Won't He Do It!!! (Part 2)

     I know what you're thinking: "how could anything equal let alone top the exciting drama of the last Chronicle?!" Well, I don't want to undermine the sweet memories and the truly fantastic night on Broadway, but...

     The morning after our extraordinary night dawned cold and cloudy. With something like 4 hours of sleep that night, our first destination of the day was coffee! Krista and I met early to grab Starbucks around the corner and also to scope out our group's breakfast joint down the street, Ellen's Stardust Diner, since neither of us had been there before. It was a charming 50's diner just 4 blocks from Hotel Edison, so we decided it would be most efficient to walk the group rather than drive.  

tour guide juice!

    Back at the hotel, our buses had arrived from New Jersey, and our group was assembling in the lobby to load their luggage aboard the motor coaches. It was a bit of a process with 80 people and a parking spot for only 1 bus at a time, but we eventually had all of our people accounted for and all of our bags on board. Four blocks later, we arrived at the Stardust on 51st & Broadway - where the waitstaff not only serve their customers but they sing to them as well! :) It was such a fun and festive start to the day - they even sang a few Christmas songs which really set the tone for the rest of the day...

*note the singing waitstaff in the background! :) @Ellen's Stardust Diner 

     After breakfast, our next destination was Pier 78 - where we'd be catching our sightseeing cruise boat. We were, however, nearly an hour early. So we chilled in the very small waiting area: it gave the group plenty of time to use the restroom (always the trickiest part of our job!), and Krista & I extra time to talk and mingle with group one last time. As far as we knew, that was to be our last time really hanging out with them: after the 90 minute cruise, they would have a few hours to shop and eat on 5th Ave and then we'd be off to the airport. So, Krista and I took the opportunity to get some feedback from the people - critiques, improvements, favorite memories (if they only knew what would be a stand out memory later that day...)

     An hour later, we were all aboard our vessel. It was quite cold out, so the lower, enclosed deck was the place of choice for most of the group. Krista and I holed up in one of the booths and were shortly joined by the three school staff. Again we looked for feedback on the trip, but we also just shot the breeze as we sipped our hot chocolate and waved at Lady Liberty through the foggy window. 

Hello, Freedom Tower

    Our buses were waiting back at the pier for us after we'd made the loop around the southern tip of Manhattan and past the Statue. They drove us back towards mid town and dropped us off at the Rockefeller Plaza around 11:30. The group had 2 hours to eat and shop and putter. Many had an interest in seeing Central Park, so we pointed them 10 blocks north. And they were off! As were we.

Radio City Music Hall at the Rockefeller Plaza.  Looking so festive! :) 

     Krista and I popped into a shop or two on 5th Avenue before we started on our march - my actual quest - to the most important site in NYC that time of year: Macy's! Sixteen blocks later, there we stood in the very place the Parade would end on Thanksgiving day in less than a week! I was dying :) We poked inside to see the sparkles and wonder, and then back outside to see the snow beginning to fall! It was magical. That's all I wanted to do with my time that afternoon. My to-do list was complete. 

Miracle on 34th St!! Just days away from the Thanksgiving Day Parade!  :)


Macy's! :)

     Food sounded good as well. We'd passed Chick-fil-a on our walk and decided to return for a frozen coffee: because *obviously what do 2 northern girls do when it snows for the first time?! Eat ice cream!!! Our appetizer was followed by donuts in Bryant Park, the ever satisfying $.99 slice of pizza down the road, and then a quick stop at Duane Reade for snacks and supplies for our hotel that evening. By then the wet snow was really coming down and the wind had picked up. The holiday magic was gone. Snowstorm Avery had arrived!

Chick-fil-a frozen coffee <3

Bryant Park Christmas Village

Tasty mini donuts from Bryant Park


Rockefeller Plaza tree in the process of being decorated! 

     Earlier that day we'd been alerted that the group's flight out of Newark had been delayed a bit.  Regardless, we were still leaving NYC earlier than scheduled in loo of the weather and with the possibility that maybe their flight would be "un-delayed." Getting off the island wasn't a whole lot worse than usual: we were through the Lincoln tunnel within 30/40 minutes. But upon emerging from the 1.5 mile tunnel under the Hudson into New Jersey, our situation became bleak. We were now in a white-out, travel nightmare. Fog, wind, ice, and far faster snow accumulation than anyone had anticipated made for a terrorizing next few hours! Back in Manhattan, I'd put the movie "Elf" on for the kids to watch en route to the airport thinking that they could at least watch the first half. Turns out we could have watched the whole thing TWICE! The usual 45 minute drive became a 3.5 hour white-knuckle drive.

