Wow! I never thought we would be in NYC for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, but when the Million Dollar Band was invited in 2019 to go for the 2020 parade, I thought it might be a fun opportunity. Jacob was in the band and was excited! But then....2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Jacob had a really tough year with online school, but had a nice surprise when Macy's invited the band back for the 2021 parade. This began our journey too.
On November 22, 2021, we set off on our adventure! We had a direct flight from Birmingham, and after getting my parents safely on their plane to Chicago, we were NYC-bound. We landed at LaGuardia around 4 pm, and after getting bags, headed towards the Uber area so we could meet our driver, Oumarou. He deftly handled the NYC area and took us to our hotel, the Moxy at Times Square on 36th Street in Manhattan.
The room was a shoebox, somehow managing to fit a queen-size bed, a twin-size loft, and a nice-sized bathroom in it. There were pegs all along one well which held a luggage rack, a chair, and a small table where you could sit and eat! But it was comfortable and clean, and that's what mattered.
We immediately set out to get to a dinner reservation at Havana, a Cuban restaurant that was close by. It really wasn't busy, which was great, and they immediately "carded" us - "Can I see your vaccination card?" Not something we were used to! Randall ordered the shrimp appetizer called Gambas Al Ajillo and I ordered the Ropa Vieja, which was basically a brisket and rice. Neither was amazing, but it filled us up and we headed off to Rockefeller Center. On the way, we got a Metro card just in case. We also stopped at Bryant Park and looked at the shops and the skating rink. I thought about skating, but Randall said we didn't need to break our ankle, which was probably wise, but sad. We were heading to go to Top of the Rock to see the city. And see it we did! We were able to go out and get a full view of Manhattan: the Empire State Building, Brooklyn, On the way back to our hotel I realized we would be walking a LOT! We walked about 20 blocks that night.
The next morning, Jacob joined us. We decided to go to the Intrepid Air & Space Museum, but had to wait for him to get his breakfast at Hard Rock. So we first got bagels at Liberty Bagel. I got an everything Bagel with 1/2 Avocado Cream Cheese and 1/2 Jalapeno Cream Cheese. Randall got a bagel with Strawberry Cream Cheese AND a bagel with Blueberry Cream Cheese. Sadly he didn't like either one of them! However, I loved min. We headed out and then walked around Times Square, saw the Good Morning America area, and met Jacob at his hotel. We walked towards the Hudson Yards area, where the museum was, and enjoyed looking at the brownstones, people watching, and the different stores along the way, even though it was a cold morning. We were first in line at the Intrepid. It was such a great place to visit! We boarded the aircraft carrier, got to see a lot of Navy fighter jets, and walked around the carrier and learned about the history of the Intrepid over the course of its lifetime. She fought in WWII, served in the Cold War and Vietnam, and then was used to recover NASA shuttles in the 60s. She served as the FBI ops center after 9/11, also. In addition, we had a chance to walk through the space shuttle Enterprise, and also the submarine called Growler. The Growler is the only guided missile sub open to the public. The whole museum was so well done and we enjoyed it thoroughly.
We headed back to Times Square to grab some lunch and get ready for the Rockettes show at 2. We had a time trying to find the right food truck - I wasn't starving after the bagels and we knew we had food coming later that night. We ended up at a Barrio food truck right next to Radio City Music Hall. It took a while to get our two tacos so we missed getting to see the Crimsonettes perform on stage. Also, we again had the same reaction - I enjoyed my taco, but Randall did not. This might have been a theme...
Radio City Music Hall near the Rockefeller Center near 50th St is a beautiful art deco building. My friend Rita told me there was a nautical theme in the decorations - she went on the tour. Finding our seats was a bit confusing, and we encountered the militant nature of the ushers that are in NYC. But after settling in, we had a great time - the show puts you in the Christmas spirit for sure. The Rockettes' dancing was incredible - they had several scenes in it. And, surprisingly, there was a nativity scene and scripture quoted during the show. We loved it.
