NYC Day #4

Friday mornings are always dreaded because it's the earliest day everyone has to get up. The reason behind it makes it totally worth it- we go to The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and we try to be on one of the first boats out on the harbor. If you wait, you end up standing in a line that takes forever to go through security to get on the boat.

So, off on the #1 subway line we went- making sure everyone was in one of the first cars. The Battery Park stop curves (and its the end of that subway line) so if you are not in the first 5 subway cars, your doors will not open (because you are next to concrete walls). The chaperones did their head count and we were off- until we realized that 2 girls had run back upstairs and had gotten stuck in an elevator. Jackie and others waited while the rest of us got on the subway.

As soon as we were outside in Battery Park I called Jackie (thinking she'd still be back at the hotel) when lo and behold, there she was right behind us.

We all made it onto the boat (and through security) and Jackie promptly got seasick (which made me reminisce on our honeymoon in San Fransisco on the boat out to Alcatraz). We never get off at Liberty Island (you can only go into the base of the statue- and sometimes not even that) so off we went to Ellis Island.

Jackie and I love this museum- in 2006 we did the audio tour and found it fascinating. The students however head promptly to the gift shop (where we bought a doll for Ellis that said "Ellis Island") and then outside to sleep on the lawn (unless they were fortunate enough to run into Jackie who then gave a forced tour of the museum- as the tour guide).

After returning on shore, I became the tour guide and walked our group up Broadway (this area of lower Manhattan is where they would have ticker tape parades- and they list all of them on silver plates on the sidewalk). I showed our group Wall Street, Trinity Church, Ground Zero (which is now a construction site and does not have viewing platforms) and, I think the group's favorite part, St. Paul's Chapel. This is a great little church where George Washington worshipped and had a pew. It also became a relief station during 9/11 and there are many tributes inside. Every time we go, it is completely different inside, but it's always inspiring.

After that, I got everyone (except Jackie- she's like a bloodhound sniffing out correct subway lines) trying to find the brown uptown subway line. After leading 63 people aimlessly (while trying to decipher the signs) around, a nice Lutheran minister (he had on a badge that said, "Ask me, I'm a Lutheran minister) directed us where we needed to go.

We then dropped the group off in Chinatown and told them they had free time the rest of the day until Wicked that night.

Jackie, myself and the Coxes then went to the East Village and ate at a restaurant that defined Jackie's life- S'mac- an all mac-and-cheese restaurant. I personally think I got the best one- an Indian flavored Masala Mac that was amazing. We then went in search for Pomme Frites- an all French Fry restaurant, but when we found it, we were sad to discover that it was closed for a week.

We then walked through the Village (stopping at Pinkberry yogurt, NYU and Washington Square Park- where, according to our NYC guidebook, sub par weed is usually sold) until we decided to head back to the hotel.

Most museums offer some sort of free day, and the Moma's (The Museum of Modern Art) day is Friday. The museum was close to our hotel so we headed over. My favorite exhibits were: Andy Warhol's Marilyn and soup paintings, a desk fan suspended from the ceiling that whirred over everyone's head, and, a hallway with special yellow light bulbs that absorbed all color and turned everyone that walked under them black, white and grey.

After looking over the cool Moma store (where my feet began to hurt), we went to China Grill- a restaurant located in the CBS building. We got avocado fried rice (good choice Amanda!), BBQ salmon, some beef dish and an awesome chocolate tasting sampler dessert.

After dinner, it was onward to Wicked. We had a group member that had seen Wicked two times already, and (as a dancer) really wanted to go see A Chorus Line. So, her sister stood at the box office to sell back her ticket (which they do right before curtain) and I ran with her to the A Chorus Line box office, where she scored a $26.00 student ticket. Her sister sold back her ticket for $110 so she made a nice profit off that show!

This was my 3rd time at Wicked- and I always enjoy it (this time the Elphaba was particularly amazing)- but it's not as fun when you know how everything is going to turn out. It was fun however sitting next to my students that began weeping at various points of the show.

NYC Day #3

Again, I got breakfast for me and Jackie (and some cherries from a friendly street vendor) and it was off to the Museum of Natural History at 9:30am. Again, we loaded up the subway car- and, because I was too busy counting heads (and Jackie was running behind with some latecomers) we accidentally got on an uptown express line. Bradley Moss (a chaperone) and his car noticed right before we left, but our car (containing Brent Cox and about 25 people) did not. It wasn't until we stopped at 125th Street (we were aiming for 81st Street) that we noticed. Luckily we got off, turned around and got on the next downtown train and arrived at the same time as Jackie.

