Where do I even begin in telling about the trip that had a start which will not be forgotten for as long as I live. But let me back up a bit. In July, during Wimbledon, a friend texted and asked if I wanted to go to the US Open. I checked on ticket prices, etc. and decided that yes, it was doable. So we bought tickets, booked flights, chose a hotel, and I planned. We were to leave at 3:30 on Friday of Labor Day weekend.
As I left my house at 1:15 to head to the airport, I knew we were likely to be delayed. There was a storm rolling in and I was racing it to the airport. Sure enough, as soon as I got to the gate, we were delayed until 5:25, then it got pushed to 6:55, then bumped to 8:10, and then the big red CANCELLED letters popped up. Not just our flight but about 1/3 of American flights were cancelled according to the departures board. They had us go to the customer service area and wait in line. While in line, we got on our phones and found that there was no flight they could get us on until Sunday.
I started looking at flights out of Oklahoma City, and tried to book some but they had already sold out. Then I started looking at Austin. I found a JetBlue flight that left at 5:30 a.m. Saturday, so I booked those. We ended up standing in line for 3 hours to get to the customer service desk to find that they could do nothing. I mean nothing. They couldn't cancel our flights for a refund. They couldn't arrange for us to keep our flight from NYC back to Dallas on Monday, because that had to be cancelled since they were cancelling our flight there (WHAT?!?!).
I went and got in the hour plus long line to try and get our luggage back, while my friend went to get a rental car to drive and leave in Austin. At 10:30 p.m., I checked in with her on the phone and she said she wasn't feeling up to the trip. I asked if I could still take her rental and she said sure. After an hour and 20 minutes in the luggage line, turns out they couldn't even manage to get our luggage back for us!
So I left the airport at 11:00 p.m. in my rental car. I zoomed to McKinney as fast as the little Hyundai would take me. I had to stop by my law partner's house and get her key to my house, because I left my house key in my car (since I didn't think I'd be needing it so soon). I then raced home, threw some clothes and what toiletries I could into my GIANT suitcase. I decided I had 5 minutes to spare and took a quick bath to de-sweat from my ordeal and kind of wake up.
I left my house for the second time at around midnight. I listened to Podcasts all the way...I caught up on The West Wing Weekly, Pod Save the World, and Pod Save America. Thank goodness for them! They kept me awake. I stopped in Waco about 2:00 a.m. at Whataburger to stretch my legs, have a potty break, and get some caffeine. You know you look bad when Whataburger doesn't even charge you for your drink! I rolled into Austin Airport at 3:45 a.m. and did an after-hours rental car drop. Luckily the rental car places are right by the terminal, so it was a quick (well lit) walk to check in.
I told the JetBlue lady that my friend wasn't coming. Gave her a quick synopsis of the events and she said "I'm going to upgrade you to the exit aisle". I had been in such a fizz making reservations to any NYC airport, that I honestly didn't realize until I was on the flight and they said it was headed to JFK that I was flying into JFK instead of LaGuardia! I arrived at JFK at 10:15 a.m. and headed into the city. (Sidenote: I saw Bruce Bozzi as I walked through the airport. His family owns The Palm Steakhouses, he's BFF's with Andy Cohen, etc., and he attended George Clooney's wedding).
I got to the hotel (more on that later), showered, called American Airlines to cancel my flights (because that couldn't be accomplished at airport customer service after my 3 hour wait), changed clothes and then headed out to keep some semblance of my day's original plans.
I took an uber to The Met. "Camp: Notes on Fashion" was there for a few more days, so I wanted to catch that exhibit.
I then walked through Central Park for a bit. The weather was in the 70's so it was nice to be outside and not feel like you were on the sun.
I took a cab down to Macy's because I forgot, in my second mad-dash packing, to include a purse that I could take to tennis (my LV Neverfull was too large to be allowed in). I ended up stopping at Target first and got a serviceable crossbody that I thought was going to be $17.99, but ended up being $5. Score! I then walked back to my hotel and stoped at Pret a Manger for a sandwich.
I cancelled my dinner reservations for The Palm, and took an hour and a half nap instead. I then got ready and walked to the Theatre.
I had tickets to see To Kill A Mockingbird. I have been trying to figure out how to get to NYC to see this since it opened in December. It is so many of my favorite things: To Kill A Mockingbird, Aaron Sorkin wrote it (he wrote The West Wing... my favorite tv show ever), and Jeff Daniels stars as Atticus (and I love him in another Aaron Sorkin show "The Newsroom").
I am still gutted from this play. I cried and cried. My chest hurt from holding in sobs, and not just while I sat there in the theatre, but all the way back to the hotel, I was trying not to sob as I walked.
