Surprise anniversary trip

David surprised me with an anniversary trip to New York! 

He made this pamphlet that explained all the details.

 

It was a wonderful, whirlwind of a weekend.

A limo picked us up from the airport. (I was totally shocked!)

 We ate dinner at our hotel and we were off to our first Broadway show of the weekend.

Although we have both seen Mary Poppins, it was so much fun to see it again.  Gavin Lee who plays Burt is fantastic!  The night we first saw the show in Los Angeles our Mary didn't fly at the end.  Something happened with her harness and we missed her climactic flight through the audience.  We were glad to see that part of the show this time.

The next day, our only full day in New York, was packed full of activities and sights to see.  We started our day early with breakfast delivered to our room.

We saw the view of the city from the top, top floor of the Empire State Building.

We took a harbor cruise past Wall Street.

The the boat also took us past the Statue of Liberty.  We were both surprised at how moving it was to see this iconic piece of our history.  It made us appreciative our ancestors who had the courage to come to this foreign land and who sacrificed so much.

  It was also humbling to think that Heavenly Father prepared this blessed land so that the gospel of Jesus Christ could be restored. New York was the state that invited immigrants from all over the world.  The New York people must have been welcoming and open to new ideas.  It can't be coincidence that  New York was also the state where Joseph Smith would bring forth the Book of Mormon. 

We also saw the sky line and marveled at the open space left vacant by the two twin towers of the former World Trade Center.

   

Our next stop was the 9/11 memorial.  

It really was sacred ground.  It is unfathomable to this that this site was the last resting spot for over 3,000 people.  The memorial is so well done.  The image of the water continuing to flow--with no end-- symbolized to me both the circle of life and also the idea of eternity.

While in the lower part of Manhattan we stopped by the New York temple.  Again, what a wonderful blessing to have a temple in the city.  And what a wonderful feeling there was on that sacred ground.

We had lunch at a fresh, organic restaurant.  David worked hard to find good places to eat.  No New York pizza for us.  Instead we had a seven layer vegetable quiche and salad.  We also had a black beans, tomatoes and avocado piece with a hummus sauce.

David had a watermelon and cucumber cooler.

 Next, we were off to the matinee of Peter and the Star Catcher.  It recently was nominated for 9 Tony awards and won 5 of them.  I had really high expectations for the show.  Alex Timber's directing was  terrific and the costume, sets, and music was all well done.  Unfortunately, I was disappointed at the few moments of debased humor.  The use of crass double entendres was unnecessary.  There is just no need for that.  It reminded me of the importance of creating art and music and dance that is uplifting and full of the Spirit.

 Dinner was at Charlie Parker's Aureole featured the most amazing food we have ever eaten.  

It was such a treat to go there.

After dinner we headed to Wicked.  Again, we had both seen the show before but I have to say the show on Broadway was much better than the tour.  The award-winning Jackie Burns, who played Elphaba, was so talented and truly a joy to watch.

We really enjoyed our time in New York and the opportunities to take in the sites and sounds of the crowded streets and the screeching taxis as well as more famous places like Central Park, 5th Avenue, 42nd Street, Wall Street, and Time Square. 

 

I feel very blessed to be married to the man of my dreams, and I'm grateful for this unique time together. Thank you, sweetheart!