The Rockettes…a bucket list item for Avery. She’d been asking to go the last few years…Justin and I decided THIS was the year! I bought tickets through the accessibility service and was able to not only save by avoiding all services fees, but I was also able to get seats somewhat closeup with nobody in front of us.
Two tickets to the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular! It would be the big Hannukah present to Avery! I had the tickets for a few weeks awaiting the right time to share the surprise. During this time, Harper’s basketball schedule came out and she had a buy the weekend of December 14, the weekend of the show! The plan and surprise began to evolve. We would all go to NY as a family and while Avery and I watched the Rockettes on stage, Justin would go ice skating in Rockefeller Center with Emerson and Harper, their big Hannukah present.
Thanksgiving was approaching and the timing felt right to finally share the surprise and their early Hannukah gifts. Avery couldn’t believe it…her dream was coming true. The girls were all thrilled until we told them we would be shacking up in a one bed hotel room in NY. Honestly it could have been amazing, but the girls preferred to spend the weekend outside the city staying with Mary and Russell. They preferred family time over more time exploring the city.
As the weekend of our upcoming departure approached, Justin began to experience flu like symptoms. Saturday morning arrived and we left him at home. With a negative result for the flu and covid, he was going to grace us with his presence. He was miserable though and I told him to go back to bed…he would be doing none of us a favor by coming in his miserableness.
We packed the Pilot, Emerson especially was a huge help with that, and we drove off. She sat shotgun and was my navigator, assisting me mostly with lane changes. We arrived at Mary and Russell’s after a relatively traffic free trip and a quick stop in the bustling Montclair to scarf down some gyros in a parking lot before pulling into Mary and Russell’s driveway.
I honestly had no plan other than exploring some Christmas sights prior to our 5:00 dinner reservation with the entire Friedman clan. Russell drove us into the city, and we followed Mary as she showed us sights she thought we may like. Caroline caught up with us at the New York Public Library.
Bryant Park Christmas market was even more crowded than I could have ever imagined. Surprisingly it was more artisanal than Christmassy in terms of the merchandise itself, and after we got through the market shoulder to shoulder, we were glad to be out of the chaos.
We stopped by the windows of Sachs Fifth Avenue.
And one of the many decorated Christmas trees
We ate at Joe Allen Restaurant…family time was good…food was good, not spectacular, but good.
Afterwards, we stopped at Schmackary’s, a cookie shop and I ordered four cookies and the girls and I sampled all of them!
On the ride home, Mary wanted Russell to take the long way through the city so we could explore more from our windows. Russell wasn’t as thrilled about the idea and there was banter back and forth. Meanwhile, the car started sounding funny…not the biggest concern at first but every few streets and lights (we hit every single one), the sound would intensify. By the time we made it uptown (again went all the way uptown instead of taking a quicker way home), Russell was pissed (as he had the car checked out twice in the past two weeks and his guy Kenny had assured him all was good). Let me tell you, all was not good. The car started to have a burning smell; Russell and Mary thought it was the transmission. As we approached the bridge, Emerson and Harper were sleeping in the backseat while Avery was panicking in the middle row next to me. I think all the adults held our breath as the car made its way over the bridge. Slowly but surely, we crossed the bridge and minutes later the engine light came on and the car stopped accelerating. Mary and Russell were frantically calm if that is even a thing….and somehow maneuvered off the highway to an unknown exit with shops and a parking lot. As the car made its way into the parking lot, it literally stopped…it was leaking fluid and burning. Emerson and Harper awoke to Mary saying “get out of the car”. They could smell the burning and popped out of their seats with their belongings and couldn’t believe they had slept through the debacle. The man in the car behind us got out of his car to push the car with Russell while Mary steered into a parking spot, and I took the girls into Shake Shack to go to the bathroom and decompress.
An Uber picked us ladies up while Russell awaited the toe truck with Michael. Michael and Brenna live close to where we broke down, so Michael came to help Russell.
As we arrived home, snow started falling…fairly quickly which was interesting considering the forecast said that the total snowfall would be less than half an inch. About an hour later, Russell, Michael, and the tow truck arrived. As we waited for them, Mary had taken out snacks including some caramel covered popcorn and us girls enjoyed the coziness and craziness of the night.
We awoke Sunday morning to close to five inches of snow…so much for a half inch. Russell aborted the mission to get bagels and shoveled instead. We also had to change our plans of how we were getting into the city…Russell was going to drive us originally; however, he didn’t feel comfortable driving my car, which was unfamiliar to him, in the snow. I ordered an Uber. When it was five minutes after our Uber was supposed to have arrived, and it hadn’t yet, I realized the Uber driver had cancelled. I tried to get another Uber and realized it wasn’t going to be easy due to the snow. I was starting to think we might miss the Rockettes…the whole reason for the trip. By the grace of God, an Uber accepted and slowly but surely made its way. We arrived in the city 15 minutes before the show was about to start…just in enough time to snap a few pictures in front of Radio City Music Hall, meet Caroline (who was now going ice skating with Justin instead of Justin) and go to the bathroom. At 11:57 Avery and I sat in our seats, took a sigh of relief breath, and waited for the show to begin.
The SHOW…was truly sensational. It was even better than I expected. The dancers, the venue, the lights…ALL of it….WAS spectacular and I pinched Avery numerous times during the show to remind ourselves it was real.
Santa graced us with his presence literally right in front of our seats.
Meanwhile, Emerson, Harper, and Caroline were skating in the frigid temperatures at Rockefeller Center.
We met up after the show and indulged in slices of NY pie.
As we ate, I contemplated what to do…we were supposed to head out of the city and home that night, BUT with the snow, the early sunset, and flurries and icy conditions along the way home to Virginia, we decided to stay an extra night at Mary and Russell’s. The girls were ecstatic. I was glad to not have to drive home in the dark, but I wasn’t thrilled about the girls missing a portion of school the next day. It had snowed in Virginia that day too, not nearly as much, but enough to create icy neighborhood road with the below freezing temperatures. I was certain the girls would have a delay, which meant if we left early the next morning, they wouldn’t miss that much school. Against all odds, school was not delayed.
Since we didn’t have to rush on the road that evening, we enjoyed a little more time in the city, circling the same blocks over and over….sampling some more cookies and ice cream and coffee.
We took an Uber home, for the price of $225! Yes, crazy. We arrived to a homecooked meal of mac and cheese, salad, and green beans. We enjoyed the evening with Mary and Russell and while the whole weekend was filled with challenges, it made it that much more special and memorable. I can’t imagine any of us will ever forget this trip.
Having the trip with a week before Christmas break started, helped get the girls through three full weeks of school in December. While we missed Justin, nobody wanted to be around his germs or his miserableness. And without him, the girls and I turned the weekend into a girl’s weekend, one where they were looking out for one another.
A truly spectacular Rockette’s show and NY weekend!