This city wears me out in a good way

After a two and a half year hiatus from the Big Apple, Whitney and I planned a trip up to The City while her brothers were in town this last weekend. It was a whirlwind of a weekend and jam packed with all things New York.

I'm so exhausted but the trip was so worth it. 

Here's a recap:

 Made it to Times Square!

 Stardust Diner - the food = sub-par. The servers that sing Broadway while you eat = worth the sub-par food. As our server was dropping off our check she grabbed my hand and commented on the tiny CTR engraved ring that no one ever notices. "We pegged you guys the second you walked in," she said. Come to find out she graduated from BYU and grew up in AZ. Always nice to find Mormons everywhere. 

Saturday:

Staten Island Ferry with Manhattan in the background

First time at the 9/11 Memorial and I was very impressed. What a stunning and moving memorial!  

Freedom Tower from the bottom 

 We didn't want to pay to go to the top of the Empire State so the lobby was good enough

Seeing A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder for the first time. This play won the Tony for best musical in 2014 and it was awesome. Whit and I got rush tickets and ended up being in box seats which was a first. Loved the play!

Sunday:

Waiting in the freezing cold for rush ticket for Les Miserables. We were the 5th people in line but we had to do it. Ever since I met Whitney and we found out we're both die hard Les Mis fans we've awaited the day when we could see the play in person together. Sitting on the cold cement for two hours was worth it. 

Central Park on a crisp, fall day 

5th row seats! You could almost reach out and touch the actors! Now, I've seen Les Mis more times than I can count but being that close and seeing it on Broadway (the first time in 17 years since I last saw it on Broadway) made me really emotional at the end. I'm not ashamed to say I cried during the last 10 minutes. Also, the Asian women sitting next to us were insane. They asked Whit to take a picture of them and then tried climbing on the stage (English is difficult) and then got yelled at by an usher. "Hey, get off of there!"

Last stop: Top of the Rock - breathtaking 360 degree views even if it felt like Antarctica.  We made it there just during sunset!