It finally happened, and then was over too fast. I finally made it to New York City, to go see The Phantom of the Opera! This is something I have wanted to do since I was 15, way back in my voice lesson days. I could hardly believe it was actually going to happen! I was so worried something would occur that would prevent this trip from taking place. The kids were not allowed to bounce on their beds, run too fast, wrestle, tussle or carry sharp objects. Extra care was taken with driving, walking, and navigating stairs. Vitamins were taken, 't's crossed and 'i's dotted. This trip needed to happen.
There was some concern from a co-worker, who had doubts of my ability to handle the Big Apple. I was told with genuine worry, that I was a little country girl, who would probably be overwhelmed with the Big City, and not able to handle it well at all. I informed this person that I get out of the barn occasionally, and I would be fine.
In all reality, we did not have enough time to be anything BUT fine! Our bus left at 3:30 AM, and my friend Jen and I were the first aboard. We could hardly contain our excitement!
"Did you bring stuff for breakfast?" She asked.
"Yup! Oranges, bananas, fruit and nut bars...."
"LOL! So glad I packed stuff too, then. I brought Snicker doodles, Pizza Combos, gummy lifesavers...." I looked at the bag she had packed and informed her we could comfortably feed the entire bus and have leftovers. "I have six kids, Moriah. I pack EVERYTHING when I go anywhere."
"It may be our last meal. Jasin waited up for me to go. He took pictures of me first. Then hugged me and said to have a good time. He was totally weepy. I feel like he was taking goodbye pics and giving me a last hug. The pictures were halfway decent, so, I guess they have my approval for funeral home use."
"Am I going to have to die too, now?"
"Did you get goodbye pictures taken?"
"No."
"Then you probably shouldn't die today."
"Okay."
"Glad we have that settled."
"yup."
We had a few stops, to pick up more people. We ended up with 2 kids approximately 9-11 yrs old behind us who spent the next 7 hours cheerfully kicking our seats, coughing and sneezing on us, and hanging their heads between us, to listen in, or read whatever we had in front of us.
"So glad we left our kids home, to enjoy a kid free day..." remarked Jen. I nodded in complete agreement. Unfortunately, it isn't nice to spin around and grab someone Else's child and get in their face to tell them to sit down, cover your coughs, and quit kicking one's damn seat. So, we endured it. The end result would be worth it, right? And, the fact that the seats and space were designed for people 3 feet tall and under was totally not an issue. It was only a few hours, right?
The trip wasn't so long, and we were at our drop off by 11:15. We were told to meet the bus at precisely 7:45 PM, and have a nice day. We stood there, gazing around, and wondered "Now what? What do we do first?" And we were off! We ended up somehow at the Avenue of Flags, and Rockefeller Center. We bought tickets to go to the top of Rockefeller after the Phantom, later that evening. We checked out Radio City Music Hall, St Patrick's Cathedral, and all the shops and stores under Rockefeller. We headed toward Times Square, chatted with a very nice police man, and generally found the majority of people to be helpful and pleasant.
At Times Square, we saw a man sitting on the corner beating on a plastic pail and a few plastic bins and assorted metal things. It sounded EXACTLY like a marching band. I snapped pics of Spider man, for George, we wandered through a 3 story store dedicated to M&M's, we figured out after approximately 2 minutes in the city, how to cross crazy roads like pro's. We had the best time, laughing, and talking, and running from this place to the next. At one point, a man in a golden robe grabbed me, shoved a golden card in my hand, and a wooden beaded bracelet on my wrist and screamed at me to sign my name on a paper and write the word "Peace". "What? No! I am not writing my na-" "WRITE IT! Write your name, and the word PEACE!!!" The man screamed at me, turbans waving wildly from atop his crazed head. "No, I really really don't want to sign your paper, sir -" He grabbed my hand, stuck a pen in it, placed it on his paper, screaming "WRITE YOUR NAME AND 'PEACE!!!!!' "Oh my goodness. If it means THAT much to you...." and I scrawled my name and wrote 'Peace' for the crazy person. "Good." He approved. "Now give me money." "No! I am not giving you money!" The gold card and bracelet were yanked away, and crazy man stomped off. Lesson Learned.
We decided we should probably attempt to find the Theater, and grab something for lunch, when I happened to look up, and see the Theater down a street right off of Times Square, with a restaurant right across the road from it. Sheer dumb luck, really. Lunch was in a fun place called "Jekyll and Hyde", and worth every cent we paid for it. Then off across the road to see the Phantom. There was this extremely long line to the theater, but we decided this could not possibly be the line to get in, so we went to the front, and found out it was indeed, the line, but still somehow ended up right up front anyway. Next thing we knew, the doors were open, and we were swept inside with the crowd. Once seated, I could hardly contain myself. This was not really happening. I was HERE! 20 years of wanting this, and I was finaly here! The size of the theater was surprising. Very very small. The Franklinville school auditorium was bigger! Ah well, I was here, and didn't care how big or small it was.
The show was worth every cent, and every kick and sneeze endured on the way. I was absolutely crying by the end. It was amazing. Before we were even out of the theater, I was trying to figure out how to do it again. Soon.
After, we needed to make our way to the Rockefeller Center, and I needed to get the kids something, which I did in under 10 minutes at a tee-shirt stand. And then Jen's souvenir shopping began. We were at a lot of stands and shops and stores. "How many kids do you have, exactly" I finally inquired. "Six!" She informed me, on the way into another store. "THIRTY six, maybe?" "Oh, stop, we have plenty of time!" She cheerfully informed me, sailing in to another store.
We made it to the top of Rockefeller Center, where the views were amazing. I sat up there awhile, just looking out over the City. Mostly because Jen was in another store. It was amazing, to just sit up there, and look out over the world. But, eventually, we had to make our way back down, and catch our bus in 45 minutes. Which was easy peasy. Bryant Park, where the bus would be, was right over......... well. Someplace. It was near-ish. The maps were not helpful, nor was my GPS. Well, hmmm. So, we began asking people that did not look like tourists to point us in the right direction. Everyone was very helpful, but, we didn't seem to be making our way very quickly. Finaly, I stopped a man with a rickshaw, and asked him. He asked for my number. Jen laughed outright. He did not get my number, but told us to get in anyway, and he would take us to where we needed to be. The ride was death defying and so much fun! "We're going to die!" screeched Jen. "What a way to go!!! Besides, I already have my funeral pictures taken, so I'm all good!" screeched me. He drove us past The Waldorf Hotel, Lexington, Madison Ave, and all over. We had so much fun. I almost felt sorry for whomever was in the limo we almost hit. They could not have possibly been having nearly as much fun as we did that day. How sad.
We made it back to our bus stop with 10 minutes to spare. I was dragged into one last souvenir shop. After which Jen said the only thing she didn't get a chance to do was go to "Crumbs Bakery" I happened to look up, and see one right across the road from our bus stop. So, we defied death and traffic one last time, to go get cupcakes. Completely worth the adrenaline of crossing a NYC street. Amazing stuff, those Crumbs Cupcakes.
The bus ride home was long. And cramped. And painful and exhausting. But, worth the day we had just spent. Almost exactly to the minute 24 hours from the start, we were back where we started. An amazing day, an amazing adventure, and, the Country girl did just fine. Ha!
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