NEW YORK, NEW YORK, NEW YORK
(The most frustrating post ever!)
The girls and I had been planning and paying for this trip for a year. We were so excited to go to New York. It was the first time for all of us. Monday, June 21, we woke up at 5 a.m. and were off for the BIG APPLE!
After our plane and bus ride, we arrived at our hotel, Comfort Inn. It was one block away from Maceys and a few blocks away from Times Square. Awesome location. Our hotel room, the stairway, the foyer, and the bathroom were tiny. As we were walking through Times Square to dinner that night, Alex asked, "I though New York was beautiful." The streets were dirty and smelly. It's beautiful in it's own way, but quite the adventure and different world. We saw where the ball drops on New Years Eve and Times Square.
Our first night, dinner was the best. We had breadsticks, salad, garlic bread, four Italian dishes, and a huge dessert platter. Everything was family style so we got to have it all. There was so much food, too much. We were all stuffed and sick. That night we learned that Pro Prep, Alex's dance team, had the most girls and was the loudest by far. They all love each other and have so much fun together. We had to tell them to calm down a few times. I was quite entertained by them. They kept me laughing. Abby's team only had four there. Ellie, Holly, Abby and I were the foursome everywhere we went. Ellie and Abby can be quite spastic too.
After dinner, we walked through Times Square with all of the lights. It was beautiful to see all of the many lights. We loved the vendor carts on every corner. We never had to look for a bottled water.
We got to do a little tourist shopping before dinner. We went to the Hershey store and bought lots of chocolates and a Reeses teddy bear for Adri. Then we went across the street to the M & M store and bought a m&m light saver for Kade.
Right outside of the M&M store, there were character artists. Hallie had hers done first and it looked a lot like her. So the rest of the girls wanted to try. Some turned out better than others. Alex was a beauty queen and Abby was a mermaid. It was fun, even though they didn't look exactly like them. It was cheap too, $10.
I should have showed my girls Forrest Gump before New York. We went to Bubba Gump Shrimp and they didn't appreciate the atmosphere I'm sure. On the way to dinner, there was a huge yoga class in the middle of Time Square. Hundreds of people were participating. Pretty cool sight. Dinner was great, and for dessert the ice cream was so frozen, we had to cut it with a knife!
Wicked was voted the best by all the girls. It was the first Broadway we watched and the girls loved it. I saw it in Salt Lake a few years ago and my girls were mad they didn't get to go. They saw it in NEW YORK. We ate our chocolates and watched the show!
On Wednesday, the girls had an early dance class at Steps on Broadway. I slept in and met them there. They were sweaty after class. We then walked through Central Park. It rained a little on us, but not bad. Central Park is the only break away from the city in the city. I would need to live right by it. There is no room to stretch or run in the city.
We walked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These girls don't appreciate art unless they are dancing in it. They made up their own fun. I've learned on this trip that Alex is a big show off and funny lady. She would walk up to people and stare in their face and then walk off. Sometimes she would wave and stare at them. We video cammed this and laughed so hard, we cried. It was so funny. We tried to be quiet, but it was hard.
We ate lunch at the museum and wandered by all of the naked statues.
Radio City was next. We took the subway most of the way. Cirque De Solei shows are there right now and we got to peak in on their practice. We also got to take a back stage tour and meet a Rockette. She answered questions and took pics. The best part of the tour were the bathrooms. They were huge and no lines. The toilets had automatic seat covers and the water was turned on by a pedal to wash your hands. Anne and I were in heaven. All the toilets are dirty in New York and tiny with long lines. This was a real treat.
We were exhausted and we did not want to walk anymore. The girls begged and begged for me to take them back to the hotel or close by shopping. I couldn't do it. Their parents had paid for a UN tour and although I was exhausted too, we had to go. We had the best time. I was so glad I didn't give in to the girls. Our tour guide was dreamy. He was handsome, fabulous sense of humor and an irresistable accent. Our tour went over and Anne called looking for us. We were going to be late for dinner, but we kept chatting with our man. He learned Alex's name rather fast. He only knew her name. She had many blonde moments and was quite the tour clown. The girls learned all that the UN does for this world. Mostly they give service to those countries in need and try to keep the peace. WE LOVED THE UN!
We could not walk one more step, so my three girls and I got a cab. It was so nice to take a break from walking. We walked 10-15 miles, plus standing at every tour. This was the most packed day of all. We ate at Planet Hollywood and they had a big sign welcoming us for all to see. The girls felt famous. We had another loud and crazy dinner. The girls were free entertainment.