We headed out and went towards Grand Central Station on 42nd St. We were able to admire the interior concourse and learn about it from a tour that Rita sent me: https://freetoursbyfoot.com/grand-central-terminal/. We went to the market at the back of the terminal, learned about Jackie O's involvement, and also realized they removed a lot of seating in the basement food area because of Covid. But we did have a chance to go to the Whispering Gallery and try it out. So cool that the arches in the gallery allow you to hear someone whispering in the corner! We then went to the NYC public library, not too far away. Randall took the time to sit while I went into the free Polonsky exhibit to see the Treasures there. This building was built in the 1890s in an ornate style and is flanked by two iconic lions at the front. It was incorporated into the library system by a large donation from Andrew Carnegie. The exhibit I went to had several important literary artifacts, but the building itself is just gorgeous. After leaving there, we headed towards Birdland to hear some Jazz. This is a jazz club that has been around since 1949, although in a different location, with jazz greats such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. We heard Ken Peplowski and his trio. Definitely an offbeat group, but it was nice to sit and listen to music and have a good meal. That ended Tuesday!
Wednesday morning dawned sunny and cold again. We decided to take the Hop-on, Hop-off bus to the Financial District. We discovered that most of the people that work for this company were from other countries. The ride there was thankfully warm in the bus, but several folks had to sit in the top area without a heater. Also, the "tour" itself was not that great; it was a recorded tour that you could listen to on some terrible headphones. We left the bus near the Brooklyn Bridge area and walked first towards the Charging Bull. This is a pretty famous statue in the Financial district. We also saw the church where Alexander Hamilton was buried. We walked past the New York Stock Exchange and was surprised at how much construction was going on that really prevented you from seeing the building in its glory. I also took a picture with the "Fearless Girl" in front of the NYSE. She used to be next to the Charging Bull but they moved her for some reason. We were super cold that morning but we decided to make the trek to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was busy on that bridge! Apparently it's a 2-hour walk but we walked for 15 minutes and turned back. It's a wooden bridge and I could feel everyone on it.
We headed towards the 9/11 memorial but made a stop at the Stage Door Deli. That was a great meal, actually! We were cold and ready to eat so it was nice to be able to do just that. Afterward, we walked towards the memorial. We saw the Oculus and the World Trade Center but didn't take time to look closely at it. We knew we wanted to see the memorial. The museum was not open, so we had to settle for the experience of feeling grief and remembrance and peace. It seemed to me to be a bit holy because there is a reverence you feel knowing so many people died on that site. We saw a number of people rush to someone that may have passed out. We weren't sure. Regardless, we stayed for a while and looked at both buildings' memorials.
We then walked towards the Staten Island Ferry. There were a lot of people heading in the direction of the departing ferry, and everyone seemed in a hurry. But no need to fear because the boat held everyone. We got an exterior seat on the Statue of Liberty side and were able to sit down. But who can sit in the presence of greatness. I stood up as people crowded in front of us to get a good view of Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. I thought of the many people that came the same way that first landed on these shores. Did they know how hard they would work, or how they would shape a country? Did they know the land of the free and the home of the brave would face two world wars and many internal struggles? Of course they didn't. They were looking for hope, and they saw it in this statue. After we passed, we went into the heated area as we prepared for the return trip, which was uneventful. These ferry captains knew exactly how to get the boat into the right spot.
After leaving the Ferry, we decided to ride back on the Hop-on Hop off bus which seemed to take a while to get back to us. We climbed back on and realized the headphones weren't working. The industrious bus driver decided to stop at a few different places on the way back and narrate for us about where George Washington would have a pint, amongst other examples. He was pretty funny. It did take a while to get back to the right location so we could get to our dinner reservation at Carmine's at 4:45. Overall, the bus was a pretty slow way to see NYC and I wouldn't go on it again. But we made it to the restaurant and were seated upstairs next to a grandmother and granddaughter from Mississippi. They were celebrating the granddaughter's 16th birthday (even though she was 17). We soon realized we should have just shared a meal with them. The portions at Carmine's were HUMONGOUS. We got garlic bread and spaghetti and meatballs, and maybe ate 1/8th of it. Between our two tables, I'm sure they threw out at least 8 meals. C'est la vie. Finally we made our way to the Majestic to see Phantom of the Opera! It was so good. I realized the ushers and theater staff in general were very rules-based and stern. I suppose they have to be - everyone crowds in from many countries and no one knows what to do. But we enjoyed ourselves and the production.
