I’m tempted to begin this blog with the story of how I got Chad and myself kicked out of a store in Times Square this afternoon, but I think I’ll save that tale for the appropriate time.
We decided to skip the early morning taping of the Today Show to let the kids sleep in a bit. When we left the hotel this morning, the sun was out and it was a crisp, beautiful day. We headed towards Rockefeller Plaza and stopped at Variety Café for breakfast. They serve (oddly enough) a variety of foods, so we figured we’d all be pleased. We bought bagels, fresh fruit, juice and a parfait. Jackson bought an $8.00 sandwich that went in the trash because he requested that certain items NOT be included, and they were put on his sandwich anyway. I forgot to tell him that at restaurants like this, you don’t get to custom order your food. You order “As Is” and then get the heck out of the way. I might as well have just thrown 8 bucks in the garbage can. Lesson learned.
We were going to go to the Kathie Lee and Hoda hour of the Today show, but it turns out it was pre-recorded and they weren’t there today. Instead, we wandered around Rockefeller Plaza, taking pictures and watching the ice skaters at the rink. Tickets to The Top of the Rock were included in our City Passes, so we didn’t have to wait in the long line that was forming (see? I’m tellin’ ya, it’s pays to plan!) We went up 60+ stories in an elevator with a glass ceiling and when we got out, we spent over an hour strolling the 3 levels of outdoor viewing decks. The views of the city were astounding.
By the time we came down, it was 11:00 AM and Jackson wanted to stop at the Lego Store and peruse the Lego sets, many of which cost $399.00. (He left empty-handed if you’re wondering.)
We went to the NBC Store and bought tickets for the studio tour tomorrow morning. And then walked over to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Now listen, I don’t like to be disrespectful to the catholic religion and I don’t want to make anyone feel bad, but… well, here I go. That place was a TRIP. Extraordinary architecture and historical monument-status aside, it was actually a little eerie. Mass (service?) was in progress. The priest was speaking in a scary monotone voice and the people in the audience (congregation?) looked so sad. "Depressed" would be a more fitting description. And the gift shop was weird. Situated right there among the statues of Mary and various saints. I lit a candle (for fun) and didn’t pay the $2 they “suggest.” I almost dipped my hand in the holy water to see what would happen, but I could picture the array of bacteria and diseases that were swirling around the single black curly hair that was floating on top. Does the holiness of holy water counteract the effect of the Ebola virus? Leah and the kids climbed into the pews and knelt and stood whenever they saw other people do it. I took a picture of that too. So, that's my take on the cathedral. You may have had a very different experience if you went, and that’s cool too. I got the heebie-geebies, though.
We made our way down 5th Avenue and bought hot dogs and pretzels from a street vendor. Behind me, I heard Jackson say, “That’s not smart, Leah! You know what happens whenever you get ideas.” I turned to see Leah throwing giant chunks of pretzel on the ground. The pigeons were wrestling and fighting over the pieces that were too big for them to choke down. Luckily no one scolded her for feeding the birds, but I'm sure one or two may have died from having an enormous piece of bread lodged in their throats.
Leah and the kids decided to ride a cab the 1.2 miles back to the hotel. The kids were wiped out and Leah’s shoes were hurting her feet. So Chad and I took a nice walk back to our hotel, taking pictures and wishing we were hungry so we could eat at one of the countless restaurants we passed by.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, I will divulge the details to you of my story on getting kicked out of a store in Times Square…
Next to our hotel is one of those electronics slash souvenir stores. Chad wanted to stop in and look for a more comfortable camera strap. I did not want to go in becaue I do not like those kinds of stores. But in we went and we were greeted by a man with a thick Eastern European (according to Chad) accent. I thought he sounded like Ivan Drago. But now that I’ve had time to stew and exaggerate, I’m thinking he sounded exactly like Watto from The Phantom Menace. Chad told Watto he was looking for a strap and suddenly Watto became very friendly and invited us back to his counter. He sent one of his employees (slaves) to get the straps and then told me “Here, I show you something about your camera,” gesturing to the camera around my neck. “It will blow your mind.” I looked down at the camera and then up at Watto who whose hands were outstrechted and reaching, waiting for me to to hand over my camera. Chad was fine with this, but in a split second, my mind’s eye saw this man “accidentally” break my camera and then try to sell me one of his genuine “Somy” cameras to replace it. So I paused and said, “no, that’s okay.” And Watto got so angry he yelled, “You don’t want me to show you? Fine! We don’t have your camera strap!” and motioned for us to leave his store. On our way out, as he plopped his butt back onto his stool, I turned, held up my camera and said in my sweetest voice, “Say Cheeeeeeese!” and took his picture. Poor Chad didn’t get to buy his strap, and I felt bad about it the rest of the night. Maybe he’ll find his way into another store where they’ll try to bully him into buying their crap, but I think this time I’ll stay outside.
We went back to our room, swapped stories with Leah and the kids, freshened up, and then walked 3 blocks down Broadway to Virgil’s BBQ on 44th. Again, bypassing a throng of people and getting seated immediately, thanks to glorious reservations! We ate some delicious food at that restaurant. The ambiance was very comfortable, laid back and fun.
We finished with plenty of time to walk 2 more blocks down to the Foxwoods Theatre to see Spiderman. It was an exciting and energetic play. I picked it specifically because our kids love Spiderman and since The Edge and Bono wrote the music, I knew Chad would be interested. Leah and I would be happy seeing anything, so it was an easy choice. 4 years ago, Leah and I saw Young Frankentstein at this theatre (it was then called The Hilton Theatre.) Here is the difference between then and now. Then: we had incredible seats in the 7th row. Now: we had very un-incredible seats in the VERY LAST row (Why? Because Broadway tickets for 6 people aren’t cheap.) On the way up the stairs I heard Ashley say, “oh, my ears are popping.” And in a conversation between Leah and Jackson, there was a comment alluding to the fact that the part of Spiderman appeared to be played by an actual spider. Oh, there have been other fun comments since I bought the tickets 6 weeks ago: “be sure to bring a coat because our seats are actually across the street” and things of that nature. But seriously, the play was super fun and during the scenes where Spiderman and The Green Goblin fly and fight, I felt like we had some of the best seats in the house.
“I don’t have any reasons… I’ve left them all behind… I’m in a New York state of mind.”
The Niemeyers
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