Creatures of Habbit in NYC

I was not offered a full time teaching position this year, so I began traveling with Kevin again in October. On Tuesday, October 9 Kevin and I flew to New York City! We left Colorado Springs around 8:00am and flew through Dallas to LGA, first class the whole way! Our flight landed half an hour early and we were checked-in to our hotel by 4:30pm. We stayed near Madison Square Garden and walked up to Times Square to get theatre tickets. Like the last trip we took, I had carefully planned which shows we would see and the discount tickets that went with each show. Our first stop was the box office for Bring It On the Musical. They have general rush tickets for $35.00, but I was afraid they would not have tickets available because anyone can purchase these tickets beginning at 10am. We got to the box office around 5:15pm and to my surprise, they still had tickets available. We got two tickets in the right box and then went out to get drinks before the show. We met my cousin, Jackie, at a bar in Times Square and had a great visit while we were waiting for the show. We went to the theatre around 6:40 and the usher informed us that we should speak with the theatre manager to get better seats. The theatre was only about half full so we got a seat in the right orchestra. The seats were great and there was no one next to us or in front of us. I really enjoyed the show! For me it was the best of both worlds combining cheerleading, gymnastics, and Broadway music all in one show! It brought back many fond memories of my cheerleading days! We went to the stage door after the show and then started walking back to the hotel. On our way back to the hotel, we passed the stage door for Evita and tried to spot Ricky Martin, but did not succeed. We got back to the hotel around 11:30 and called it a night.

My first encounter with the Naked Cowboy. 

One of my favorite places in the world with my favorite person!

My beautiful cousin, Jackie.

Guy Fieri's car in front of his new restaurant in Times Square.

The Bring It On Marquee. Looks like it was snowing, but it was just rain.

Taylor Louderman, one of the female leads in Bring It On.

Elena Roger. She is currently playing Evita on Broadway. We saw her when we tried to spot Ricky Martin. 

We woke up around 9:00 on Wednesday morning and went to the ship. We were doing an inspection on an NCL ship so we planned to be on the ship longer than normal, but we finished in good time! My hope was to finish the inspection with enough time to see a 2:00 matinee and we succeeded! I went to get a ticket for Once (Kevin didn't want to see a matinee) but they were unfortunately sold out. I could have gone to see Nice Work if You Can Get It, but decided to go back to the hotel and spend the afternoon with Kevin. We showered and changed and then went to see my friend Ryan at work. Ryan works at a new restaurant in Times Square called Guy's All-American with menu inspiration from Guy Fieri. It was delicious, and so fun to see Ryan! The original plan for the evening was to go to the Annie lotto at 6pm, but we decided to try our luck at the Book of Mormon lotto at 5:00 first. Sadly, we didn't win tickets for Book of Mormon so we decided to go to the Newsies lotto at 5:30. Kevin's name was pulled at the Newsies lotto and then my name was pulled too! We ended up getting 3 tickets for $30 each and Ryan was able to join us! The show started at 7:30 so we grabbed a Starbucks and chatted in Bryant Park before we went back to the theatre. I sat with Ryan for the first act and then Kevin and I switched seats for the second act (his seat was closer to the stage door). I was expecting the stage door to be like the first time I saw the show in March, but was pleasantly surprised when we practically had our own private stage door experience. There were maybe 20 people there this time compared to hundreds in March! We had a blast! We walked around Times Square for a little while and then grabbed a midnight snack at Shake Shack! They still have the best burgers I've ever tasted. We got back to the hotel around 1am!

Love this show!

Ryan, one of my BEST friends from high school, and an Usher from our wedding!

Garett Hawe - this is the cast member that took us backstage in June. It was great to see him again!

Andrew Keenan-Bolger, aka Crutchie. 

Ben Fankhouser, aka Davey.

The AMAZING Ryan Steele, aka Specs. Such and incredible dancer! 

Such a cutie! 

The new Jack Kelly, Corey Cott. 

The very talented, Kara Lindsay.

Love this place!!

The burgers are AMAZING!

On Thursday we flew to Europe, but our flight wasn't until 6:00pm so we arranged for a late check-out and went to Katz's deli for lunch! We met Ryan and his roommate Joseph and enjoyed the pickles, matzah ball soup, and pastrami sandwiches! We very often eat our way through cities! We got back to the hotel around 1:00, showered and hopped on the subway to JFK. It was an incredible trip! I feel so alive in the city and just can't get enough of it! I am already looking forward to our next trip!

Ryan, Me, Kevin and Joseph at Katz's Deli.