Beep beep beep. 4:30am, our phone alarm goes off to get us up and moving for an early morning Friday flight. A final review of the checklist, double, triple-checking. All good? Yep. And we’re off in an Uber towards the airport.
“Shoot” – Shannon
“What is it?” – Asa
“I forgot my sunglasses.” – Shannon
“Ah, do you need them?” – Asa
“No, I’ll be alright. I can always buy some if I really want to.” – Shannon
Security cleared. Coffee secured. We groggily work through last night’s New York Times crossword puzzle as we wait to be called for our C group to begin boarding. 6:40, time to board. Are those emergency row exit seats actually open? Niiice.
As I’m putting away my baggage, a tap on my leg startles me. I look down, our friend Darryl and his girlfriend sitting right below. “OH Hey! Heading to New York, too?” “What are your plans?” He wisely advises to connect once we land – good idea. Better than talking over rows of people during the boarding process.
Asa and I sit a few seats apart, but we agree, the legroom is worth it for the two-and-a-half-hour flight. I read, watch a movie, and we begin our descent. The tall buildings reach from down below, trying to meet us where we are miles high in the sky. A smooth landing into LaGuardia, we’ve arrived.
This will be our third trip now to New York City. Once for Christmas and all of the magic, once to knock off all the key bucket list items like Ellis Island and the Empire State Building, this trip was set up to see some of my childhood idols perform. More on that to come.
We reconnect with Darryl and Meg outside of our gate and find they, too, have decided to spring for a weekend getaway in the Big Apple. We agree to kick the weekend off with some drinks later. We exchange numbers and start to head towards the ride-sharing area.
A 45-minute Uber ride through morning traffic had us arriving at INNSiDE by Melia hotel, located at West 27th St. A few blocks southwest of the Empire State Building and a few blocks northwest of the Flatiron Building. Completely central location to either walk or take a short subway ride to get anywhere we needed to go. One of the best surprises to ever have on a trip is to find your room is ready to go when you’re checking in early, especially when it’s five hours early. I will always be grateful for these surprises.
After a quick refresh in the room, we head out with what I believe should always be your top priority when in New York: food.
But where to? Oh, the choices are endless. Sandwiches, pizza, brunch, Thai, bagels, we scroll through our heads of what sounds good and quickly align. Dim sum. We find Dim Sum Palace a short walk from our hotel, and along the way, even find a Japanese market that sells onigiri- rice balls that contain a salty or savory filling like fish, chicken, etc. Something so hard to find in the US. We gobbled a couple of these down right outside the store, grinning from ear to ear. So delicious.
At Dim Sum Palace, we order several varieties of dumplings, shumai, and bao buns. Not a single one disappoints.
Feeling the perfect amount of “full”, our next destination is Central Park. We rent some e-bikes to help us wake up and shake off the early morning. With the sun high in the sky and a slight breeze, it was perfect conditions to enjoy a leisurely ride through the park.
We see sunbathers, volleyball players, runners, and more. We take a full loop around the park and pass the Dairy, the Carousel, the Reservoir, simply acknowledging all that is happening within just a slice of the city.
Our ride comes to an end and we decide to go freshen up back at the hotel room. A slight breeze, yes, however, it’s still August in New York. We take a couple of hours for some good R&R in the hotel room and then leave for the evening.
Friday night plans include meeting Darryl and Meg for drinks and the main event of the trip: Celebrating Friendship & History with Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp.
We met Darryl and Meg at Aldo Sohm Wine Bar off 51st St. We share stories of how we all met, our first impressions, travels through the years, and what our plans were for the weekend over a few glasses of wine – theirs a bottle of sparkling, Asa has some white, and I have a red. It was so fun to share a couple of hours with some familar faces in a completely new setting. We soon have to say our goodbyes and tell one another to have the best time and enjoy the city.
A short walk from the wine bar is 54 Below, a dinner-cabaret club located right below what used to be the old Studio 54. It’s an intimate venue with decadent crown molding and rich details, plus a disco ball. We enjoy a pre-show dinner consisting of crab cakes for myself and steak for Asa. And then we settle in for the show.
I would call myself a low-key RENThead. As in the musical, RENT. Anthony Rapp (left) and Adam Pascal (right) were two of the original Broadway cast members, back when it debuted in 1996. They starred in the movie, as well as reprising their roles at times. After conferring with my mom, I’ve realized this is now the third time I have seen these two in person. The first for Asa.
Some tears were shed, laughs were had, and pure enjoyment lasted for the hour-and-a-half set that consisted of covers from the 90s, stories from their time during RENT, and of course, some RENT songs. It was everything I had hoped for, and Asa thoroughly enjoyed it, too. An experience we will always treasure.
We decide to walk the 15-ish blocks back to our hotel, allowing us to make a quick stop for a pizza slice. Again, food is priority in NYC. Eventually, we arrive to our room and quickly catch some z’s after our first day in the city.
Saturday morning – that means bagels. Specifically with lox and cream cheese, it can’t be beat. Everything bagel for Asa, sesame for myself.
Fueled on carbs and coffee, we’re ready for another day. But wait, this is just a weekend getaway. We can take some time to relax, right? Okay, maybe let’s do that.