The girls did not love Mary Poppins. I loved it. I grew up with Mary Poppins. It was very cutsey. One factor might be that they were all exahusted and fell asleep at one point or another. I even fell asleep. It was a long New York City day for sure. We got back to the hotel around 1130 p.m.
The next morning the girls were up early again, by 630 a.m. I slept in again. They had early dance classes. A few of the teachers took with Alex's group and a few took with Abby's group. They were fun to watch. The teachers were so different and sometimes femmie, but talented.
After class we hit the subways. The subways were an adventure. There were peeps down there playing music and dancing for tips. As soon as the subway arrived, all 58 of us would cram in to one train. It's amazing whats going on underground New York City all day.
We stopped for pizza on the same block. Across the street from this little pizzeria was tons of destruction. It's amazing how this little shop survived. They had to close down for three years after 9-11 for all the clean up going on around. The pizza was divine. I don't eat pizza very much, and this was incredible. We felt a little piece of heaven in this pizza shop.
We took a walk toward Ellis Island. We passed Wall Street and Battery Park. The girls had to touch this bulls stuff for good luck. It's the tourist thing to do. We also shopped at Century 21 which is a glorified TJ Max. It's overwhelming it's so big. At Battery Park, the picture on the bottoms left, there was this monument. This thing was right outside of the Twin Towers. It survived with only some minor injuries. They moved it to Battery Park and put a flame next to it that will never go out. We will never forget this day.
The girls were in for a real treat. Dancing in the rain at the Statue of Liberty. They danced, changed, rolled around all in the rain. They were so dirty after. It's a memory they will never forget. People stopped to watch us under their umbrellas.
The girls still danced with a smile. I laughed. They had to throw away their ballet shoes afterwards. They were ruined.
Anne and Cindy keeping the music dry!
The girls were covered in stuff! It was a fun time. Abby only had four dancers in her company and Alex had the most.
My girls and I.
Luckily, we got to go back to the hotel and clean up before dinner. We needed to get some clean and dry clothes. Ellen's Stardust Diner was an interactive dinner. The waiters and waitresses would sing the whole time. Many workers here go on to Broadway. It's a middle place before they hit it big time. Two of the waiters were from Utah and talked to us about Jimmer. They came to New York looking for stardom. Hope they find it. We had fun singing along with them.
PHANTOM! I have seen Phantom three times, in Los Angeles and in Salt Lake. New York was awesome too. The girls still loved Wicked the most. I think Phantom is a little harder to understand and they were tired once again. It was so fun dressing up every night and going out in the Big City. This was our last Broadway.
Our tour guide would drop us off at our Broadway every night and then go home. Greg was our tour guide after the show. We had to stop for cupcakes. There were all kinds, but we got two to share. Reeses and Brownie. They were divine, but the Reeses was the fav. Every night we had so much fun walking through the city with all of the lights. The city never stops. It doesn't matter what time of day or night it is, there are people everywhere.
The next morning was the TODAY SHOW. We were up past midnight and decided to sleep in. We went for a tour after the Today show was over. Bruno Mars was there that morning, but we were exhausted. The crowd was huge and we would of had to sleep there to get a good place. By the way, Justin Bieber was in New York Thursday at Macy's, right by our hotel, advertising his new perfume. The girls were broken hearted that they were so close to him, but couldn't see him. The crowds started sleeping over a few days before Justin came. We didn't have time to just sleep in line all day and night. We had things to do. We took a tour and got to see Dr. Oz's set and Saturday Night Live's. Then we stopped for Cheesecake. Alex and I had red velvet cheesecake. It was awesome.
We were trying to cram everything in our last day. Our bags were packed and we had only a little bit to play. We then took the Subway to China Town and Little Italy. We were so excited to SHOP. We all got purses, t-shirts, hats, jewelry and souvenirs. All week five of the girls and I wanted to stop at H&M, but we never had time. I thought I could get us back by our hotel to H&M on our own so we shopped fast at China Town and caught the Subway back to our stomping grounds. I took the wrong Subway. I misunderstood our tour guide. Some nice folks heard us chatting and pointed us in the right direction. At one point on our trip, a weirdo brought his bike onto the subway and chained it to the pole. Everyone was giggling to themselves even the New York natives. The bike was right in front of him. I think he could see someone taking it without locking it up. He was kind of special though.
We finally arrived at H&M with only an hour to shop. This store was 3 stories big. I had anxiety the whole time. We needed a whole day. The changing room, cashier line, and potty lines were so long. Alex bought a sundress that matched her friends, Abby bought some sweats to go home in and I bought some workout clothes. We can't wait to take all the time to the new one coming to Salt Lke here soon.
