Weekend: New York Style

In celebration of my birthday, our anniversary, and the big finale of Caitlin’s month-long-spoiling-fest, we went to New York for a quick weekend getaway.

We took the overnight flight to New York and arrived bright and early on Friday morning to rain and a fairly quiet city. We headed to our hotel on the Avenue of the Americas and ate a yummy breakfast, then caught up on some sleep. The rest of the day we spent going to all the places Caitlin wanted to go. We went to the American Girl Place on Fifth Ave, the Lego Store at Rockefeller Center, and the Disney and M&M stores in Times Square. It was a nice day and it was fun just to walk around the city, see the sights, and the changes since our last visit.

           

On Saturday, after spending a little more time (okay, an hour and a half!) at the Lego store while Caitlin created three of her very own custom Lego people, we went to Spider-Man. We had excellent seats right in the flying zone and thought this new musical was fabulous. While the story line was different than the movies and had added parts; the costumes, scenery, music, and most of all, the flying and special effects were unbelievable. There was a glitch right before the Green Goblin and Spider-Man were supposed to have their big flying fight scene. Spider-Man was on the ledge right by our seats and while the show was stopped for a few minutes, he entertained the audience. Good save, Spidey.  I think that was one of my favorite parts along with the “Rise Above” song. This is a show I would definitely see again (and again, and again, and again). Look how cute Spider-Man is in real life…

Between shows, we got a little lost trying to find a restaurant we’d found online and ended up walking way more than we wanted to. We did have a nice dinner in Times Square, then headed over to the Gershwin Theater. What can I say? Wicked on Broadway is simply amazing. Katie Rose Clarke was Glinda and that was exciting for us because she performed in Salt Lake the first time Caitlin saw Wicked. Also, Tom McGowen played the Wizard. Clint and I thought that was fun because he’s been on some of the TV shows we’ve watched over the years (Kenny on Frasier/Bernie on Everybody Loves Raymond). After the show, we went to the stage door and met several of the actors and had them sign Caitlin’s playbill. Sweet, sweet memories.

     

On Sunday, we played the role of true jetsetters. We had breakfast in New York, a late lunch in California, and were happy to sleep in our own beds last night. Long day.

I think what I will take away from this little getaway is the memory Clint and I made with Caitlin. She absolutely glowed in the attention we gave her and was so happy, excited, and sweet the whole time we were away. She loves theater as much as we do and I’m so happy we were able to make this dream come true for her (and for me). I cannot wait to plan another New York trip someday soon.