I was excited about the Museum of Natural History- because I have read many a horror novel (Relic? Anyone?) that took place there. Well, our group ascended on the museum at the same time as 55 New York City elementary schools. A staff person at the museum said the last week of school, all of the schools bank up their field trips- so the week we were in NYC is when ALL of the schools take their field trips. After our travel agent had a crazy time getting all of our tickets, Jackie and I managed to get everyone (but ourselves) into the IMAX theatre show. While everyone was in there, we grabbed maps for everyone to distribute after they got out of the show. We then went to the Space Show where Robert Redford lulled everyone to sleep talking about meteor showers.

We then gave everyone an hour to look around the museum (with, at this point, 100 elementary schools each bring 100 school children). Though some rooms were cool, I kept thinking this would be an awesome museum to bring little kids too- not necessarily 64 high school theatre students and adults... and several students kept saying, "it doesn't look anything like A Night at the Museum in here- except the dioramas with little people).

Jackie and I told everyone we'd be willing to take people through Central Park and around the Upper West Side a little- we didn't know how many people would take us up on that- and everyone showed up. We took them past the Dakota (a ritzy building where lots of celebrities live and where John Lennon was shot), over to Grey's Papaya (where we shocked the locals by all 64 of us getting in line to get the $3.50 recession special- 2 hot dogs and a papaya juice) and then over to Magnolia Bakery where everyone got some sort of baked good (we got the banana pudding- which was awesome).

After that, it was through Central Park with a stop at Strawberry Fields (sadly, restoration gates were up preventing artists putting flower petals on the design) and then over to Bethesda Fountain (where there is NO SHADE). After hanging out there for a bit, we sent people to Serendipity, 5th Avenue, etc. (while some people fell asleep and then woke up lost...)

Jackie and I hit the subway and went down to the East Village.

We had heard about this awesome noodle restaurant called Momofuku- and we couldn't find it to save our lives. After walking around for a bit (and asking a native for directions), we ended up in an almost empty restaurant and got the house specialty of homemade chicken raman noodles. They were awesome and left us with room for dessert. Earlier we had walked by a place called Chik-a-licious which, I had read on a blog, was an all-dessert restaurant. We went over and realized it was a takeout only place- but that the sit-down restaurant was across the street. Jackie and I went over (again, the only customers) and each had a three-course dessert menu. I had amazing coconut soup with homemade pineapple sorbet, with brown sugar cookies (as my main course). It was awesome.

After wandering around the village for a bit, we headed back up to the hotel to meet up for Mary Poppins.

As much as I love the theatre district in NYC, I become depressed when I have to take a group below 46th street to a show- by this point I just hope everyone knows uptown from downtown, because trying to keep a group of 64 together through the maddening crowds of people between 42nd and 46th street is impossible.

More than a couple of times I would start a conversation with someone next to me that I thought was a student, only to turn around and see the students were blocks away and I was talking to a large, hairy man in a tank top and shorts going to Bubba Gumps.

I didn't know what to expect with Mary Poppins, but I loved the set and the choreography. I would like to play Burt (who was the original from London) or the butler of the family that sings one solo in Spoon Fool of Sugar totally drunk on rum punch. The person that stole the show for me was the little boy that played Michael Banks- his voice was phenomenal. Also, credit must be given to Disney for the amazing job they did with The New Amsterdam Theatre. In the 20's it was the theatre Flo Ziegfeld built for his Follies shows (Funny Girl) and in the 70's, the theatre fell in ruins (and became a porno theatre among other things). In the 80's it was abandoned and homeless people were squatting in it and a large tree grew out of the orchestra pit (where it was the home to many a bird). All of 42nd Street was scary in the 80's and in came Disney who, at the cost of millions, restored the theatre to it's glory from the 20's, opened Beauty & the Beast, The Lion King and Mary Poppins in it. It was fun showing my MDT students the theatre we talked about in class.

So, to sum up the day: Express Subway: Very fast and efficient. Need to learn to read subway maps more closely.

Museum of Natural History: Fun, but not great for high school students. Next time, we'll do the Met Museum (although I'm glad we've been there once)

Momofuku and Chik-a-licious: Awesome!!

