NYC days 1 & 2

Ok this whole trip to blog has been quite an undertaking.  It has taken me all day.  I first tried to cram it all into one looooong post.  Blogger froze, no more crazy lady!  So I broke it up into 3 posts.  I still can't believe everything we did & saw.  NYC is an amazing city & Judd & I would love to go back!  Thanks to my mother who took the week off to watch the kids & to Judd for qualifying for the trip.  I wouldn't have been there without them!  Thank you thank you!! 

Monday
6:30 am - our flight departed & made it to JFK in 5 1/2 hours, nonstop.
3:30ish pm - made it to our room on the 24th floor of the Waldorf-Astoria

5:30 pm we had a dinner at the hotel

7:00 pm we walked the few blocks to Rockefeller Center. I have to add that Allstate had rented the outdoor space of Rockefeller Center (we were told by security). So it was just us - crazy!

7-9:30 pm we had a live band entertain us & went in groups up to the top of the rock.

 

This band was INCREDIBLE!! They are called Big Shot. They are the only tribute band (to Billy Joel) recognized by the man himself, Billy Joel. The sax player of Big Shot was the sax player for Billy Joel's band. I thought I had died & gone to heaven!!

I reluctantly left the band & joined our group to see the top of the rock. We rode the elevator 69 floors up. The ceiling of the elevator was clear glass so you could watch yourself flying up. They had music blaring & images dancing all over the ceiling. I've never seen anything like it. We got off climbed 2 sets of stairs & this was the view over Central Park

Empire State Bldg. on the other side

After Rockefeller Center we decided it was still somewhat early & we would walk around a little before going back to the hotel. Just a few blocks away is Radio City Music Hall. These friendly guys were hanging out across the street.

Apparently the world premier of "Sex in the City 2" was happening. I am no fan. I have never seen the first movie nor have I ever seen a single episode of the show. It was a show first, right?! Anyway these nice men told us to go on the other side of the building & in just a few minutes the actors/actresses should be coming out. Hmmmm who doesn't want that fun experience. So we headed over & only waited a few minutes. We saw a guy come out who is one of the main characters (apparently) but got tired of waiting & left after that. All we really saw was lots of security & black town cars & SUV's.

See, not that fun

Tuesday

10:30 - 12:30 Award ceremony/recognition & lunch at Yankee Stadium

The NYPD bag pipe & drum line came out on the field & welcomed us

If you look really close Judd's name is on the big screen - yay Judd!!

After the awards ceremony we had lunch in one of the restaurants there. I should say our group/region did. There were 1600 Allstate employees & guests in NYC so every time we went somewhere is required many coach buses & obviously dividing into groups or regions. The lunch was good & we had the opportunity to stay & take a tour of the locker rooms & batting cages & other stuff but we had to get going so we took the first available bus out of there. As we were leaving the stadium they had the 2009 World Series trophy (heavily guarded) available to take pictures with.

Here's a just because we're cute pic on the way back to the hotel.

2 pm we were standing in line for the David Letterman show. Judd went online weeks before & applied to get tickets. He got a call back the week before we left with instructions on when to be where. We had our tickets in hand & were told to come back at 3:30 pm. The show taped from 4:30-5:30. They were very strict - no cameras!

So the only proof I have that we were there is this photo of my TV. We set the DVR to record before we left knowing we would most likely be on the show.

We are in the fourth row on the right.  We are both wearing black shirts

After the taping we had to go around the corner to Hello Deli & get Judd's picture taken with Rupert. If you are a fan of the show you'll know who he is.

7 pm was our Broadway show "Jersey Boys". It was a great show with lots of FABULOUS singing.

I had to buy the soundtrack after the show.

NYC Day 3

Wednesday

9:30 am after breakfast we decided to walk to Central Park. We had been wanting to do a carriage ride and heard that they do them through the park. I need to add that the temperature for that day was like 93, it was already so hot. So we picked our horse and driver (yes there were lots to choose from).

And we're off! Our driver knew where every film was made & who lived in what building. He was a great tour guide. The only problem was he was from Ireland & had such a thick accent we had a hard time understanding who it was that lived in the building he was pointing to.

After having walked & driven the streets of NYC I now know why Central Park is such a big deal. Not only is it HUGE but it's also the only green & lush, peaceful space in the city. It's essentially every one's backyard. It was very cool!

4:15 pm we boarded the bus to head to Battery Park. It was fleet week so as we drove parallel to the Hudson River we saw some of these massive ships, very cool! Our bus was one of the first to leave the hotel, which made us a little early. The tour guide with us decided to have us stay in the bus & give us a little tour for just a few minutes. Every time we got on a bus we had a guide with us who knew everything we didn't. Where we were headed & some landmarks along the way. They also got off with us & escorted us to our destination. Very nice New Yorkers! Battery Park is right down in the financial district so we drove by Wall Street & the site of the twin towers. That was the beauty of NY traffic, we were always able to get a good look at whatever they were pointing out.

