Well we've managed to recover from our long weekend in New York City. Rachel and I had the most amazing time there. I truly loved it there even more than I thought I would.
As we were getting to ready to leave from Peoria early Friday morning the captain came on and said they were having trouble getting one of the thermostats to work properly. So twice he had to turn off the plane completely for several minutes and pray that it would start back up. He kept saying it was like when you had to keep trying to start up an old car on a cold day and hope that it stays on. You know that's not the most reassuring example when the plane is going to be whisking you thousands of feet in the air. Luckily after a 25 minute delay we made it to Chicago in one piece.
We arrived in New York to one of the coldest days on record. It was a frigid 12 degrees when we touched down and it didn't warm up much all weekend. We took a taxi from the airport and the driver asked where we were from. I told him somewhat near Chicago to which he responded "How is New Chicago different from regular Chicago?" Rather than correcting him I just told him it was smaller with nicer houses. We would have gotten to our hotel quicker but he kept pausing to take pictures on his cell phone every time we passed a Muslim temple. I knew we had arrived in the city when we passed a man holding a cardboard sign asking for money for strippers, beer, and drugs.
Our first night there we went to try (unsuccessfully) to get tickets to see Hairspray. While we were waiting outside the theatre a crazy man walked by to tell us "It's a great weekend to be in New York. Look out for the earthquake." He walked a few more steps before saying "Hello everyone." He glanced to a girl in a wheelchair and said "Hello cripple." With a final "Hallelujah, Praise Jesus" he was gone.
Every time you walked down the streets there would be guys handing our fliers for bus tours, Broadway shows, and gentlemen's clubs. The comedy club guys were the worst. When you ignored them or said no thank you they'd try to come back with a not-so-funny line. One night after bypassing nine of them in a row Rachel simply told the guy that it simply wasn't our thing. He responded, "Hey, it's not a fetish. It's just comedy" as he chuckled to himself. If that's as funny as it gets I can see why no one was taking him up on his offer.
We bought tickets for this tour that took you all around the city on a double-decker bus. We froze our butts off. In fact I still have dried snot plastered on my face. We went past one building and the tour guide told us that it was stronger than the World Trade Center. Um, I don't know if you realize this but ultimately the twin towers weren't that strong.
Most Broadway shows have these lotteries where two hours before the show you can put your name in a drawing. If you're one of the names they draw out you can buy two tickets in the front row for $25 a piece. It's a great deal but people come out in droves to try to win. We tried Friday night to win tickets for Wicked and knew we didn't stand a chance. There were 200 people (mostly theater majors: hyperactive, dramatic girls and very gay boys). Undeterred we tried again Saturday night even though there was about the same number of people. Surprisingly my name was the third one drawn out. I probably was one of the highlights of the trip. It really is a great show from beginning to end and it was just unbelievable sitting that close. Rachel commented that now both Ella and Liam have seen the show in utero.
I was on the look-out for celebrities the whole time. Granted we never bumped in Sarah Jessica Parker or Will Smith, but we did spot some minor celebrities. One night the recent rehabilitated Miss USA was out in the middle of Times Square being interview by both Pat O'Brien and Mark Steines. Letterman was on hiatus but we ate lunch at his buddy Rupert's deli right next door. Our hotel was right next to Good Morning America so on Monday morning we headed over to get on tv. Letty said we looked like classis tourist standing behind Diane Sawyer waving into the camera. Poor Rachel couldn't see over anyone and all you could make out was her pink hat. Finally, just as we getting ready to leave we ran into Project Runway judge Nina Garcia on the street.
Heading back to the airport for our return flight home I thought I'd try to save the $55 bucks we used for a taxi when we arrived and take the subway back to the airport. I mean it would only cost us $4. What could be better? It turned into The Amazing Race. We went all the way out to Queens on the subway and then had to catch the bus. However, it required exact change which we didn't have and the driver was pissed so she left us there. By the time the second taxi arrived we had our money ready. We hopped on the bus and looked for a place to slide in our dollars. The new driver told us we either had to have coins on a Metro card. Finally we got on the bus and made it to the airport. When they finally let us board we then got stuck sitting on the runway for two hours, which was brutal. The guy in the row in front of us was the most obnoxious prick. At one point the flight attendant said, "Oh, I think that's the engine starting up." The man's classy response was "No, I think that's your big, long vibrator." I was waiting for the woman to slap him but she didn't.
We finally arrived back into Chicago four hours late and of course our flight to Peoria (the last one of the day) was long gone. Knowing that both of us had to work the next morning we looked at renting a car to drive home but it would be $138. So we found a hotel room to spend the night. However, we didn't have our bags. No toothpaste, no deodorant, no clean clothes. The real kicker was the next morning when I went to hop into the shower we had no hot water.
When we finally landed in Peoria all we wanted was to get our bags and get home to see Ella. As we watched other people get their luggage from the baggage claim ours never arrived. We headed upstairs and waited and waited and waited. No one was in sight. We looked out the window and realized why. Air Force One had just landed and the President had arrived. First he got us stuck in Iraq and now he's held up our bags. C'mon man, I voted for you twice (something that is not popular to admit these days). Just give me our luggage. Once he was secure on the ground our luggage appeared and we headed home with memories of a trip we'll never forget.
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