Thursday dawned too soon. I was ready to go around 5:45 and went and got some coffee at the Dunkin Donuts. I saw some Macy's parade workers and got excited! But we didn't leave the hotel until about 6:20. We walked hurriedly towards Times Square, trying to find the right spot. I was hesitant as usual about getting aggressive and missed a spot, but then Randall spotted a mailbox that had an empty space on front of it. We took it quickly, although we surprised someone next to us. Thankfully she was very kind and let us crowd in next to her. We were very close to Grand Central Terminal and saw may groups of people go by with suitcases. Our neighbors on our left were from Texas and Connecticut. One of the ladies had a daughter in an all-girls marching band. About 8:15, we had neighbors on our right that had hired people to hold spots for them with chairs. That cost them $300 but they felt it was well worth it. They seemed to be South Asian, and they were from Texas and had a daughter in a dancing group called Spirit of America. It's easy to be chatty with people that you spend 2-4 hours in the freezing cold with, and so we did, along with a lot of people watching (many policy officers and parade staff). Finally, at 9 am, the parade was underway! I got a few updates from Rita who was closer to the start. We began seeing the turkey around 9:40 am, and had a great view from our front spot. It was such a cool thing to be at this parade which I've watched on TV for so many years. We saw some great floats, lots of good performances, and even saw celebrities - Steve from Blues Clues, Andy Grammer, Girls5Eva, Kelly Rowland, Kristin Chenowith, and Darren Criss - who I'm convinced said Happy Thanksgiving to ME. But the best part was seeing the Million Dollar Band do their thing and do it WELL. We heard them play Tusk and the Fight Song on the streets of New York. Roll Tide!
After going back to the hotel and getting a shower, we decided to walk and go to Central Park. Randall found a pizza place and we split one together. We also walked the whole way. Central Park is a surprisingly green part of the heart of NYC. I tried to find some fun spots in it where movies were filmed - the area where Avengers was, where Enchanted and Home Alone were, and just the views that seemed so familiar from so many TV shows. We did take some time to sit and just enjoy the better weather because it warmed up that afternoon. There were a lot of people doing the same thing, so we left after a while so I could see the Plaza. What a beautiful hotel. No visitors allowed, and the exterior was under construction. But what I could see was amazing. I imagined Eloise getting out of her apartment and commanding her nanny to get gifts - because right around the corner was 5th Avenue! We went through and did lots of window gazing - I think Bergdorf Goodman had the best. But we walked by many ritzy places, and Randall even saw a fake Donald Trump in front of Trump Tower there. Lots of shopping - Tiffany's, Saks, etc - and some beautiful hotels and churches in the area. We also walked through Rockefeller Center and saw the unlit tree!
Finally, we headed to our pickup location for Thanksgiving dinner with the band. We went to Liberty House, in New Jersey, to have a "traditional" (quotes mine) Thanksgiving meal with them. We were able to see Jacob and also invited Jayden and her friend Daniel to join our table. We shared it with some nice people from Illinois who had a senior in the band. The food was brought out in courses - stuffing and cranberry sauce first, green beans and yams next, the turkey and ham last. It was not the best Thanksgiving meal, but we were glad to see Jacob. We left that night and went back to the hotel.
The next morning we headed straight to the airport early by boarding the subway with our luggage. It was not too hard to do! This saved us $50, since that was an Uber ride. We spent all day traveling (strangely delayed by someone getting ill on our plane to Atlanta) and waited on my parents that evening. But our memories were full, our experiences were fun, and we were happy for a week doing something totally different than we were used to. What a great trip.
