An Alternate Reality

It's no big secret that I've been stressed to the max lately. It seems that the reason that I'm stressed is no longer a huge secret either. Which of course, added more stress last week.

I was reaching my breaking point and needed to clear my head.

So a plan was devised for me to take a short break from reality and enjoy some quiet time with a dear friend (we need a catchy moniker for him, don't we? For now I suppose we shall just call him Mr X) halfway across the country where he is currently residing.

I boarded the plane (yes, me, who has never flown in anything bigger than a single engine Otter) at 7 pm on Friday night. I'll admit, I was rather nervous. Flying, for the first time in a big plane, by myself. I didn't need to worry though. I had the sweet Mr X checking in on me through the whole process. We texted through my drive, through the check in, through security, during my long wait at the gate, a phone call to let him know I was safe on board, and another text to let him know I made my connecting flight. Out of the four planes I found myself on during the weekend, the first was the bumpiest due to turbulence from passing storms.

But I was a big girl and can proudly say that I handled it just fine.

I arrived on the East Coast at 12:15 in the morning and had to wait 45 minutes for the rental car agency's shuttle to pick me up. Then I was off on a 2 hour drive through New England. Let me tell you, 55 mph speed zones on Interstates just about kill me anymore!

I arrived safely at the hotel at about 3:30. Yawn, that was an exhausting trip, but I found myself wide awake by the time I arrived at my destination.

After a few hours of sleep it was time to get up and not let the day waste away. X had a plan.

I wasn't completely aware of the plan. "Let's drive into the city today. I want to see your reaction when you explore the city for the first time," he said.

New York City?

Wow, yes! I would love to see the city! I assumed in my naturally unsuspecting way that we would just walk around for a little while and maybe grab some lunch. I had no clue what an amazing day was ahead of me.

We set off from the hotel about 11:00, stopping on our two hour drive for a quick sandwich. As we approached the Big Apple my eyes widened in amazement. So many buildings (an architectural wonderland to be sure), so much traffic. I took in all the graffiti as we cruised past the Bronx, watched all the cars dart in and out of lanes in front and beside us. I think I would have had a panic attack driving through that chaos!

We drove past Central Park East. I took in with joy and awe all the street vendors, pedestrians, and bicycles as we passed. What a different world from mine.

We found a parking garage that would be open late and started our foot journey. I'm glad I opted for tennis shoes instead of sandals, but could have done without my sweater or purse. It had turned out to be a gorgeous sunny day.

X gave me a short tour to get my bearings before we stopped for a "snack" at Famiglia Pizzeria. His plan was that we would look over our options for a show that evening and have our dinner after. The snack to get us through was much bigger than what I consider a snack. My "slice" of New York Style cheese pizza was bigger than my plate! It was delicious, but oh so filling. I made an honest attempt to finish it all, but I just couldn't.

After our snack we ducked into a pub to escape the sun and crowds. While we sipped our Stella Artois we enjoyed watching the crowd's reaction to the World Cup tie game between the USA and England.

Walking down the street after our little break we came across another crowd. This one was outside of the Addams Family musical. The 2:00 showing had just finished a short while before. Rumor was that Nathan Lane had snuck out the side door, but we were able to get a shot of me with Kevin Chamberlin who plays Uncle Fester.

From here on out Mr X took over photography duties. Mostly I think because I was still staring in awe at everything and forgetting that the camera was in my possession. I didn't even manage to get a shot of him for myself! I will give him credit though for making me feel a little more comfortable in front of the camera!

Our stroll led us back up to Times Square. We checked the ticket board and decided that we would try to see Westside Story if we could. The line for the ticket booth was outrageous though, so X decided that it would be best if we waited awhile to purchase our seats.

We strolled through a few of the big hotels to cool off and made our way over to FAO Schwartz . There weren't very many opportunities to play there, but there were a ton of life size stuffed animals to be impressed by.

Shh... I almost knocked this bear over while I was posing.

We didn't make it up quite far enough to see the Empire State Building, but you can see it here in the background. I think I probably disappointed X a slight bit on our venture down 5th Avenue. I was more impressed by the architecture on the old churches than window shopping at stores I wouldn't be able to afford to even daydream about. Not that I wouldn't have liked to daydream, but there was so many other things to still be impressed by. Besides, I think by this point I may have entered over-stimulation overload!

It was time to work our way back to the theater now to see about getting tickets to the evening show. Along the way we paused to see just what they do with Rockefeller Center when it's not being used as an ice skating rink. Turns out they turn it into a cafe during the warmer months.

Don't I look like such a tourist with my purse crossing my chest and my sweater tied around my waist? Radio City Music Hall was closed that night in preparation of the Tony Awards the next night. I could have paid $6 to watch the Tony's on the plane ride home but decided against it. From what my theatre involved friends and family tell me that was a wise choice this year.

We made it back to the Palace Theatre in time for Mr X to get a great deal on our theater seats, then scoped out a restaurant for after the show. We took a short subway ride back up towards Central Park just so I could say I had been on the subway. We made our way on foot back to toward the theatre, arriving early enough that we could duck into Famous Dave's for a glass of wine.

The show was phenomenal! X had managed to get us front row seats. If I leaned forward just a little bit I could watch the Orchestra (which was fantastic). I was very thrilled to see that the Orchestra included a Bass Clarinet. Oh, that brings back the memories. The whole production was so amazing and perfect that I hope I can still find satisfaction in the musicals that I attend back home! I don't think X has any clue how thrilled I was with attending an actual Broadway production as I was almost to the point of exhaustion by the time we left the theatre and felt I couldn't express my awe properly.

After the show we had a wonderful and filling Italian dinner of Rigatoni 4 Formaggi and Scaloppine Allo Chardonnay at Tramonti. Between the meal and a glass of wine I fell asleep before we even made it out of New York. I feel kind of bad that X had to drive the whole way back without any company.

The next morning we felt the need to get out of the hotel again. Neither one of use really seems to like good-byes, and a trip to the beach seemed the perfect way to lighten the thoughts of having to bid our adieus in a few hours.

I wish I had taken a picture of the rules posted at the beach. We decided that the people that run the boardwalk must be fun-haters. The rules stated that you couldn't play ball or Frisbee on the beach, or go barefoot on the boardwalk among other things. We ventured to a private beach instead and admired the houses and discussed the flooding risks of such properties.

We still had a few hours left before I had to pack and drive back to the airport, so X suggested we visit a little port town.

Mystic can be seen in the background and seems the quintessential little New England town filled with shops, sailboats, and drawbridges. It was a lovely afternoon strolling through town viewing the storefronts, people, and inns.

You may remember the photo I posted for this week's challenge theme. The subject was the drawbridge in that we strolled across. The photo above is the sail boat that cruised through after the bridge was raised.

I said my good-bye to Mr X and left the hotel at 4:00. He continued to text with me throughout the flight delays that I ran into, calming my fears of being stranded.

I arrived home just before 2:00 Monday morning and managed to get myself into work by 7:30. It was a whirlwind weekend with very little sleep, but so worth the exhaustion I am still slightly feeling. I am so grateful that X gave me the break from reality that I needed and even more than I expected.

After a full night sleep Monday night I feel refreshed and ready to tackle my struggles again :)