New York City, Here We Come!

A few weeks ago, I shared the news that Mom and I had been granted tickets to the special show on blogging that Martha Stewart is doing this week. There were some issues that needed to be resolved before I could confirm that we would be there. As each one got taken care of, one last hurdle had to be overcome.

Since the exact date of the show wasn't stated when I filled out the application, I decided to take my chances as to whether or not it would interfere with my job.  I work as a dental hygienist in a dental research facility.  My work there is sporadic, depending on when studies are conducted and when my services are needed for them.  I'd been asked to participate in a study where I would have a very specific role and it was necessary that I be there. And you guessed it - the show was on the 14th - smack dab in the middle of that study.

I made several phone calls and as luck would have it, the study dates were changed - not because of me, but because of unrelated circumstances. I found this out the day before the deadline for me to confirm our attendance.

Before I had a chance to fill out the confirmation form and send it back, I received a phone call from The Martha Stewart Show, asking if I would be in attendance, since they hadn't heard back from me yet. I enthusiastically assured her that we would be there and as soon as I got off the phone, I answered their questions and e-mailed it off.

Now that we were confirmed for Thursday's show, I set about finding us a hotel.  As is usually the case, I researched it to death, including asking my Twitter buddies' advice.  When you've never been to a place like New York City, any and all recommendations are helpful and appreciated!

While the cost of the trip was my biggest concern, I learned that January is the worst month for tourism there, so hotel rates are much lower.  When I plotted out on Google maps the sites we wanted to visit, I determined that accommodations near Times Square would be best. I got our flight and hotel booked as a package, which saved us several hundred dollars over booking each separately. (I priced the trip both ways, and it did indeed save us.)

Our hotel room is on a curved corner of The Crowne Plaza, with a panoramic view of Times Square. That was an option that was available at no extra charge and, with the night lights, will just add to the whole experience.  Where I live, the night view is dark enough that we can stand in our back yard and watch the Perseid meteor shower in August with no problem.

We leave Ft. Wayne, IN, very early on the morning of Wednesday, January 13th and arrive at LaGuardia at 10:50 a.m., so we'll have the afternoon to do some sightseeing before the show on Thursday morning.  Once the show is over, we'll fill the rest of our time with as much as we can cram in before we come back home on Sunday.

Our first evening in the city, Mom and I will meet up with Chris, a.k.a. Flatbush Gardener, whom we met in Chicago at the Garden Bloggers Spring Fling 2009 in May.  It will be nice to see him again!

It's highly likely that we'll not manage to fit in everything we'd like to do, but we're going to try.  Weather may affect that, of course, but we'll be prepared for the cold.

In case you wonder what all we'd like to do, here's our list:

• Hop-on, hop-off bus tour of major tourist attractions such as the Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty, etc.
  
  
• Rockefeller Center - we want to go to The Today Show on Friday morning, so look for us! I'll be wearing a red coat.
  
  
• A Broadway show - not sure which one yet. It might depend on availability of tickets.
  
  
• Either The New York Botanical Garden or Brooklyn Botanical Garden
  
  
• The Guggenheim Museum - Mom and I are both big Frank Lloyd Wright fans, plus it would be great to see some original art by such painters as Kandinsky, Warhol, Renoir, Monet, etc.
  
  
• Central Park
  
  
• The New York Public Library - this is home to the original Winnie-the-Pooh toys (Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga and Tigger) and with me being a collector of Classic Pooh memorabilia and books, this has always been on my "If I ever get to New York City..." list.
  
  
• Macy's in Herald Square
  
  
• Tavern On the Green - oh, wait...it closed on New Year's Eve, so we won't be able to eat at this iconic restaurant. :-(
  

Now you see what I mean about the time factor.  No doubt we'll be exhausted when we get home - no matter what - but it will be a good tired.


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*NYC graphic from http://blog.nau.com/2008/02/29/painting-the-big-apple-green/