Broadway!

What trip to NYC would be complete without Broadway? I mean, come on. BROADWAY. It's like something you always dream about. I had pretty high hopes and I am delighted to say that I feel like I got some good deals and great memories out of my Broadway experiences. 

Broadway #1: Newsies

Sierra and I braved going into the city for the first time (ever! for both of us!) on a rainy Tuesday night. We had no umbrellas and pretty much got soaked, but it was oh so worth it!

Here we are on the train:

Waiting in line for the lottery tickets... which we didn't win. But you know what? At least the guy who had waited 5 times already DID. :)

Sierra's Marilyn moment:

So we didn't get the lottery tickets, but after running around in the rain looking for various other deals, we ended up getting a pretty good deal at the box office. Their only stipulation was that they didn't have two seats together. Oh well, we thought, and then proceeded to our seats. Sierra was directed up the stairs, and I was directed straight through, so we said our goodbyes and found our seats... which ended up being right in front of/behind each other! So fun :)

The best part of Newsies? "There are tap shoes!!" 

This musical was seriously incredible. I would see it a million more times. So, you know, if you need someone to go with you on your next trip to New York, just let me know!

Broadway #2: Annie

So. Annie. Pretty much one of my favorite movies ever. Could probably quote the entire thing. Love the songs. Almost makes me wish I had red hair. So naturally I had pretty high expectations here. 

I'm sorry to report that it was a bit of a letdown. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not the die-hard Jane Lynch fan that apparently other people are, but I felt like she was almost mocking her own character the whole time. It was weird. Or maybe it was the fact that we were on the front row and could see—as talented as they really were—the little girls counting out the steps in their minds. Kind of distracting. Oh well. I'll just stick to the movie from now on. Still had fun on this girls' night, though! 

Broadway #3: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella

Another childhood CLASSIC (I'm talking the 1965 version that we had on VHS. You had that one, too, right?). And then, of course, the Brandy version came out and it was even better and full of that Whoopi, Whitney, interracial goodness. In all, just one of my very favorites. I maybe appreciated this show a bit more because I had to go really early and sit in the heat for like 2 hours and then do a panicked idiot-run looking for an ATM when I found out they didn't accept cards. Oh, and I also maybe had to try to bribe random student-aged people on the street to come in and stand with me as I bought the tickets so I could get two. Lots of work. 

The theater was also incredible. Added to the Cinderella ambiance, for sure. 

Pretty sure you weren't supposed to take pictures inside the theater. Oops. 

In one word, this show was incredible!! I could've seen it back-to-back a hundred more times, probably. The scenery, the music, the different-from-the-movies storyline. THE COSTUME CHANGES. I'm not kidding. It was incredible. And I was so, so happy that that's how we spent our last night in New York! What a lovely night! 

So. Yeah. Broadway. I'll be back.

South street

If you've been to Philly, you know that South Street is where it's at... apparently. To me, most of it seemed filled with wildly inappropriate stores that I was embarrassed to walk past and a whole lot of other sketchy things going on, but some of the buildings weren't so bad.

One thing I noticed in Philadelphia: they love murals. Seriously. They are EVERYWHERE. And I love it.

After trying the three best-known cheesesteak places in town, I can say with confidence that Jim's is my favorite. Everything you every wanted to believe about the deliciousness of Philly cheesesteaks comes true right here in this place.

Kylee trying to decide what to get. As if there are options :)

Yes we got the first bite on film: (kind of a strange phrase to use anymore, right? Since there's no film involved... how about "Yes we captured the first bite on... my phone"? Just doesn't quite seem right.)

That's how good it was:

Rainy day

I have never seen as much rain in my life as I did the week I was in Philadelphia. At times it was a fun adventure, and there was at least once when I thought I was going to be buried alive in my car from all the rain. Haha... but seriously. 

This really creepy parking garage became even more so under the threat of drowning:

This is my "drowned rat" look. Cute, huh? Yeah, hopefully the people in the stores I visited thought so as well! Where's an umbrella when you need one??

First day in Philly

I am just only slightly obsessed with Philadelphia. I mean, it's call the city of brotherly love, so what's not to love about it? My first full day was a Sunday, and luckily church wasn't until later in the afternoon, so I had time to go scope out downtown. My first stop: the temple! Of course, it's still quite under construction (as in, it's currently just a hole in the ground), but it's being overseen by this guy:

Yeah, that statue is kitty-corner from where the temple will be built. Coincidence?

I don't know if you can see the sign in the background well, but this temple is going to be beautiful! It totally fits in with the architecture of the whole city. I'm definitely going to need to find an excuse to come back in 2015!

The hole:

This beautiful catholic cathedrale that's across the street:

Here's where my wandering began. I just love U.S. history and loved seeing it come alive in these streets. 

I especially love seeing things like this and being reminded of what the men who founded this country really believed. 

In front of Independence Hall:

Cute carriage. Don't mind my finger there...

I'm such a sucker for cobblestone.

So, yeah. If you've never been to Philly it's definitely worth the trip!

The Atlantic City buzz

Yesterday we flew from Denver to Newark. I saw the empire state building and the statue of liberty out the window--so cool! 

This was the greeting our bosses gave us at the airport-- "Welcome ZAGG-terns!" 

Cute, huh?

After getting all my bags and rental car and product and everything, I set out south--down the New Jersey turnpike. I don't know why this road has always been on my list of cool roads to drive down. Maybe they mentioned it a few times in Seinfeld, or maybe I'm just a weirdo. Either way, the drive was really pretty and green. So many trees!

 

I made the 2-hour drive down to Atlantic City. 

You may or may not know of my love for Gilmore Girls. There's one episode where Lorelei and Rory take a trip to Atlantic City for Rory's belated 21st-birthday party. They drink martinis at a blackjack table and play 21 while pretending Rory was turning 21 at midnight, win and buy 21 things with their winnings, and get 21 guys' phone numbers. Oh, and they also find Luke's cross-dressing doppelganger and see Tony Danza tap dance. 

 Now, the couple of hours that I spent in Atlantic City weren't quite as exciting as their trip, but I did my best. 

First stop: the boardwalk. Unlike Emily Gilmore's assertion, it wasn't anything like tipping an overflowing trash can onto your porch.  

There it is: THE boardwalk.

And UNDER the boardwalk:

The pier was so fun--basically a perma-carnival. 

Guys. Just pretend I didn't forget to go in and play video poker on the third machine in the second row of machines as you hit the entrance of Trump Taj Mahal, okay?

So so many seagulls there. And they were like kamikaze birds, too--flew straight at me several times. 

The entrance to the pier:

So, yeah. Ended the night inside Caesar's Palace... naturally.

Went and ordered a Shirley Temple. 

Bartender: How old are you?

Me: ... 26

Bartender: No, that's cute. 

Kill me. 

And then he gave me extra cherries. 

So what I should have realized, though, is that a Shirley Temple is just Sprite with like Grenadine syrup in it, right? More sugar than I've had in probably 9 months, right there. It kind of made me sick. Which is very Gilmore Girls-esque, though, so I'll just chalk it up to being part of the experience. 

All in all, I wish Megan had been there because I am confident that we'd have been able to get 21 guys' number without much difficulty.