Old Lady Odyssey Day 1

Back in April of this year, my husband, Jon, told me to set aside the days of October 12-16. He told me we would be going on a trip to celebrate my 40th birthday. He would not tell me WHERE we were going. Eventually he let me know that his parents would be driving down from Aplington, Iowa, to stay with the girls while we were gone. About a week before we left, he let me know that we would not be driving to our destination. Nor would we be going to the beach or the mountains. A couple of days before we left, he told me to pack clothes for the weather that we were currently having in Omaha. He also told me that it was probably going to be a little rainy where we were going. This was all the information I had. In my mind we were going to Chicago.
[Actually, before I knew we weren't driving, I thought it was Kansas City. For those of you who don't know, K.C. is only about 2-1/2 hours away from Omaha and has nice places to stay and eat and shop.]

Wednesday, October 12, 2005
After saying goodbye to our daughters and Jon's parents (their caregivers during our trip), we set off in the car towards the airport. "So, where are we going, huh?" was the first thing I said. Jon said, "Maybe if you pay attention, you will figure it out." I glanced around inside and outside the car. Sensing my cluelessness, Jon handed me a sack with a book in it. I opened it up and there in front of me was Fodor's Guide to New York City. I read this over several times. It just was not sinking in. I gradually realized that the music playing on the radio since we'd pulled out of the driveway was none other than 'New York, New York' by Frank Sinatra. How utterly stupid could I be to NOT notice this playing over and over? Oh........my...... God! We are going to New York City! I was SO EXCITED. I immediately called my friends and left messages. I even called my sister, Carolyn, in Seattle to share the news. She and I had been e-mailing back and forth about this upcoming trip of mine. I called and screamed in to the phone, "Carolyn, it's ME! We're going to NEW YORK CITY! I'll tell you all about it when we get back!"
[After leaving this message I was worried that I had awakened Pete- it was only 7:00 am in Seattle.]

Well, we finally got to the airport and checked in. My brain was still trying to wrap itself around this idea. I delved right into that guide book and started getting my bearings. Finding out where our hotel was, how the city is laid out, which places were a MUST to see, etc... Sometimes I let Jon look at it, but mostly I was a guide book hog! The Met, MoMA, Central Park, The Statue of Liberty, all these places got a little bookmark scrap of paper. We had a short layover in Chicago and then it was off to the Big Apple.

The Big Rainy Apple. It was very cloudy and rainy but we could see a silhouette of the skyline as we landed. [As you may have noticed, these brackets are indicators of little asides I am inserting into my story. You may skip them if you like, but this is one of the better ones: When we landed at LaGuardia, we stopped at the restrooms on our way to get our luggage. While outside these restrooms, Jon shared something with me that he has never shared with me before in our 17 years of marriage. He announced his intentions for his restroom usage. He said, "I am going to be doing a poop." ] So, we gathered our luggage and set off to hail a cab. Yay, no waiting! That was so easy!

We made our way to the hotel through all the traffic. Luckily, it seemed most of the traffic was going the other direction and it really didn't take us that long. At last we made it to the Shoreham. It took a little while to check in. The elevator was not working at the time so they upgraded us to a SUITE! We walked up four flights (a price I will happily pay for a suite) and found the rest of our luggage there with the doorman. Wow! We were in New York City! The room was awesome. It was a very contemporary design. We checked it all out and opened the shades and I immediately sat down with my guidebook again. I did not want to miss out on one single moment. Time was a-wasting! We HAD to figure out were to eat and what we could do tonight! Jon suggested that we have a drink in the hotel bar. I thought that was a great idea! But really, shouldn't we figure out a place to eat? Ok, we'll go have a drink and figure something out. Back we go down the stairs. We find a place to sit in their lounge and order up a couple of fine drinks. So, Jon, what should we do tonight? I was really getting obnoxious with all this.

Then I noticed that Jon was looking past me. I turned my head to look. There were 2 people standing there. Wait..........a.........minute....... I KNOW these people. I see their faces and I KNOW these people! They do not belong in this place but here they are anyway! It is...Carolyn...and it is Pete, her husband...my new brother in law...they are here...in New York City. CAROLYN AND PETE ARE HERE IN NEW YORK CITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!! [You may see below the photographic evidence of my jaw dropping- it is not just a saying, I guess.] I sat there for a moment, letting it all sink in, and then I hopped up and hugged the heck out of them. This was such an amazing bonus! Through the tears I became aware of other people in the room looking at us and smiling. Oh my gosh, I'm creating a little scene here! Ok, let's sit down! So we order drinks for C & P and the whole time we're sitting there my eyes are tearing up and I keep saying, "I can't believe it, I can't believe it!" Then Jon said to me, "Ok, there are no more people coming." But this is what I heard: "There are no more surprises."

So, we continued to laugh about the surprise and how I really was fooled. It turns out that C & P arrived at the hotel not too long after we did and Jon saw them from our hotel window, getting out of their cab! See, it really was lucky that I was across the room obsessing over the guide book. Then it turned out that their luggage was waiting in the stairwell and we walked right past it. How I missed that bright orange luggage I will never know! It turned out that Jon called C from the restroom at LaGuardia to keep her posted of our whereabouts. [Now you know the reason I told you that bit about Jon doing a poop. He wanted an excuse in case it took him a while to get a hold of her on the phone.]

We decide that we'll ask the concierge for a dinner suggestion. Carolyn updates us as to plans with their friends. Thursday night we are going to meet them at a bar called O'Flannery's. Saturday night we have plans to go to Chinatown for dinner. That all sounds great! So, what will we do Friday night? Oh, yes, it seems we have plans for Friday evening. Jon says, "Well, we'll probably get some dinner and then we'll have to be at the theatre in time to see SPAMALOT!" What did you say? Did you say Spamalot? No WAY! You said there were no more surprises! Oh...man...this is incredible! I am SO EXCITED!!!! [Jon then reminds me that he did not say there were no more surprises, only that there were no more people coming.] By now I am bursting with joy. This is all too much. I have never been so surprised in my life.

We head off to an Italian restaurant, La Vineria, just a few doors down. As luck would have it, they have one table left for four. We have a delicious and relaxing and fun meal. Then we headed back to our hotel (yes, it was still raining) and discovered that we BOTH had suites and we were right next door- we had adjoining rooms! Oh, man! Can things get any better than this! This is so cool- so awesome. Upon arriving we found a nice bottle of red wine with a note. It said "Happy 40th celebration! Love, Jen". Jen is my friend back in Omaha. We have known each other since we were 3. She must have called my in-laws and found out where we were staying!

Oh, man! Goodnight Carolyn and Pete! I am so glad you came all the way to New York City. Good night, Jon, you are a wonderful man who is full of surprises! Sweet, sweet, dreams, everyone! 40 is very, very good. :-)

Surprise - o - rama!