Once we got to the park we went through security similar to airport security then loaded into ferry boats. Here is a pic of Battery Park as we headed to Liberty Island.

The Statue of Liberty is HUGE

The sun was positioned wrong so my pics aren't that great

We had our picture taken by one of the photographers Allstate had there.  I'm curious to see what that pic will look like.

We boarded another ferry & headed to Ellis Island for dinner & a surprise entertainer.

Yummy dinner.  It was served family style so all the bread & salads were on the tables when we got there.  They then brought out beef short ribs, salmon pockets & chicken.  We had Strawberry shortcake for dessert.

This is where it gets good ladies.  They were supposed to excuse in groups but because some of the people didn't get to dinner until almost 8:30 (ferry boats can only go so fast) they decided to just excuse as people were done.  We were done & told we could head outside.  Judd went to get seats & I went to the restroom.  I come out to find Vicki & she's telling me to hurry & follow her.  They had been the first table excused & had saved Judd & I seats.  Front row dead center.  Oh yeah! 

Amy, Vicki, Keith & I

At that point I didn't care who the entertainer was.  Whoever it was I was going to love being that close.

Drum roll...... it was

Keith Urban. 

Now I'm not a huge fan, I'm not really even a fan.  But he's good & good looking & a great guitar player.  Judd caught one of his guitar pics that he threw.  So now I'm thinking Keith & I have a special connection, I'm considering becoming a fan.  He was good!

After the one hour performance they had a barge in the Hudson that did quite a fireworks display.  It was just as good as the Fort used to have, if not better.

We contemplated going to find Keith.  After all we were all on an island, he couldn't be far.  Security was tight. So we tried a few pics of Jersey & NYC instead.

Not that great but I had to try it was really breathtaking in person!

We then got back on the ferry, to Battery Park, then to the hotel.

NYC days 4 & 5

Thursday morning was another open morning.  We walked to Times Square with Keith & Vicki (another EFS & his wife).  We shopped around, the 3 story M & M store was our favorite.  We went to Planet Hollywood for lunch & had a very nice waitress.  Keith & Judd had heard that in parts of NYC you could get a Folex (fake Rolex) watch.  Those silly boys thought that sounded like a fun idea.  Our waitress told us where to go & even helped us find which subway line to take.  What a nice sweet girl to send us straight into the hood!  LOL!  So off we went to find Canal Street.  Up until now I never felt unsafe.  It was crazy.  The presence of police every 20 feet should have made me feel better, but it didn't.  Vicki & I go into a store to look at purses.  The boys say they'll be right back.  We get done & can't find the boys anywhere.  We figure they found a Folex dealer.  We text, call....no answer.  We were sitting ducks standing there with creepy looking guys all around asking us what we wanted to buy.  So I saw a Sbarro's pizza just a ways down & thought we could head there to go potty.  We text the boys & tell them where to find us.  There were signs all over the walls stating that you had to have a receipt to use the restroom.  We bought a water bottle & stayed inside for safety reasons.  This is how the Folex story was retold to us girls by the boys.

The boys are walking along.........

Scary Folex Dealer (SFD):  "You guys looking for a watch?  A Rolex maybe?"

The boys: "Yea we want Rolex's"

SFD: "Wait right here, I'll be back"

Judd runs to the ATM at the end of the block.  Can I just say stupid, stupid move!!  You never get $$ from an ATM in the hood, you are now a walking target!

While Judd is gone...

SFD to Keith: "Take this watch, put it in your pocket & I'll be right back"

Judd returns.  SFD returns.

SFD:  "Walk with me but don't act like we're together"

He then takes them down an alley & behind a white van (AHHHHH!)

Judd & Keith quickly decide which one they want and get the HECK outta there!

They find us at Sbarro's hunkered down in the corner, avoiding eye contact with even the employees.

We quickly decide that this is not our comfy zone & find the subway.

The crazy Folex boys. 

We all decided the experience was worth the cost of the watches, if nothing else!

5pm we board the buses & head to the Palm's for dinner.

Yummy steak & lobster

Again to the buses & we head to the Broadway show "Billy Elliot".  While the story line was great & the dancing incredible.  The use of four letter words from children was disturbing.  It was unnecessary & tasteless.  But again the dancing & singing was great!  We decided to walk back to the hotel, it was a nice evening.

Friday we completely slept through breakfast.  I think the busy week was starting to catch up with us.  We had to have our luggage all ready to go & waiting just inside our room by noon.  The bus would be there at 4 pm to take us to JFK.  So we had the morning left.  We put on our tennis shoes & hit the pavement.  We headed into Times Square for a little more shopping & wandering.  Pictures do not do it justice, it is truly amazing!  It was electrifying, mesmerizing & nothing like I've ever experienced!