When I got back to the hotel, I ordered up room service and enjoyed dinner with a view from my bed.
I chose to stay at The Archer Hotel. It's right in midtown in the garment district on West 38th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. Since there were suppose to be two of us, I got a double room with the Empire View (the first pic in this post is from the room as well). It did have a fabulous view, and super comfy beds.
Some other neat things about the hotel:
They give you welcome caramels and water in your room (OMG the caramels were amazing);
They give you a nightly curated treat with the turn down service (chocolates, chocolate covered fortune cookies, and shortbread cookies);
and the hotel is connected to Charlie Palmer Steak, and they provide the room service until midnight.
That's a wrap on Day One and Two of NYC. Stay tuned for Day Three (spoiler alert: there is less drama!).
I never thought it would be so hard to get to NYC to enjoy this view!
I started looking at flights out of Oklahoma City, and tried to book some but they had already sold out. Then I started looking at Austin. I found a JetBlue flight that left at 5:30 a.m. Saturday, so I booked those. We ended up standing in line for 3 hours to get to the customer service desk to find that they could do nothing. I mean nothing. They couldn't cancel our flights for a refund. They couldn't arrange for us to keep our flight from NYC back to Dallas on Monday, because that had to be cancelled since they were cancelling our flight there (WHAT?!?!).
I went and got in the hour plus long line to try and get our luggage back, while my friend went to get a rental car to drive and leave in Austin. At 10:30 p.m., I checked in with her on the phone and she said she wasn't feeling up to the trip. I asked if I could still take her rental and she said sure. After an hour and 20 minutes in the luggage line, turns out they couldn't even manage to get our luggage back for us!
So I left the airport at 11:00 p.m. in my rental car. I zoomed to McKinney as fast as the little Hyundai would take me. I had to stop by my law partner's house and get her key to my house, because I left my house key in my car (since I didn't think I'd be needing it so soon). I then raced home, threw some clothes and what toiletries I could into my GIANT suitcase. I decided I had 5 minutes to spare and took a quick bath to de-sweat from my ordeal and kind of wake up.
Look how pathetic that suitcase is!
I left my house for the second time at around midnight. I listened to Podcasts all the way...I caught up on The West Wing Weekly, Pod Save the World, and Pod Save America. Thank goodness for them! They kept me awake. I stopped in Waco about 2:00 a.m. at Whataburger to stretch my legs, have a potty break, and get some caffeine. You know you look bad when Whataburger doesn't even charge you for your drink! I rolled into Austin Airport at 3:45 a.m. and did an after-hours rental car drop. Luckily the rental car places are right by the terminal, so it was a quick (well lit) walk to check in.
Me, worse for wear, walking to the terminal in Austin at 3:45 a.m.
I got to the hotel (more on that later), showered, called American Airlines to cancel my flights (because that couldn't be accomplished at airport customer service after my 3 hour wait), changed clothes and then headed out to keep some semblance of my day's original plans.
I took an uber to The Met. "Camp: Notes on Fashion" was there for a few more days, so I wanted to catch that exhibit.
I then walked through Central Park for a bit. The weather was in the 70's so it was nice to be outside and not feel like you were on the sun.
I took a cab down to Macy's because I forgot, in my second mad-dash packing, to include a purse that I could take to tennis (my LV Neverfull was too large to be allowed in). I ended up stopping at Target first and got a serviceable crossbody that I thought was going to be $17.99, but ended up being $5. Score! I then walked back to my hotel and stoped at Pret a Manger for a sandwich.
I cancelled my dinner reservations for The Palm, and took an hour and a half nap instead. I then got ready and walked to the Theatre.
I had tickets to see To Kill A Mockingbird. I have been trying to figure out how to get to NYC to see this since it opened in December. It is so many of my favorite things: To Kill A Mockingbird, Aaron Sorkin wrote it (he wrote The West Wing... my favorite tv show ever), and Jeff Daniels stars as Atticus (and I love him in another Aaron Sorkin show "The Newsroom").
When I got back to the hotel, I ordered up room service and enjoyed dinner with a view from my bed.
I chose to stay at The Archer Hotel. It's right in midtown in the garment district on West 38th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. Since there were suppose to be two of us, I got a double room with the Empire View (the first pic in this post is from the room as well). It did have a fabulous view, and super comfy beds.
Some other neat things about the hotel:
They give you welcome caramels and water in your room (OMG the caramels were amazing);
They give you a nightly curated treat with the turn down service (chocolates, chocolate covered fortune cookies, and shortbread cookies);
and the hotel is connected to Charlie Palmer Steak, and they provide the room service until midnight.
That's a wrap on Day One and Two of NYC. Stay tuned for Day Three (spoiler alert: there is less drama!).
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