New York, Day One

I had hoped to post this yesterday, but my plans were foiled. We had electricians in the house all day into the evening (a whole 'nother story), and no electricity and therefore no WiFi. I could have used the data on my phone to post, but I have a hard time formatting posts, etc. on my phone, so I decided to just wait.

DISCLAIMER: For anyone who follows me on Instagram or Facebook, you've already seen/heard all of this, so feel free to skip reading and carry on with your life.

Onward.

Anyway our overnight trip to New York last Friday and Saturday was absolutely perfect. No glitches, and ridiculously nice weather, so the travel gods were clearly smiling on us.

We got off the train, and immediately took the subway to the American Museum of Natural History. Neither of us had visited before, so we spent most of the day trying to see as much as we could.

Of all the stuff we saw, this one is the one I photographed. A mammoth model of a mosquito. Because - just NO. Mosquitoes are a major nemesis of mine, and of course *that's* the thing they create as a major part of an exhibit. 

We had a great time and spent the majority of the day there. Then we left and sat outside for a while in the nice weather, people-watching and petting dogs.

Modern entrance to the museum

Original entrance to the museum

As it was just so lovely, we decided to just walk back down to our hotel in Times Square. We had the best, prettiest walk through Central Park.

John Lennon Memorial in Strawberry Fields

The Dakota - where so many famous people, including John Lennon and Leonard Bernstein, lived (not together, hahaha!).

So many of the trees and flowers were budding - daffodils and crocuses were already in full bloom, along with forsythia. But it was just so nice to walk around and take different paths. 

We checked into our hotel, and relaxed for a bit, and then it was ready to find some dinner and go to the show we'd come to see. We were disappointed to find that one of our fave places to eat had closed, so instead we found one of the bazillion Chinese restaurants in New York, and had dinner there. It was actually kind of a treat for us, since our go-to place in our own neighborhood in Philadelphia closed last year, and we're still trying to find a replacement for it that isn't too far from us. Anyhow we ate a yummy dinner and then headed to the theater.

The ceiling of the Hudson Theater lobby - so elegant!

And there we were, waiting for the show to begin. The seating area of the Hudson Theater had been redone (I'm not sure exactly when) and the seats were actually very comfortable and you didn't feel squished in to the person next to you, which was really nice.

And the show - OMG. So much better than we could have even hoped for, seriously. If you enjoy musicals at all, find a way to see "Merrily We Roll Along" on Broadway - even if you have to take out a second mortgage on your house! It's just that good. We were both blown away. Every person, including the ensemble players, was incredible.

Then we headed back to our hotel, and decided we would get a cup of tea before going to our room. Well, we lucked out with that because the hotel lounge was hosting a jazz group with a singer. 

So we enjoyed our cups of tea while listening for about half an hour. Once they packed up, we figured that was a sign to head to our room and get ready to wind down. It wasn't incredibly late, but for the two of us, it was REALLY late! 😂 Plus we had been going since early Friday morning, so releaxing and going to sleep sounded pretty good. 

So the primary reason we had made this trip - to see the show - was well worthwhile, but we also had such a wonderful day all the way around. Needless to say, we both slept very well on Friday night ... 

Tomorrow I shall regale you with our Saturday shenanigans, before it was time to take the train back to Philadelphia. Spoiler alert: a yarn shop was involved!