Mary Poppins: If you're a parent and have a heart or soul (not necessarily both), you will be touched by the show. If not, Burt tap dancing on the ceiling is pretty cool.

NYC Day 2

It was a difficult nights sleep in our room- Jackie's dad had a terrible cold that forced him to sleep sitting up- after huge coughing jags where we thought his head would turn inside out. But, we woke up on Wednesday ready for the day's adventures. I headed out to get breakfast (a NY tradition that Jackie enforces every trip) at the deli across the street. I ran into several students who all commented that NYC was expensive- and that today's weather seemed much better.
We met in the lobby around 9:30am and we were off for our first, 64 person subway ride. The #1 on the redline takes you exactly to Lincoln Center so we all loaded up OK. After many NYC commuters looked at our group in horror (and quickly switched cars) we got all 64 in the same car and we were off 3 stops uptown to Lincoln Center.
I was sad that Lincoln Center was undergoing major renovations- the cool fountain (from The Producers film among others) was completely covered and all of the performing arts gift shops were undergoing remodeling. We had to divide our group into groups of 19 and at 10:30am all of the groups headed out in different directions for guided tours of the complex.
Our group had a nice middle-aged male tour guide (who's main claim to fame was that he ALMOST made South Pacific sound enjoyable enough for Jackie to see it- that is major salesmanship).
Lincoln Center has the northern most Broadway theatre- which is currently showing the first revival ever of South Pacific. As we went in the theatre, I saw these cool South Pacific programs and I helped myself to one. Later, as we were in the concert hall I showed it to Jackie and she said, "Did you pay for that? They're a dollar." I made a $1.00 contribution in the lobby of Avery Fisher Hall- so I'm not a thief.
It was great going into the home of the American Ballet Theatre and seeing their amazing hall- and all of the pictures of Jerome Robbins (it's a year long tribute to his ballet works). We ended at Avery Fisher Hall- where we witnessed techies setting up a high school graduation.
We then loaded up the group to take the subway to Times Square. This afternoon, everyone got to choose their own matinee performance. Students were encouraged to go to the box office first and try to get student rush tickets for $26- if that didn't work they could go to TKTS and get 1/2 price tickets. I helped a few students get $26 front row seats to Cry-Baby (which closes today) and it seemed everyone got into a show they wanted to see (Phantom of the Opera, Passing Strange, Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Mamma Mia, Legally Blonde, A Chorus Line, August: Osage County, Gypsy with Patti Lupone and Rent were a few students went to). Jackie and I went and got 1/2 price tickets to last year's Tony Award winning Best Musical, Spring Awakening. After helping my 4 techie students get their tickets to the funk musical Passing Strange, they said they had heard of an amazing pizza place down the road. We all went there- and Jackie and I sat at the bar. We ate an amazing wood fired thin crust pepperoni pizza- while I counseled our waitress on how she could overcome stage fright. She enjoyed my help so much she invited me to have a beer on her- but Jackie and I needed to race to the show. Before we left, I met a nice middle school teacher from Sacramento, CA that was there with 120 middle school students. They were doing a 2 week tour of the eat coast- they had already done Boston and Washington D.C.- and now they were in NYC. If I had 120 students on a tour, I would have also probably been drinking a lot at lunch.
We arrived at Spring Awakening (smelling of left-over pizza that we had in a plastic bag) and sat right behind two of my senior boys. The show was good... but not what I thought it was going to be. The music, set and concept was great (as was the acting), but the script/book had problems under developing the characters. From reading the original script (written in the late 1800's- and has the privilege of being one of the most banned plays ever written), there was more character development- and the leading character's transition from smart school boy to radical was a little undefined, but it was ok (plus, it is embarrassing watching simulated sex right behind 2 of your students- but hilarious that they are sitting next to two people over the age of 80). Just get the soundtrack and you'll be ok.
After the show, we told our group if anyone wanted to see the NYC Public Library (famous from Ghostbusters, The Day After Tomorrow and Men in Black) to meet us at TKTS. We took a small group down 42nd street- and into the library's famous reading room (except me- I still had pizza).
After that we went down the street a bit and into the famous Grand Central Station. We were going to walk students up 5th Ave. to Rockefeller Center, but we were too pooped.
We called the Coxes (chaperones) and Jackie's parents to meet us at a cool restaurant called Eatery on 9th Ave. We all met up there, had a great dinner (Jackie's mom had a bug in her organic salad...) and then it was off to Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein.
Our seats were in the back center orchestra section (in the massive Ford theatre) and, so far, the Young Frankenstein was winning best costumes, set and lighting of any show we've seen so far. Christopher Fitzgerald as Igor and Andrea Martin as Frau Bleucher were also hilarious. My favorite number was the Puttin on the Ritz tap number. Despite the abundance of Mel Brook's humor (as Jackie calls it, boy humor), we all enjoyed the show- even Jackie. After being severely chastised by my Aunt Tammy for seeing a "Triple RRR musical" (Spring Awakening) we stayed after the show for a talk back. We got to watch a genie lift go up to what appeared to be 150 feet to fix a technical problem while the stage manager and 3 ensemble members talked to us- when Megan Mullaly (from Will and Grace and the Madeline Kahn character in the show) came out and talked with us for a bit. She was funny and very matter-of-fact (she talked about how Mel didn't know who she was and she had to sing two contrasting songs for her audition- just like everyone else).
After that, it was time for a quick snack (Jamba Juice) and I was followed by a homeless man who was threatening to slice my throat- so we ducked into a perfume store so the huge bouncer could deal with him- a summer night in NYC!