We then caught the bus to the airport. So sad to leave, but I wanted my bed and my toilet. Our flight was delayed three hours. Instead of getting home at midnight, we got home at 3 a.m. We all stopped for a bite at Chilis for our last meal together. I was with all the girlies. We had a fun meal and yummy too. Chicken Enchilada Soup! Abby was my sidekick this whole trip. I was so glad Ellie and Holly were there to hang with. Alex was a social butterfly. We had the trip of a life time together. I love my girls getting older. The memories are so fun. You name it and we probably did it. Next time I want to shop more!! I think all the girls agree. Thanks Annie for a fun dance trip.
(The most frustrating post ever!)
After our plane and bus ride, we arrived at our hotel, Comfort Inn. It was one block away from Maceys and a few blocks away from Times Square. Awesome location. Our hotel room, the stairway, the foyer, and the bathroom were tiny. As we were walking through Times Square to dinner that night, Alex asked, "I though New York was beautiful." The streets were dirty and smelly. It's beautiful in it's own way, but quite the adventure and different world. We saw where the ball drops on New Years Eve and Times Square. 
Our first night, dinner was the best. We had breadsticks, salad, garlic bread, four Italian dishes, and a huge dessert platter. Everything was family style so we got to have it all. There was so much food, too much. We were all stuffed and sick. That night we learned that Pro Prep, Alex's dance team, had the most girls and was the loudest by far. They all love each other and have so much fun together. We had to tell them to calm down a few times. I was quite entertained by them. They kept me laughing. Abby's team only had four there. Ellie, Holly, Abby and I were the foursome everywhere we went. Ellie and Abby can be quite spastic too.
After dinner, we walked through Times Square with all of the lights. It was beautiful to see all of the many lights. We loved the vendor carts on every corner. We never had to look for a bottled water. 
Our last stop was Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center. The views were amazing. The girls had the best time in the florescent room. They danced for all to watch. They were a spectacle at times. Rachel and Brittany, their young teachers, even joined in. They kept all of the chaperons entertained.
Tuesday morning we had an early walk on the High Line Park. It's an old railroad track converted in to a Parkway, brand new. It was a nice, hot walk along the Hudson. We had to carry our back packs everywhere because we had clothes for dance, and broadways in them for night time. We never had time to go back to the hotel to change. After the walk, we went to the Chelsea Market. It's the Meat Packing District and has trendy shops. We had shakes and window shopped. For lunch, we ate at Chipotle. Yum. There were fifty peeps from AED Dance studio on this trip, but only 15 of us hung out together when we had free time. It was a fun group with Holly, Anne, Greg, Cindy, and 9 girls.
Tuesday morning we had an early walk on the High Line Park. It's an old railroad track converted in to a Parkway, brand new. It was a nice, hot walk along the Hudson. We had to carry our back packs everywhere because we had clothes for dance, and broadways in them for night time. We never had time to go back to the hotel to change. After the walk, we went to the Chelsea Market. It's the Meat Packing District and has trendy shops. We had shakes and window shopped. For lunch, we ate at Chipotle. Yum. There were fifty peeps from AED Dance studio on this trip, but only 15 of us hung out together when we had free time. It was a fun group with Holly, Anne, Greg, Cindy, and 9 girls.
Manhattan Movement and Arts Center was an awesome experience. We watched a 45 minute performance about Jacque who made it to Broadway and all of her hardships getting there. Then the lady in pink taught the girls a dance from Wicked. She dances in Wicked and we were seeing Wicked that night. It was neat being able to pick out the dance they learned that night. The girls also met someone famous from Broadway. She is the head dancer for Wicked. They get paid pretty big bucks once they make it to Broadway. We got to ask these ladies questions after and learn more about the Broadway experience. You have to be super talented. Almost everyone needs to be able to sing and dance. Some make it to Broadway a lot easier than others.
We got to do a little tourist shopping before dinner. We went to the Hershey store and bought lots of chocolates and a Reeses teddy bear for Adri. Then we went across the street to the M & M store and bought a m&m light saver for Kade. 
Right outside of the M&M store, there were character artists. Hallie had hers done first and it looked a lot like her. So the rest of the girls wanted to try. Some turned out better than others. Alex was a beauty queen and Abby was a mermaid. It was fun, even though they didn't look exactly like them. It was cheap too, $10. 
