{Girls Trip} NYC LIVE! - Day 5

We took things a little easy again this Sunday morning, attending church at Aunt E's and Uncle B's church, where Aunt E is the minister...

and after visiting with church members for a bit, we headed to a neighborhood spot, Maud's Tavern, for lunch...

We actually visited several years ago on a visit during B's Teen Trip back in 2019!

After lunch, we took the train into the city and visited a few of my bucket list bookstores in both Manhattan and Brooklyn...

The Strand in the East Village of Manhattan (which L and I visited on her Teen Trip back in 2022)!

The Ripped Bodice in Brooklyn...

and Books Are Magic, also in Brooklyn...

I felt liked we covered quite a bit of ground in Brooklyn...

before heading back to Manhattan to grab dinner at the delicious Chinese Tuxedo (where M and I ate on her Teen Trip back in 2023) in Chinatown...

Another fun day on tap for tomorrow...

{Girls Trip} NYC LIVE! - Day 4

This morning we, understandably, took it a little easier!

I deliberately left Saturday and Sunday kind of open so that we could do a couple of things Hubby wanted to do. He really wanted to go to a baseball game, and the NY Mets were playing at home against our very own Atlanta Braves (the NY Yankees were playing away)...  

So, we trucked it out to Queens, grabbed some lunch at the ballpark, and settled in for a HOT game...

I actually found a (bit) cooler and shadier spot!

We had our second celebrity sighting (kind of), as P!NK was there, as well, celebrating her son's birthday!

It was a great day, and our Braves WON!

Pictured below are some Atlanta Braves fans going incognito... HA!

After the game, we went and grabbed some local pizza at a tiny spot...

with A+ pizza, Lucia Pizza...

We got back to Uncle B and Aunt E's house in time to watch the NY Knicks WIN the NBA Finals!

{obviously NOT my photo, but isn't it awesome???}

What a time to be in New York! More tomorrow...

{Girls Trip} NYC LIVE! - Day 3

I'm not entirely sure that I can properly put this day into words, but I'll give it a go... As I alluded to yesterday, we knew that today would begin SUPER early, but had NO IDEA just how early!

A couple of weeks ago, when the hosts of The TODAY Show were discussing the upcoming guests for the Citi Concert Series that happens on most Fridays during the summer, I decided to see if anyone interesting would be in town when we were planning to be there. On a whim, I filled out the form for "fan passes" to the June 12th concert, as Niall Horan would be performing, and I knew my girls would enjoy it. I was pretty certain there was no chance anything would come of it, but filled out the form for fun. A couple weeks later, I got an email with the subject: "You're Going to Niall Horan on TODAY!" I initially did a doubletake, like what in the world??? But, alas, it was true! I got selected for a "fan pass" (which is completely free) and could bring up to three people along with me!

So, fast forward to last night... Because of the anticipated early morning, we had gotten a hotel for the night, and when we returned from dinner, we noticed that a line had already started forming. I was curious if it was a "fan pass" line, or maybe just a "standby" line, since our email confirmation had said to arrive by 5:15am to assure entry. We were thinking we should get there by at least 4:00am to be safe. So, I went to the front of the line to check it out, and the people in line did in fact have passes. Hearing this, L decided right then and there, that she was camping on the street. Now, this sounds nuts...I realize that, but perspective is everything, and as it turns out I have some. This was the very same sidewalk I once spent the night on for Saturday Night LIVE tickets back in the day, so I decided we could make this work. As I said, Hubby had gotten us a hotel room, and as luck (again) would have it, the hotel he chose (always Holiday Inn affiliated) happened to be RIGHT ACROSS from where you line up for the plaza, and not only that but, our room OVERLOOKED the sidewalk!

I don't even know how this happened...he was just trying to be somewhat close... Mind blown...seriously! 

So, I decided okay, let's do this. I wasn't going to let her do it entirely alone, so she got a quick shower, got dressed for the (next) day, and headed down to get in line (at about 10:15pm). While I was showering, Hubby and M went to find a blanket to sit on, and with that, the day (errr, I mean night) began...

{the people in line behind us had pool floats to lie on ~ we were clearly not prepared}

A couple of pics of the set up preparations...

and the POV of having a hotel room across the street, but choosing to spend the evening on the sidewalk instead...ooof!

It rained, and our set ups got soaked, but we persisted...

and I realized I'm not as young as I used to be...LOL!

I let L go up and have a minute to use the restroom, and sit for a bit in a dry, comfortable hotel room, and then we switched places, and I went up for a nap around 12:30am...

But, who can really and truly sleep when your child is on the sidewalk twenty-five floors below???

So, I did spend about three hours "napping", but in reality it was me texting her every 30 minutes to make sure she was all good...

Around 3:30am, I went back down to switch out with her again so she could come in for some more dry, comfortable restroom time! It was really neat to watch the progression of the stage set up from above!

Around 4:30am, our sleeping beauties joined us (they didn't get all that much sleep themselves), and we got ready to go in!!!

fan passes secured...

the back of the stage as we were going through security...

What we came to realize it that the fan pass holders were behind all of the VIPs (of course), plus another level of people with special Citi card holder passes. It was all good, and we were just happy to be there, plus EXTRA grateful L made the decision she made!

We actually ended up with a great spot. We had a fence to kind of lean on (for me, prop myself up on), and it was right where they'd created a walkway for the cameras and hosts...

so we saw Carson Daly right up close...

and made it on television multiple times, which is truly insane when you realize just how many people were there! In fact, we even got chosen to do one of the "shout outs" where they tell you what to say and film different groups for kind of a mash up of people visiting the plaza that day...

After our plaza experience, I went back to the room, because this momma was TIRED... Hubby and the girls went to grab a few small breakfast things to tide us over until lunch. We all showered, rested, packed, and checked out before heading over to lunch at Smith & Mills in Rockefeller Center...

ahead of our Tour at NBC Studios, where no photos are allowed...

I did this with B on his NYC Teen Trip back in 2019 and was excited to get to take Hubby and the girls this time. We got to visit the sets of Saturday Night Live (Studio 8H) and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Studio 6B) - foreshadowing, maybe??? After that, we got the opportunity to try our hands at our own talk show, On Air at NBC Studios...

along with the other guests on our tour. Hubby was a camera operator...

and the girls and I were the band! 

Afterwards, we took our tired bodies to Grand Central and caught the next train back to Uncle B and Aunt E's house where we promptly crashed. I don't think I even ate anything for dinner...pure exhaustion, but in the very best way! Taking it easier tomorrow, but more fun on tap!