NYC Day 1

This post will actually cover two days- Monday, June 9 and Tuesday, June 10th:

Monday afternoon, we load up the girls and head to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Perry, UT. This also happens to be our anniversary (8 years!) and we'll celebrate it with my parents and steaks from Maddox restaurant (Perry, Utah's big claim to fame). Millie screams the whole way up because "Ellis is touching me" with her foot- and Millie doesn't believe Jackie when she says that Ellis is doing it because she loves her.

We arrive at my parents and my mom comes out saying that Maddox is closed on Monday- so she made turkey loaf. We also realize (after Millie finds my mother's chap stick and gum collection) that the house is not entirely 1 and 3-year old proof. After dinner, Jackie and I stealthily sneak out and merrily head on our way to our motel by the airport for our early NYC flight. On the way, Jackie realizes that she emptied the fridge of perishable items (fruit and veg) but forgot to take the garbage out of the kitchen. My telling her that a few fruit flies in the kitchen isn't to big a deal does not calm her. We check into the airport inn and I fall asleep by 9:30pm.

Tuesday, June 10th:

1:00am. Jackie awakes- not from excitement over the trip, but from fears of fruit flies feasting on everything in the house. She gets up, drives to Lehi, empties the garbage and is back by the time I am waking up at 3:00am. Now, as everyone knows, Jackie on vacation is a non-stop party animal (she gets it from her father Ray)- sometimes the only thing that will settle her is a big tranquilizer dart in the butt. Sleep-deprived Jackie is even MORE fun then a barrel of monkeys. I will leave the rest of our motel departure to your imagination.

We arrive at the Delta terminal by 3:45am- our flight leaves at 6:00am- and Delta does not open their check-in lines until 4:30am. After students check in with Jackie and myself, the lines open- and a bus-load of 30 missionaries arrive from the MTC on their way to Wisconsin by way of Atlanta. Also on our flight- Elizabeth Smart. So, our outbound flight (to Newark with a quick lay-over in Atlanta) consists of 48 high school theatre students, 12 adults, 30 missionaries heading to Wisconsin (some Spanish speaking) and Elizabeth Smart.

Our group of 64 had been seated alphabetically by first name- but Jackie swapped seats so she could sleep and drool on my shoulder to Atlanta. It was amusing to watch an Elder sit by one of my high school senior girls and borrow her stuffed monkey to use as a pillow on the way to Atlanta. It was also funny when he randomly told her that the plane made his butt numb.

We arrived in Atlanta on-time (11:30ish) with the only incident being 7-year old Anton Moss (the son of chaperones on our trip) vomiting on his mother when we arrived. Little did we know that Millie was pooping in my parents bed around the same time.

We loaded up for our Newark flight and landed around 2:46pm- to record breaking heat- 100 degrees at the airport. We collected our luggage and waited for our two shuttles- while some students begin to say "I don't like New York"- even though we were still in New Jersey and couldn't even see the skyline of Manhattan yet.

A small shuttle arrives and the Mosses (chaperones) and the Coxes (chaperones) put themselves and 17 others on it and head to the city. Jackie and I stay with the other 40 some-odd students for the big bus. It turned out to be a good move because, right after going through the Lincoln Tunnel, the engine on the small shuttle exploded- leaving the Mosses to lead the group through 100 degree heat to the airport- and the Cox's staying with the luggage on the shuttle- and Amanda Cox teaching an Introduction to Mormonism course to the bus driver from the Bronx while her husband Brent went to find food.

