Last spring at Master D’s graduation from BYU, mom/Grandma said she hoped that she was still alive in 3 years when Master D graduated from Columbia so she could go back to NYC.  I thought, why can’t you go to NYC now while he’s in school? So for her birthday/mother’s day I invited her to go with me.  I waited until the fall so we wouldn’t have to suffer in the heat or deal with large crowds of tourists.  It was the perfect weekend! I worried a little bit about the discomfort and difficulties of traveling – but I’ve had a lot of experience researching, plotting and planning travel for a lot of people and am confident in knowing how to make it as comfortable as possible – so I KNEW she could handle it! Plus I’m pretty much always up for FUN TRAVEL. This was one of those rare once in a lifetime trips with no hiccups and purely cherished memories.

[these brackets are my interjections into Grandma’s post]

I almost backed out of my birthday gift from KT for a trip to NYC because I was worried about not hearing, moving slowly, and how my body would handle the flights and generally not being able to keep up with KT and Master D.  Seeing all the travel KT was doing all summer also made me wonder if she wanted to take another trip this year.  She said I couldn’t back out, and I am so grateful!

It was a young wishful dream I have had of seeing places other than the tourist spots and where and how the people live in the Big Apple. riding in a taxi in NYC, and getting a little picture of what it would be like to live there.   KT must have read my mind because she  planned it to do just that.

The flight was first class, so I was not cramped into a very narrow seat. [SPOILER ALERT FOR “A QUIET PLACE”:] They kept us well fed, and I even found a movie with subtitles, “The Quiet Place”, which btw did not really scare me because I couldn’t hear the eery music, and that kind of scary monster does not scare me.  I hated that the little boy and dad were killed!

We had private car service that picked us up promptly and took us to a nice hotel, which was close to Master D’s apartment and Columbia University.  [Our view from our hotel room]

KT had selected a restaurant owned by the chef that won “Iron Chef” on the food network three times, which was delicious with real NY cheesecake!    From there it was all surprises to me because every day was fulfilling my secret wishes.  We ate out nearly every meal!  The last night we got food delivered. (Those of you who know me well know that I am the Queen of eating out whenever possible.)

[If you look at the blurry guy in the background between us you can see it is Geoffrey Zacharian – Master D and I were totally geeking out over him being there and doing our best to not seem like creepers getting a photo of him! He’s our favorite judge on “Chopped”]

The various places we went were either by taxi, private car [Lyft], subway once and walking the streets of NYC. I loved having lunch at a sidewalk cafe as well as eating at many upscale restaurants, and shopping at a street fruit stand..

It was special to see where Master D lived and walk by many people of all kinds coming and going from these residential apartments on the side streets. Eating breakfast with a couple who graduated with Master D from BYU and who are there trying to make it in theater was like the movies. Attending Sacrament Meeting at the Juilliard/Lincoln Center singles Ward was quiet so I could hear, and the congregation sounded like a choir.

[This photo was right across the street from the restaurant we ate at before we went to STOMP]

Of course the biggies of the trip included: the perfect show for me,” Stomp”, which was very loud rhythms with ordinary things,  great dancing and fun humor without having to hear any dialogue; visiting Columbia University; a horse and buggy ride through Central Park, and the final big surprise, the Helicopter ride over Manhattan!!  It all seems like a dream now.  Some of the best moments through it all were just spending time with KT and Master D without interruption.[Stomp was so loud that Master D and I were plugging our ears some of the time since we were in the 4th row, but mom had a smile on her face the entire time. The lead dancer on the left and one of the other main dancers/stompers on the right were in the lobby signing playbills – I absolutely love this photo!]

[Master D’s favorite view from Columbia’s campus looking down Amsterdam]

[When you can’t walk for hours to see an island 13 miles long, you adjust and find other ways to get the experience.  The helicopter was so fun to surprise her with – even though she was noticeably nervous as we took off over the water – the nervousness didn’t last very long]

I can never thank KT enough for this dream vacation and Master D for being such a gentleman and looking out for me.