New York Wish!

We had another flying adventure but after a few missed flights, a near miss just for me and a near nervous breakdown, we made it.  Before we get into the fun, I have to tell you about the most tragic part of the trip.  We finally made it to Chicago after a series of delays.  We rushed to try and make it as standby on two separate flights even though we had been re-booked for a later flight.  The clerks were super nice but it just didn't work out.  We sat around waiting for our flight and an ambulance and firetruck came screaming up to our gate.  They carried a young woman out and put her in a wheelchair.  She was traveling alone and pretty upset.  Paramedics left but they left her sitting alone and she just wasn't calming down.  I decided to go and sit with her and try to comfort her.

She was really sweet and had had a panic attack on the plane.  Her fingers were stiffened and curled all up and she couldn't feel her arms and hands.  It was a pretty bad anxiety attack I guess.  I just tried to talk to her about other things to get her mind off the trauma.  She was waiting for a wheelchair to take her to the baggage claim.  In my visiting, I didn't hear that they had changed our gate number.  Once she left, the kids came running to tell me so we ended up sprinting to our new gate and arrived just in time for boarding.

One big problem...the kids were rushing on to the plane and didn't notice that my ticket didn't go through, they had no record of me on the flight!  She wouldn't let me get my kids and sent me off to the United desk.  With all the stand by efforts, they missed getting me booked with my kids and accidently booked me for a flight that had left an hour earlier.  The clerk said there were no more seats!  As he is on hold with someone, he is calling all these stand by people and giving them tickets!!  I said to him, "Why are you not giving me a stand by ticket?  My kids are already in their seats!?"  He gave another ticket away and said, "That was the last seat, Sorry."
"Are you kidding me?  How could this happen?"  I was about to burst into tears and he said, "Oh, wait, I think one passenger has been double booked."  By now, they had made the last call and the gate was empty!  Long story short, I made it on at the very last minute.  The kids were all sitting apart from each other and a little frightened.

Anyways, we landed in New York just fine, found our hotel and headed straight down to Times Square!  It was 11pm!  We walked and walked and walked.  It was so fun and the weather was warm!

Today, we spent most of the day at the Museum of Modern  Art!  It was the best experience!  The kids loved it!!  The highlight of the day for me was see Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh!  He is my favorite artist.  I love art!  Spencer said, "I can't believe I am seeing some of the greatest artists of all time in one place!! I am amazed!"  He really loved the Jackson Pollack, Claude Monet and Picasso.

Tonight we got to see Wicked on Broadway at the Gershwin Theater.  It was even better than I had imagined it to be and funny!  We walked about 5 or 6 miles today so the kids are pooped out but what an awesome experience.  Oh, did I mention shopping on 5th Avenue?  We went to the glass Apple store, FAO Shwartz, Armani, and some other fun stores as well as St. Patrick Cathedral.  What a fantastic place.

Enough babbling, here are some pics from today.

Times Square at midnight

The Roxy Deli...I almost died at the prices not to mention the size.  Check out this sandwich!!!  $25.00!!

St. Patrick's Cathedral was so beautiful.

Tons of cool things to look at. 

Love this quote at the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art)

My brother in law Howard, Shelbie, Spencer and Sam

I thought these canvases of fine art needed some additional subject matter! 

The Donald

The set of Wicked.  We were 14 rows from the stage.  We have been so spoiled!

After Wicked, we went to the famous Carnegie's for some Cheesecake.  Nothing is small in New York!

We have had some interesting dining experiences.  For dinner, we went to an Italian Restaurant called Nino's.  We had no idea what we were getting into but it was superb food.  My brother in law ordered a Caesar Salad and they rolled out this tray filled with little bowls of capers, anchovies, garlic, olive oil, egg, croutons and lettuce.  They made the dressing right there in front of us.  The prices were pretty decent, considering how expensive things are.  The entrees were 20 bucks.  We didn't order any extra's but when we got the bill it was $165.00!!  Turns out they charge for every single refill!  We had no clue and they just kept bringing fresh soda's.  The final bill with tip was nearly $200!!  OMG, I have never paid for an expensive meal like that before.  We were all a little shocked.  But the real shock came when they declined my debit card!  Luckily, I had a credit card I could use.  It's been quite the eye opening adventure.

Spencer is having the time of his life!  So grateful to Make A Wish.