So because we had missed breakfast we were very hungry for lunch.  We went to Hard Rock Cafe right when they opened at 11 am.  Good thing too because it filled up fast.

We reluctantly walked back to the hotel.  If it wasn't for our 4 kids we probably would have missed the bus & our flight - oops!  But we were really missing the kids by this point & were excited to go home. 

JFK is a huge airport.  As we looked over our flight itinerary we couldn't figure out why it was a 5 1/2 hour flight to NY but a 6 1/2 hour flight home.  As we were thinking this over the captain came on the PA,  "Welcome aboard, yadda, yadda, yadda & we will be taxing out to the runway & will wait for 1 hour 15 minutes for our turn to take off".  What?! 

Welcome to NY, just in case you didn't wait in traffic enough in the city, we also bring you that same annoyance at the airport!

Southern California

It all began with a trip Judd won to San Diego.  It sounded great, we were going to be staying at Loew's Coronado Bay Resort & soaking up sunshine.  But because we were somewhere in the vicinity of Disneyland Judd found it necessary to go a day early & visit the "Happiest Place on Earth".  We flew out early Thursday morning.  We landed, got a rental car & were in the park by 10 am.  Judd was very happy.  I know you may get sick of the pics so I made it a short few.... or thirty or forty.

Mickey & Friends doing a parade

Hmmm...would that be Judd on a business call while on Splash Mountain?! 

That's better!

Judd eating a bacon wrapped asparagus kabob at his favorite place, Bengal BBQ

Judd & The King

Friday afternoon we jumped in the car and headed down the coast to Coronado Bay.  I found it interesting that the further south we went the more greenery we saw.  Of course the traffic was a delight!  We were almost to San Diego and we spotted this

 How beautiful is that temple?!  It's gorgeous!  I still can't believe I got such a good shot through the windshield while driving along.  Very pretty.  I wish we could have seen it up close.  We would have stopped but we received a call on our way down that we were all meeting for dinner at 6:30.  So we kept moving on. 

San Diego is a beautiful city.  It kind of reminded me of Spokane...I think it was all the old buildings.  I know there are old building everywhere, just go with it!  There is a naval base there & I was enamored with their huge ships.  Would have loved to have seen those up close too.  We eventually crossed this very cool looking bright blue bridge & made it to our room with 20 minutes to freshen up & look nice for the dinner.  I won't bore you with the dinner details.  To sum it up it was too weird for me.  Does each menu need to come folded & tied with a bow?  The answer should be no.  The piano player was too loud, most of the menu items I had no clue on.  The only one I asked about turned out to be potatoes.  Just call it potatoes.  And to top it off some people were drinking too much & should have chosen longer skirts to wear.  AND not sat on the bosses lap.  Moving on.

Saturday morning we went with another EFS & his wife, Tom & Deb (from Alaska) to Sea World.  I always thought Sea World was just about Shamu.  I was wrong!  There is so much to do there.  We touched bat rays & dolphins

Watched Shamu

Went to a sea lion & otter show

Had sharks swim over us

Saw flamingos that Deb & I decided were more highlighter orange than pink

Rode across Mission Bay.  That was way cool!

And rode this....Journey to Atlantis. 

This was one crazy ride.  For those who have never ridden it.  You get on and climb (click, click, click) to 60 feet.  You then drop those 60 feet into water (you can see that in the picture between Deb & I) you go around a corner & end up in an elevator that takes you back up above those 60 feet.  The doors open & you see blue sky and down you spiral.  It was a crazy ride!  We got off & jumped right back on.

We had another dinner that night so we jumped in the car & made it back with about an hour to spare this time.  The dinner was nice that night.  The seating was out on the patio.  We had salmon, halibut, prime rib, baked potatoes, shrimp, salads, fruit, all kinds of yummy stuff and for dessert there was key lime cheesecake, strawberry shortcake & chocolate cake.  Here's a pic of a few of us

Vicki, Keith, Judd, me, Tom & Deb

Sunday we ate breakfast at the cafe downstairs with Vicki & Keith.  The view as we ate was pretty

sitting at the table

Standing up & looking left

The view from the balcony of our room.  I know it doesn't really go with Sunday morning breakfast but I had to put it somewhere.  The mornings seemed to be very overcast. It made me feel at home!

We then watched Tom & Deb get in a limo & drive to Disneyland.  We then got in the Malibu (oh yeah!)  with Keith & Vicki and drove to the airport.  What a fabulous weekend!  I"ll leave you with a little collage of some of the trees in San Diego.  They were so pretty!