I should have showed my girls Forrest Gump before New York. We went to Bubba Gump Shrimp and they didn't appreciate the atmosphere I'm sure. On the way to dinner, there was a huge yoga class in the middle of Time Square. Hundreds of people were participating. Pretty cool sight. Dinner was great, and for dessert the ice cream was so frozen, we had to cut it with a knife!
Wicked was voted the best by all the girls. It was the first Broadway we watched and the girls loved it. I saw it in Salt Lake a few years ago and my girls were mad they didn't get to go. They saw it in NEW YORK. We ate our chocolates and watched the show!
On Wednesday, the girls had an early dance class at Steps on Broadway. I slept in and met them there. They were sweaty after class. We then walked through Central Park. It rained a little on us, but not bad. Central Park is the only break away from the city in the city. I would need to live right by it. There is no room to stretch or run in the city.
We walked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These girls don't appreciate art unless they are dancing in it. They made up their own fun. I've learned on this trip that Alex is a big show off and funny lady. She would walk up to people and stare in their face and then walk off. Sometimes she would wave and stare at them. We video cammed this and laughed so hard, we cried. It was so funny. We tried to be quiet, but it was hard.
We ate lunch at the museum and wandered by all of the naked statues.
Radio City was next. We took the subway most of the way. Cirque De Solei shows are there right now and we got to peak in on their practice. We also got to take a back stage tour and meet a Rockette. She answered questions and took pics. The best part of the tour were the bathrooms. They were huge and no lines. The toilets had automatic seat covers and the water was turned on by a pedal to wash your hands. Anne and I were in heaven. All the toilets are dirty in New York and tiny with long lines. This was a real treat. 
We were exhausted and we did not want to walk anymore. The girls begged and begged for me to take them back to the hotel or close by shopping. I couldn't do it. Their parents had paid for a UN tour and although I was exhausted too, we had to go. We had the best time. I was so glad I didn't give in to the girls. Our tour guide was dreamy. He was handsome, fabulous sense of humor and an irresistable accent. Our tour went over and Anne called looking for us. We were going to be late for dinner, but we kept chatting with our man. He learned Alex's name rather fast. He only knew her name. She had many blonde moments and was quite the tour clown. The girls learned all that the UN does for this world. Mostly they give service to those countries in need and try to keep the peace. WE LOVED THE UN!
We could not walk one more step, so my three girls and I got a cab. It was so nice to take a break from walking. We walked 10-15 miles, plus standing at every tour. This was the most packed day of all. We ate at Planet Hollywood and they had a big sign welcoming us for all to see. The girls felt famous. We had another loud and crazy dinner. The girls were free entertainment.
The girls did not love Mary Poppins. I loved it. I grew up with Mary Poppins. It was very cutsey. One factor might be that they were all exahusted and fell asleep at one point or another. I even fell asleep. It was a long New York City day for sure. We got back to the hotel around 1130 p.m.
The next morning the girls were up early again, by 630 a.m. I slept in again. They had early dance classes. A few of the teachers took with Alex's group and a few took with Abby's group. They were fun to watch. The teachers were so different and sometimes femmie, but talented.
After class we hit the subways. The subways were an adventure. There were peeps down there playing music and dancing for tips. As soon as the subway arrived, all 58 of us would cram in to one train. It's amazing whats going on underground New York City all day.
Ground Zero was very humbling. Alex asked, "Why do people come here, it's so depressing." I loved being there and seeing the new World One Tower going up. They are trying to finish a lot of the reconstruction before 9-11 this year for the 10 year anniversary. They have a long ways to go. We stopped to read the public serviceman's wall. It was very quiet at ground zero. Lots of respect and love felt there.
We stopped for pizza on the same block. Across the street from this little pizzeria was tons of destruction. It's amazing how this little shop survived. They had to close down for three years after 9-11 for all the clean up going on around. The pizza was divine. I don't eat pizza very much, and this was incredible. We felt a little piece of heaven in this pizza shop.
We took a walk toward Ellis Island. We passed Wall Street and Battery Park. The girls had to touch this bulls stuff for good luck. It's the tourist thing to do. We also shopped at Century 21 which is a glorified TJ Max. It's overwhelming it's so big. At Battery Park, the picture on the bottoms left, there was this monument. This thing was right outside of the Twin Towers. It survived with only some minor injuries. They moved it to Battery Park and put a flame next to it that will never go out. We will never forget this day.
The girls were in for a real treat. Dancing in the rain at the Statue of Liberty. They danced, changed, rolled around all in the rain. They were so dirty after. It's a memory they will never forget. People stopped to watch us under their umbrellas.
The girls still danced with a smile. I laughed. They had to throw away their ballet shoes afterwards. They were ruined.
