Yep, last day. It is sad. We'll head out in a few hours or so, back home to reality. After a small breakfast on the street we plan on heading to Central Park to visit the place where it all began, when we got married. We eloped and were married on the Gapstow Bridge a little over ten years ago now. After some contemplative time there, we'll head somewhere interesting for lunch. Upon getting home we'll see what happens with the election. Hopefully we can do this again in another ten years...
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Well today was just awesome in so many ways. After a late night last night, we woke early to see if we could get standby ticket to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Luckily for us, we were able to score standby tickets, but that didn't necessarily insure getting in to see the recording. We had to return at 3:45pm to check in and to end up seeing if anyone (that reserved tickets far in advance) didn't show up. So we walked around for awhile, ate a wonderful breakfast at a little cafe in Midtown. We even returned to the hotel to get fancied up for our night on the town. Upon arrival back at Rock Center, we checked in and had to wait for about an hour to see if we were going to make the cut. Apparently there were well over 110 people who received standby tickets. As they began to call folks out and count, it was clear that it was going to be close. They ended up talking back the first 47 people in line (and they had to have the corresponding ticket numbers as well). Melissa and I were ticket numbers 45 and 46. Phew, just made it! Although the show comes on TV late at night, after the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, it is actually recorded at 5:30pm in the evening. The show was great, and it was something I never experienced before in all my years of going to New York. So I can check that off of the list...
We were done with that experience by 7:30 or so. So we walked from there to our next stop which was the Jazz Standard. We made reservations for dinner and the 9:30 jazz show, featuring the Mingus Big Band. I've always been a fan of the bassist Charles Mingus and have had the great opportunity to see the band once in the past (at the Smithsonian). It's great to see the band carry on the legacy of a great bassist and bandleader. What a show! The featured bassist was a guy named Dezron Douglas, and I was completely impressed. And the dinner was unbelievable, wonderful down home southern fare with a flair. And once they found out we made the trek for our wedding anniversary we were treated to complimentary champagne and our dessert was even adorned with "Happy Anniversary" in chocolate sauce. As we walked through the night on the way back to the hotel, we just knew that it was another incredible evening, not to be repeated... My wife and I hit a milestone back in August. We were married for ten years, and as of this past Halloween, we've been together for 14 years. Pretty important stuff if you ask me. We've never really done anything special for our anniversary, especially since we had children. Since we hit that ten year mark, we decided to do something special. We were originally going to go to NYC for a weekend back (with my folks watching the kids) in August, but it was just far too hot to enjoy. So we planned it for the weekend prior to Election Day. Then Sandy hit! After talking with several people I know in NYC, we ended up keeping the plans, figuring to try and schedule care for the kids again was going to be next to impossible.
We arrived today, earlier this afternoon. We had no definitive plans in the city, just walking around and hanging out in our second city. Upon arrival we decided to just walk around and soak up the city a bit. We walked for a while and ventured into Little Italy. Luckily the power was restored yesterday to the rest of Manhattan, or this wouldn't have been possible. We had dinner at a great restaurant, Sofia's. Afterward we walked through Little Italy into Greenwich Village. This is where you could see some of the damage from the hurricane. Some folks were still pumping out basements. There was also mud and such backed up around the sewer grates from the influx of water, etc. A lot of the banners that would hang overtop the business were also tattered and torn (if they even survived) due to the high winds and torrential rains. As we walked even further, we came through SoHo as well. And we ended up walking right past the Wooster St. Social Club, the tattoo studio featured on the reality show, NY Ink. Just as we passed there, I received a text from a musician friend of mine, Nate, that I met here in 2011. He was playing in Harlem tonight and asked if we were interested in attending. Unfortunately he didn't have long left to play, but we found the nearest Subway and headed uptown to Red Rooster. It was like the tv show Cheers. As soon as we walked in, it was like everyone knew our name. Nate yelled to us from behind the organ, and his band was on point, sounding great. Later on he even dedicated a song to us for our anniversary and we danced (just us) in front of everyone at Red Rooster. It was just great, what a bunch of fun! A great first night indeed in the city that never sleeps... |
B.D.SchmittHusband, Father, Archives
November 2015
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