Arrived 1 hour apart at LaGuardia and took a taxi to our hotel right off Times Square (Hotel Mela). Then, mom took her first NYC Subway ride to a restaurant on the Lower East Side I had picked out. I'm a big fan of Chopped (the tv show) and Chris Santos is a judge on Chopped. He happens to own a restaurant (or two) in NYC, so we tried out Stanton Social. It was loud, but the small plates were tasty. We had 4 dishes: apple and brie quesadilla, grilled asparagus, chicken and waffles, and the famous french onion soup dumplings. I didn't take pics, but you can see some pics here. Then we took a stroll around Times Square and tried to get some sleep for our first full day in the city.
Monday: Arrive at the Today Show shortly after 7AM. Made sign for TV. Didn't get sign on TV. Stood around long enough to hear Bobby Brown sing Every Little Step I Take. A real classic (for me). Mom didn't know who he was. A real shame. Then, around 8AM we walked over to Top of the Rock and got great views of the NYC Skyline. On our way back to the hotel we ran into Lee Greenwood chatting it up w/ Fox and Friends and then got to hear him sing God Bless the USA. Perfect.
After that we came back to the hotel for a quick rest and planning session. We have not done such a great job preplanning this trip, so things are a little hectic, but after a few miscues here's how the rest of our day shaped up: some shopping, a subway ride to Greenwich Village to have pizza at Bleecker Street and a cupcake at Molly's cupcakes (I had PB and Nutella--amazing!). We liked this little area. Super cute restaurants and atmosphere. Then, took the subway back up north to go on a Circle Line Cruise.
We were exhausted from all the freaking walking we did today so were happy to just sit and look at the sites for 75 minutes. After the cruise it was off to see the 9/11 Memorial. It is breathtaking and it was really nice to pause for a moment in the crazy day and remember. Another subway trip back to the hotel to freshen up (it was HOT out today) and we were off for a quick bite to eat at a little taco place and then front row seats to Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins). Mom even scored Elvis's scarf at the end! GO Mom!
Busy day! My left knee and right ankle are killing me. I was planning on taking a break from running this week since my knee was feeling bad in my last long run, but I think w/ all the walking I did today that "break" didn't really happen. I know my poor mom has to feel just as bad! Goal: Less walking tomorrow (if possible).
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