Although I had a grand plan of taking Jackie to a nice pre-theatre meal, by the time we all got checked in to the hotel, there was a enough time for a sandwich from the deli across the street. Jackie's parents had landed in Newark an hour after us- and were proceeding to take a scenic tour of all of the hotels in Manhattan- with theirs being the last one to be dropped off.

Everyone met in the lobby of the Sheraton New York (53rd and 7th Ave) at 6:20pm and all of us were off (with the exception of 8 going to The Little Mermaid) to Jersey Boys.

When Jackie and I had seen Jersey Boys in San Diego in 2004, I didn't remember much swearing- I warned the group of a few off-colored words here and there- but didn't remember the amount of F-bombs that occurred (but no more than said than a morning getting the girls ready for church). Luckily, Jackie's parents (and everyone else) loved the show (as did we) and, the best part, as we got out of the show, a huge thunder burst had occurred and the rain was cooling down the city.
We were going to take everyone down to the chocolate place Max Brenners after the show- but due to the rain (and people getting autographs and everyone wanting to explore Times Square), Jackie, myself, the Coxes and a few other people headed to Union Square for chocolaty goodness.

Jackie and I ordered a chocolate fondue + a tasting platter. Suffice it to say, my right eyebrow got singed by the open flame we were to roast our marshmallows on (and then dip in the fondue along with strawberries and bananas) AND the chocolate tasting platter was a bit too sugary- it made me and Brent Cox crave pizza or a hot dog after. Instead I got a black pepper and cornflake truffle.

Room checks occurred at midnight- with The Little Mermaid folks loving their show. Day 1 was a success!

Things I've Learned...

1. ...while Jackie is on Atkins to fit into her NYC clothes for our trip this week:

No-carb cheesecake is revolting- and will give you the trots (except for Millie- who is so stopped up that whenever I approach her she runs away saying "no glycerin!" thinking I'm about to give her a glycerin enema)- but isn't her vocab great for a three-year old? Hopefully that will offset the psychological trauma that will no doubt occur due to her constipation and fear of the toilet.

2. Since Jackie's been on this diet, all I've craved are: pasta, bread, sugar, rice, etc.- everything she can't have- but when I go to get a treat, all I find are diet soda and sugar-free chocolates- however, if I want a treat, Jackie will happily wrap a stick of butter with bacon and fry that up as a treat.

3. ...while watching movies. Jackie and I are now ready to join the Drug Enforcement Agency because we feel fully trained. Over the past 30 days, we've watched (by coincidence), The Wire: Seasons 2-4 (this series shows the effect of drugs on the city of Baltimore and how it affects the poor, education, politics, etc.- it is amazingly well written), Cocaine Cowboys (a documentary about Miami in the 80's told from dealers and law enforcement), Weeds Season 3 (a show about a suburban mom who sells pot in a California community), Sister Helen (a Sundance documentary about a nun in the Bronx that runs a housing community for recovering male addicts. If you want to see what Jackie will be like in 50 years, look at Sister Helen), and American Gangster (the movie with Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington- based on a true story about a drug trafficker in NYC in the 70's- interesting but too long). Now, this was not intentional, but I guess May was Drug Awareness Month in the Eaton household.

4. ...while getting a group of 66 ready to go to New York City. The group itself is great, but Jackie and I got burned badly by our travel agency in 2006 (in a nutshell, three days before departure, the travel agency went bankrupt and Jackie and I had to pull a trip for 42 out of the air in 3 days- but we did it!) and ever since then, we've been waiting for something disastrous to occur. Jackie will wake up in a cold sweat at 1:00am and say, "Is our hotel confirmed?" Which then leads our travel agent to think that I am the most obsessive compulsive client he's ever had. But, while writing this, I am looking at our orchestra seat tickets for Jersey Boys, Young Frankenstein, Mary Poppins, Wicked, In the Heights and Boeing-Boeing- so at least we have our shows (my next post will be a trip report).

5. While, this isn't anything I've learned, vote for Thayne and Gev on So You Think You Can Dance- I was in 1776 at Hale with Thayne and Gev has taught my students at Riverton break dancing. See my wife's blog for more details.