NYC Trip 2024 - Day 5/Heading Home

We woke up on Day 5 - our day to go home. Our plan was to order some room service and then drive to the NJ airport for a 2:30pm flight. Well, we started to watch the news and the weather report was saying that the wind and rain were going pick up big time by the afternoon and that the airports in the area might have to shut down. Oh crap! It wouldn't be a trip to NYC for our family without some sort of drama. If you remember, we had to get out of NYC quickly the first time we visited because of a snow threat.

Doug immediately gets online to see if he can move our flight up. I had already pushed myself hard on this trip and I was ready to get home! He told us to hustle and pack up our stuff as fast as possible in case we could get on an earlier flight. 

 

Bri and I were throwing our stuff into our suitcases. Luckily, we had started packing things up the night before, but there was still enough that needed to be packed. Doug miraculously managed to get us on an earlier flight (I think 90 minutes earlier). But to make it, we needed to grab a car right then and leave the hotel - no breakfast for us.

Luckily, there are cars available in front of the W Hotel. They are a bit pricey, but we didn't have time to worry about it. Our driver got us to the airport in plenty of time (traffic was backing up going the other way into the city - luckily not our way). We got through security pretty easily and went to the Delta Sky Club - where we finally got some breakfast.

The plane took off on time and we were so glad to make it out...

Whew.

Doug did find out that the flight that we were supposed to be on at the later time loaded the passengers on to the plane but then they sat on the runway for 2 hours before taking off. So the airport didn't close, but everything was delayed. We were so happy we got out before that!

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So there you go. Our spring break trip to NYC. The trip I wasn't even sure I could go on. But we did it and we did a lot of cool stuff! A big thank you to Doug and Bri for putting up with me when I was struggling. I'm super proud of myself for going. I definitely made the right decision!

NYC Trip 2024 - Day 4/Katz's Delicatessen And Hadestown

We were pretty tired from walking around the Museum of Broadway and it was raining quite nicely, so we didn't do much that afternoon. We just rested at the hotel.

We decided to order food to be delivered from Katz's Delicatessen for an early dinner. Doug went to the lobby of our hotel to meet up with the delivery guy and we found out he delivered our food on a bicycle. In the rain! That poor guy! Doug gave him a nice tip!

The food was just pretty good. I think if we had actually eaten at the restaurant, the food would have held up/tasted better. We ordered Reuben sandwiches, macaroni salad and Bri added a matzoh ball soup...

After eating a nice meal, we got dressed and walked to Hadestown, which was literally around the corner from our hotel. Luckily, the rain had let up and we walked to the theater with no issue...

The theater was really beautiful but small. And the seats were very small. The poor man who sat next to me was quite tall and he had to shift quite a bit to keep comfortable during the performance. Welcome to Broadway!

 

The show was great! If you don't know, the show is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The actor who usually plays Orpheus was out on a several week hiatus in April, so we had an understudy fill in that night. The actor who played Hermes (in the gray suit) and the actress who played Eurydice (braid in her hair) are real life father and daughter (Isa Briones and Jon Jon Briones). So cool! I think their final week in the show is this week (the last week in June). The cast was so good!

 

As I mentioned previously, it was Red Bucket Week and the cast talked after the show about "Broadway Cares"...

 

And like with Little Shop, we got a signed copy of the Playbill with all the cast members signatures.

When the show was over, we walked back to the hotel...

We had been keeping an eye on the weather because our flight was the next afternoon. Unfortunately, we had to make a change to our flight the next day to make sure we actually got home. More on that next...

NYC Trip 2024 - Day 4/The Museum Of Broadway

We awoke on Tuesday morning and it was pretty overcast. The Museum of Broadway was a few blocks from our hotel, so we definitely wanted to walk there. Bri, my Broadway girl, was quite excited. Walking to the museum was fine - just overcast. Unfortunately while we were inside enjoying the museum, full out rain finally did arrive and it rained the rest of afternoon. Luckily we hadn't planned anything for outside for that day.

The Museum of Broadway...

 

Snagged this shot from the internet...

 

Visitors enter the museum through the gift shop (snagged this pic from the internet too)...

When entering the museum, visitors go up a few flight of stairs and work their way down. The first room that is entered is covered in "Playbills" of currently playing shows (we were seeing "Hadestown" that evening)...

We watched a short movie about Broadway history and then started meandering through the different eras and shows of Broadway.

 

The Ziegfeld Follies (1920s, 1930s, 1940s)...

Oklahoma/Rodgers & Hammerstein (1940s)...

Creation of the Tony Awards (1947)...

West Side Story/Sondheim & Bernstein (1950s)...

Fiddler On The Roof, Hello Dolly, Cabaret, Hair (1960s)

 

 

A Chorus Line, Company, The Wiz, Annie (1970s)...

Jukebox Musicals: Beautiful - Carole King, Mamma Mia, Ain't To Proud, ...

Evita, Cats, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Phantom Of The Opera (1980s)...

 

Andrew Lloyd Webber shows...

 

Broadway Cares...

Rent, The Lion King (1990s)...

The Producers, Spring Awakening, Avenue Q, Wicked (2000s)...

 

 

Hamilton (2010s)...

More amazing costumes...

Cool memorabilia...

Behind the scenes section...

This room is covered in original sheet music and scripts from Broadway musicals, including audition notices for Broadway productions...

Six (2020s)...

Gift shop...

 

This really dates me, but I loved seeing all this from Ben Vereen...

 

After going through the museum (which we loved) and doing a little shopping in the gift shop, we headed out into the rain. We did have to buy an umbrella from the gift shop first - ha!

I loved seeing representation from so many amazing Broadway shows. I love that I have a hubby and kid who love Broadway as much as I do. What a fun morning!

We still had one more really interesting thing to do in NYC that evening - see "Hadestown" on Broadway.