Impractical Jokers is a TV show that has become our comfort show away from home. There’s always a 95% chance it’s playing on TruTV, a channel that every hotel should have. So we spent a few lazy hours watching it to start our Saturday.
THEN we were ready to head out. On our itinerary first, The Book of Mormon at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre. A highly-rated comedic Brodway musical depicting a rather unusual journey of two Mormon missionaries in Uganda. It was absolutely hilarious and Asa’s first Broadway show! Clearly, I really wanted Asa to get in touch with his untapped theatrical side on this trip. We enjoyed every minute – the comedy, the music, the acting – all superb.
So the show was a matinee. Started at 1pm, we had a heavy breakfast, but after getting out around 4:30, we couldn’t wait until our 7:15 dinner reservation for some food. (again food is a top priority in NYC) And so back to the Dim Sum Palace for some snacks. Dim Sum – perfect for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner.
After freshening up at our hotel, we were back out heading towards what was the food highlight of the trip. Dinner at Tsumo Omakase – an amazing 13-course meal consisting of delicious sushi. For not having traveled to Japan in quite awhile, this has been the closest we have come to it here in the States. The quality of the fish is the best we’ve ever had outside of Japan itself. Asa and I might not have said many words besides “So good” “Delicious!” and “wow!”, combined with a lot of smiles at one another sharing just how delicious the food was.
Unfortunately, the 13 courses did have to come to an end. We passed on the dessert and opted for a cheaper route – a box of peanut M&Ms from the nearby CVS. And to end the evening, we went for a short nightcap. First trying the bar Oscar Wilde, decorated in bright pink crepe paper and Alice in Wonderland elements, but coupled with extremely loud, thumping bass music had us decide it was a no-go. Instead, we had a cocktail and beer at our hotel bar before turning in for the night, but not before doing the New York Times crossword, while in New York! (That should have been a bucket list item)
Sunday arrives – departure day from the Big Apple. I was craving pancakes and found a classic New York City luncheonette nearby. Think retro counter-serve style. It consisted of a single bar with about 15 bar stools and two small tables in the back. A no-frills establishment, solely focused on perfecting the breakfast staples of pancakes, eggs, toast, and your choice of meat.
Next up – another New York City classic – The Met. Taking the N train down to Union Square, transferring to the 6 train, we walked up the subway stop stairs to be greeted by the Upper West Side.
Side note: subways are magic. You enter a stop, walk down the stairs with one area of the city looming over you and are transported to somewhere new, walking up to completely different architecture styles, people, and pace. I always love the feeling of walking up the subway stairs.
We weaved through a few more blocks before turning the corner and being greeted by the large, expansive Metropolitan Museum of Art. We both had to close our jaws after gaping open-mouthed of the behemoth of the museum. Just gorgeous. And we also quickly both understood that we were clearly not going to see the whole thing within the few hours we had.
We scanned our tickets, grabbed a map, and decided that we needed to see…
- European Paintings
- The American Wing
- Modern and Contemporary Art
We walked halls upon halls of sculptures, paintings, and furniture. We saw artifacts from as early back as 50 BC to chairs and desks used in 1700s America to a video filmed in 2014 that portrays a monkey in the mask and a costume of a little girl in Fukushima, Japan. Our first visit to an American art museum was interesting compared to the ones we’ve seen in Europe. European art remains the same in America – many depictions of the Crucifixion of Jesus and other Christian-based art. American art consisted of a lot of landscapes, which was fascinating to see these scenes that we can still see today through the eyes of those who lived long ago. We also saw the famous Washington Crossing the Delaware, it was massive, taking up an entire wall.
After the art was seen and the gift shop shopped, we left the Met and made our final food stop for a final slice of pizza. And back to the hotel to grab our bags.
But wait, a text quickly arrived to my phone.
“Your flight is delayed until 8:10pm”
Nooooooooo.
At this point in our lives, we should start expecting to never make it home as planned.
But the great news is that we were still in the city and not at the airport, or in a cab on the way to the airport.
So a few more hours, what should we do?
Thanks to a previous trip, I knew that walk-in foot massage spas were a thing. And thanks to Google, we found one a few blocks away. So we treated ourselves to a 30-minute massage… and during the massage, I received an even more disastrous text.
“We’re sorry, your flight has been cancelled.”
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
It wasn’t the easiest to enjoy what turned into an hour-long foot massage following the text, but we managed. Discussion ensued over what we should do, and we landed on staying another evening at the same hotel. So back we go, a bit unprepared to spend another night in NYC. But another night!
Which we choose to spend in the hotel room after running out to grab some snacks, Japanese rice balls, and a mini bottle of prosecco. (I had the wonderful opportunity to see some true NYC action at the liquor store involving an intoxicated man, an angry store owner, and a broken door. I made it out safely). We watched a Netflix documentary about what goes on inside a dog’s mind and soon went to bed.
Monday morning – Today is our final day, we hope. We grab some coffee and pastries, sharing our favorites from the trip as we reminisce about the memories we’ve already created. We’ve been booked on a 2pm flight out of LaGuardia, with a layover in Chicago, not ideal, but we’re ready to be home. Thankfully, no more adventures occur as we safely make it on the plane (both times) and make it back to Nashville. Another Brockman adventure has been had.
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