The City that Never Sleeps
I recently had the opportunity to spend roughly twenty-seven hours in New York City, New York. It’s been said to be the city that never sleeps, and I would totally have to agree. From the time we arrived until the time we said good-bye, the streets were full of people hustling and bustling about the city.
Our hotel was in the middle of Times Square, which made it simple to get around without hailing a cab or taking the subway. Unfortunately, rain gushed like water being poured out of buckets, and wouldn’t you know, all five of us girls forgot to bring umbrellas from our hotel rooms. We ended up staying much longer at lunch than we had anticipated since people outside, both with and without umbrellas were soaking wet just the same. Once the rain had settled into a manageable downpour, we stood in the doorway and jetted across the street as soon as the light signaled for the crowds to pass.
As wet people poured into the corner store, umbrellas and rain ponchos appeared to be flying out the door in record numbers. Since we all had umbrellas in our rooms, we opted for the ever-fashionable clear ponchos with big black letters, and a giant red heart on the back stating “I heart New York.” That, my friends, was our only option….LOL.
As we walked the streets in our new rain gear, hundreds of people were following suit. We happened to be in the theater district and even though we already had theater tickets for the musical Band Stand later that evening, decided to see if we could get matinee theater tickets, since the rain started coming down hard again. We were lucky enough to get third and fourth row seats for the musical Anastasia. I hadn’t heard anything about it, but was willing to take a chance. As it turns out it was spectacular, including the music, staging and costuming.
After the first musical, we walked about the city enjoying the sights and sounds of the theater district. Moving along with the crowd as they waited for famous people that were performing in the day’s shows. We always seemed to be at the wrong location, waiting for the wrong person…..haha. We never saw anyone famous, but it was fun being part of the anticipation and hoopla forming in the streets. At one point we thought we were waiting to see Josh Grobin and couldn’t understand why all these young girls were pushing and shoving to get up front, when in reality they were waiting for a teen idol, and we were right up front with them…….no words!
After running around the city all day, by the time we made it to our second musical, we were exhausted. The musical held no interest for any of my friends, including me. The storyline was confusing and it wasn’t as energetic and lively as we all thought it would be. Embarrassingly enough, I think all nodded off from time to time….ha!
As we headed into the crowded streets, we were just five friends making memories, in the city that never sleeps. We made the most of our time in the rainy weather. We will probably forget about the musicals, the food we ate, and the hotel we stayed at, but I’d place bets we will remember the little things such as buckets of pouring rain, the silly clear ponchos, and the laughter and friendship we shared. What memories are you creating?
xoxox…..Sheryl