Anne and Cindy keeping the music dry!
The girls were covered in stuff! It was a fun time. Abby only had four dancers in her company and Alex had the most. 
My girls and I.
Luckily, we got to go back to the hotel and clean up before dinner. We needed to get some clean and dry clothes. Ellen's Stardust Diner was an interactive dinner. The waiters and waitresses would sing the whole time. Many workers here go on to Broadway. It's a middle place before they hit it big time. Two of the waiters were from Utah and talked to us about Jimmer. They came to New York looking for stardom. Hope they find it. We had fun singing along with them.
PHANTOM! I have seen Phantom three times, in Los Angeles and in Salt Lake. New York was awesome too. The girls still loved Wicked the most. I think Phantom is a little harder to understand and they were tired once again. It was so fun dressing up every night and going out in the Big City. This was our last Broadway.
Our tour guide would drop us off at our Broadway every night and then go home. Greg was our tour guide after the show. We had to stop for cupcakes. There were all kinds, but we got two to share. Reeses and Brownie. They were divine, but the Reeses was the fav. Every night we had so much fun walking through the city with all of the lights. The city never stops. It doesn't matter what time of day or night it is, there are people everywhere.
The next morning was the TODAY SHOW. We were up past midnight and decided to sleep in. We went for a tour after the Today show was over. Bruno Mars was there that morning, but we were exhausted. The crowd was huge and we would of had to sleep there to get a good place. By the way, Justin Bieber was in New York Thursday at Macy's, right by our hotel, advertising his new perfume. The girls were broken hearted that they were so close to him, but couldn't see him. The crowds started sleeping over a few days before Justin came. We didn't have time to just sleep in line all day and night. We had things to do. We took a tour and got to see Dr. Oz's set and Saturday Night Live's. Then we stopped for Cheesecake. Alex and I had red velvet cheesecake. It was awesome.
We were trying to cram everything in our last day. Our bags were packed and we had only a little bit to play. We then took the Subway to China Town and Little Italy. We were so excited to SHOP. We all got purses, t-shirts, hats, jewelry and souvenirs. All week five of the girls and I wanted to stop at H&M, but we never had time. I thought I could get us back by our hotel to H&M on our own so we shopped fast at China Town and caught the Subway back to our stomping grounds. I took the wrong Subway. I misunderstood our tour guide. Some nice folks heard us chatting and pointed us in the right direction. At one point on our trip, a weirdo brought his bike onto the subway and chained it to the pole. Everyone was giggling to themselves even the New York natives. The bike was right in front of him. I think he could see someone taking it without locking it up. He was kind of special though. 
We finally arrived at H&M with only an hour to shop. This store was 3 stories big. I had anxiety the whole time. We needed a whole day. The changing room, cashier line, and potty lines were so long. Alex bought a sundress that matched her friends, Abby bought some sweats to go home in and I bought some workout clothes. We can't wait to take all the time to the new one coming to Salt Lke here soon.
We then caught the bus to the airport. So sad to leave, but I wanted my bed and my toilet. Our flight was delayed three hours. Instead of getting home at midnight, we got home at 3 a.m. We all stopped for a bite at Chilis for our last meal together. I was with all the girlies. We had a fun meal and yummy too. Chicken Enchilada Soup! Abby was my sidekick this whole trip. I was so glad Ellie and Holly were there to hang with. Alex was a social butterfly. We had the trip of a life time together. I love my girls getting older. The memories are so fun. You name it and we probably did it. Next time I want to shop more!! I think all the girls agree. Thanks Annie for a fun dance trip.
Thank you Renn for making it possible for us to go. You da best! He was home packing all the food and stuff for Lake Powell by himself. He also worked too. We were leaving for Powell the day after we got home and he had a lot to do.
Adri and Kaden were in Roosevelt with their cousins. Adri was at Randy's and Kaden was at Rae's. They went to the drive inn, ate lunch in the park, boating, shooting, 4 wheelin, slept out in tents, and had the best small town fun ever. They have so many cousins out there, they were in heaven. I don't think they wanted to come home.
New York was an adventure, but my clean toilet made coming home worth it!
1 comment:
Wow wow wow! What a post! New York with all the gals! What can I say! What a fun, fabulous trip. I love your pics of the city!! I cannot believe HOW MUCH you fit into your trip!? That is exhausting and so fab all at once! My favorite pics are the girls dancing at the statue of liberty. That will be a moment they will NEVER forget. What an awesome opportunity for all the girls! Love it. (By the way, we ate at the some pizza joint right next to 9/11...what a story!!!)
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