 2010 when I just wanted to go home. NYC and Vegas are both overstimulating to many introverts, but I've grown to love them - I don't want to move there or anything, but it feels like I am able to find the quiet center in it all, to spot random acts of kindness and connection and zone into the faint background noise of Alicia Keys singing New York and hear that soundtrack above any chaos... and I'm grateful for that (17)!
After dining al fresco and buying my fun painting from a random street artist, I ordered the Uber to head back to the airport! While there, I recharged my phone and edited some NYC through-the-years collages which I'll share in my next post. Again, my flight was on time and smooth, and the pilot announced that he made record time leaving NYC, so we arrived back in Dallas 20 minutes early (18). I slept soooo much better last night and got to sleep in till 10:45ish (19). Then I grabbed a ShakeShack cheeseburger, checked out the Titanic Exhibit thanks to a well-placed FB ad (20), stopped by Jeni's Ice Cream and then the Stonebriar Mall for old times sake, checked into my amazing Embassy Suites room in Frisco, met with my CCU discussion group via Zoom, texted with the Shoemakers, grabbed Maggianos to-go for dinner, talked to Mom, and spent the rest of the day finishing up loads of homework just in time (21)... and now, I'm blogging whilst finishing my Maggiano's cheesecake (which made up for the Juniors one) (22) and halfway-watching Modern Family! I rarely finish a meal in one sitting at this point... it's the desserts that I'll need to rein in when I get back home, but yay for being in vacation mode here!
My other new purchases = the HamilTEN hoodie (obvi), a cute Texas t-shirt from the DFW airport, and my NYC M&M pajama pants!! Some fun items to commemorate this solo adventure to Dallas and NYC! I'm proud of myself for booking this trip, for driving through Dallas repeatedly and feeling more confident and less fearful about that,
That's all for tonight. For the record, I'm still in the Dallas area because I have an appointment with Dallas IVF tomorrow afternoon to finally get the saline infusion sonogram that will determine whether I need another surgery. Whatever happens tomorrow, I wanted to capture the best parts of this trip before that appointment! I'm feeling very aware of and grateful for God's kindness right now, for my friends and family, for good food and good music and good movies and good memories, and for my ability to genuinely have fun and enjoy my own company... or better stated, the ever-present, protective, powerful, and kind company of Jesus!
"Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now!"
❤ ❤ ❤
