The Big Apple

I am here:

After a grueling day of travel that began at 2 a.m....and I do mean grueling...we arrived in NYCity by about 11 a.m.

The reason we left at such an ungodly hour was to be able to have an extra day in the city by getting started on the same day we arrived.

Do you think it worked out that way??

Of course not!

It seems as if some silly underground electrical something or another had caught on fire in one of the hotels not far from ours.

These poor folks had to be evacuated from their hotel...

Guess where they were evacuated to???

You guessed it!!!

OUR HOTEL!

Which, of course, meant that our rooms were not ready...

Please imagine standing on the sidewalk in the middle of Times Square with your suitcases.

You can't check in...there's not even enough places to sit down.

You're starving to death because you started this trip at 2 a.m.

You rode for 2 1/2 hours on a chartered bus to the nearest airport bc you live in such a small town that there are no airports any closer than that.

Please also imagine that your bus driver is 87.

I don't mean his ID number was 87 either.

Mr. 87 had trouble staying on the road all the way to the airport.

So much trouble, in fact, that other cars kept honking at him to wake him up and warn him that he was about to run over them.

Close your eyes and imagine as vividly as possible that your group consists of approximately 125 human beings (no animals on this trip)... including a majority of teenagers (ok, maybe a few animals)...

Which means that checking in baggage, retrieving boarding passes and security lines were absolutely ridiculous.

Which means that you had to run to get on your plane before they closed the doors!

Which means that you did not have time to stop and eat breakfast in the airport nor go to the bathroom nor, most importantly, have that first cup of coffee!

You've already experienced all of this by the time you arrive in NYCity only to find out that your rooms are not ready.

And, that they won't be ready at least for another several hours.

Oy!

Please imagine that on top of everything else you've experienced today, that NY City is HOT!

Could have even been 90 degrees in the direct sunshine...which you were standing in at high noon with your suitcases because you arrived early to get an extra day.

Now, I feel the need to tell you that this is not my 1st trip to NY. 

I heart NY.

But, Lord have mercy on my soul if today was not a direct challenge to my love for NY.

It seemed as if every tourist in America got together and decided that today of all days would be the very best day to visit Times Square.

And, on a WEDNESDAY!

They were EVERYWHERE!

(Notice how I'm pretending I'm not a tourist)

It's my firstborn and middle daughters' first trip to NY and I really want it to be special.

It seemed as if all day long though, the forces of the universe were working against me.

After some much needed rest, we do have a great trip planned.

My mom, my firstborn and middle daughters and I are seeing "In the Heights," "Wicked," "Phantom of the Opera" and "West Side Story" while we are here.

Here's hoping that Scarlett was right...and that "tomorrow is another day"...

Even in NY City.