Christmastime in New York City

Alison and I left for New York City on Friday night. The plane ride was uneventful if a bit choppy. At least until we arrived. The individual controlling the jetway was confused about the type of plane we had and moved the jetway into the middle of the plane when it should have been at the front. Then the jetway broke so we were stuck on the plane for 45 minutes while they got it fixed. When we finally got off and got to our hotel it was nearly 2 am. We opted to stay at an airport hotel since we knew we would be getting in late. We just did not expect it to be this late. Since we were so late it was kind of nice to be able to get to our hotel relatively quickly, but in hindsight, we should have gone straight into the city. 

Fortunately, we got to sleep in a little bit the next morning before we made our way into the city. You would have thought we were rookies. We had so much trouble getting into the city. After surveying our options we decided to take an Uber to Jamaica station and then take the subway into the city. After waiting for 5 minutes the first Uber we called canceled and we had to start waiting again. Then our Uber dropped us off, but there was some kind of issue at Jamaica station so we had to take a bus to a different station. Then we got on a train, but it was not really the one we wanted. So a couple of stations later we switched to the train we wanted. But then a few stations later the train we were on malfunctioned and the doors would not shut. After troubleshooting the issue they made everyone get off the train. At this point, we were done with the train so we exited the subway and got another Uber to our hotel. All told it took us almost 3 hours to get into the city. We were very frustrated with the whole experience.

Once we arrived in the city we were much happier. On this trip, we are staying at the Dylan hotel, which is located right between the library and Grand Central station. This is our favorite area to stay in NYC. It is so convenient to get anywhere from here and there is plenty to do and eat in this area. 

We asked the hotel staff for a recommendation for good pizza nearby. We were starving at this point. He recommended Bravo pizza. It was a classic New York pizza place. Their plain pizza was particularly on point.

After pizza, we made our way over to Rockefeller plaza to see the Christmas Spectacular. On our way, we fought through the crowds to see the Christmas tree, which is pretty incredible. The crowds were huge and it was very difficult to move around the Rockefeller plaza area. 

The Christmas Spectacular is so good. There is a lot to love about this show. The Rockettes are very talented, as are the other performers. I think what I love most about this show is the way it captures the magic of Christmas. It deftly incorporates Santa Claus, gift giving, NYC at Christmas time, and the nativity to show why this is such a magical season for children and adults alike. 

After the show, we made our way back through Rockefeller Plaza and found a place to get some halal food. They have the best halal food around Rockefeller. After we ate, we wandered up and down fifth avenue to see all of the Christmas displays. The crowds were insane. There were literally times we would be stuck and no one could really walk or move because there were so many people. Fortunately, the displays were really incredible or this would not have been worth it.

We made a quick stop back at our hotel and walked through Grand Central station before heading to our evening show - Dear Evan Hansen.

This show had all the feels. It deals with some deeply human issues of loneliness, family, and suicide. This show strikes the perfect balance between melancholy and humor. Together as an audience we watched and we laughed and we cried. This show is playing in the Music Box theater. It is small and intimate which is perfect for this show. Every person in the audience was drawn in and engaged. There were highly emotional moments where it felt like the audience was collectively holding their breath, hanging on the character's every word.

The staging of this show was really unique. They had screens on stage that would show different tweets and online posts. The way they integrated technology into the story helped make it feel very relevant today.

I love the message of this show that no one ever deserves to be forgotten and that you will be found.

In this story, Evan is being raised by his mom because his dad left them. One of the more powerful moments in the show is when Evan is at his most vulnerable and tells his mother that he is a broken mess and is afraid she won’t accept him. She responds that she will be there no matter what and shares with him the story of how small she felt when his father left them. I saw in this story shadows of my own. I have a mother who raised me and my siblings on her own. She sacrificed so much for us and did her best to be there for us. There were times I was like Evan and did not appreciate how much she cared. I am really grateful to have a mom who was willing to sacrifice her own happiness to be there for me and my siblings.

After the show, we made our way back to our hotel. We stopped and got a slice of red velvet cake to share (we almost always get cheesecake or some other type of cake for dessert after a Broadway show). Even though the day started off on the wrong foot it really turned into a great day.