     As bus #2, I had only the rear of bus #1 to look at - as well as all of the vehicles stuck in the ditch and along the shoulder as we drove by. For mile after mile we inched along - 5-10 MPH, continued accumulation, no daylight, slim visibility, and literally countless accidents along the route - until we finally came to a stand still with little hope of moving anytime soon. The drivers actually got out and had a snowball fight in the middle of I-95 just to release some tension! We did end up moving eventually, but the situation only got worse. Cars were littered across the interstate like a scene from an apocalypse movie. We literally had to snake our way through cars, semis and buses that were flashing hazards and spinning hopelessly in place mid highway. Much of that part of New Jersey is rivers and marshy meadowlands, so the roads are mostly just really long bridges - the icy conditions defy anything I've ever seen in my 31 years in Wisconsin! 

*note the footprints from our drivers' snowball fight

Weaving through stopped traffic

      There is no question in my mind that it was the hand of God that allowed us to safely navigate to the airport. We should have been stuck out there with the masses of humanity struggling and spinning and stuck. But make it we did - with 2 hours to spare to make their even more delayed flight. WON'T HE DO IT!!!

    We soon had our people checked in with Alaska Airlines and off to security at EWR. It's always a bittersweet experience (for me anyway): glad to be done with work, but also sad to say goodbye to the new found friends. And that group was exceptional! Krista and I noted the whole week how blessed we were that our last school tour of the year was with such an awesome group: sweet, smart kids; kind, appreciative parents; and teachers who were easy to work with and fun to hang with! WON'T HE DO IT!!!

      There were a few extra long goodbyes as they took their final photos with us and expressed their thanks (seriously, such a sweet group!!) But when the final chaperone group descended the escalator towards the security check point, Krista and I melted. Exhaustion, emotion, stress, and fatigue finally caught up to us. It was all we could do to stagger to a chair. For those of you who know her, Krista, Miss #butseriouslywheresmycoffe, didn't even want coffee! That's how done we were. So tea and hot chocolate from Dunkin Donuts it was. We found one of the last tables left in terminal 2. All around us were stranded people who's flights were canceled, who couldn't get a taxi or a hotel, and who were sharing battery packs because all available outlets were in use. We didn't really have a plan. We had hotel reservations nearby but no way to get there: the shuttles were taking hours, and we had no desire to go back out in that weather! We had no energy to even think at that point. But we had our Duane Reade snacks, and we were safe even if we were a wreck. 

we reached a new low

    We continued to watch our group's flight status: delay upon delay until finally, around 9:30, their flight was officially cancelled. Long story short: the airport requires that all passengers leave the terminal and retrieve their luggage at baggage claim.
     Once again, Krista and I were back on the clock. We quickly made our way down to the claim area - in close communication all the while with our office and the teachers in charge. The airline had booked the group on the 10am flight the next day, but our buses were already in Maryland, hotels were booked, shuttles weren't running, roads were impassible, and the taxi line (which was next to our baggage claim) was a 6 hour wait! Our future was clear: we'd be spending the night at the airport with our 80 forever friends! :) Who would have guessed those teary goodbyes would be so short lived. 

     The group was unaware that Krista and I had never left the airport, so when they descended the escalator to baggage claim and saw their two favorite, smiling tour guides awaiting them, their dismay quickly turned to shock and then delight. Quickly turning a horrible situation into a laugh and an adventure is what we do best! :) I chatted it up with the kids and parents for a while while Krista and the teachers quickly scouted out the area for a place for 80 people to camp out for the night. Providentially there was a large empty space between the escalators where most of the kids could lay out with chairs enough for the adults nearby! 

     Things kept moving. Krista and I ran for cases of water, the baggage arrived, the kids congregated in cozy friend groups, card games were started, scavenging ensued (the only thing open was right at the top of the escalator: Hudson News), pizza was ordered, blankets were delivered by the airline, and people actually dozed off.

      I was mentally and physically done before the clock struck 12! The Cinderella of the night before was now the miserable, grungy maiden. Good thing I had a fairy godmother - Krista, the night owl, took care of me that night with heat packs, and snuggly scarves, and water, and snacks, and her laptop to fix my glitching phone, and her ever sparkling personality! :) #Blessed WON'T HE DO IT! Literally could not have survived without her! And as cold and uncomfortable as I was, I kept thinking about how it could have been worse - we could have been stuck out on the highway all night! We could have been in a hospital like how many other people! I could have been with a tour guide who wasn't as much favourite!! We could have had a group that griped and complained and cried all night! But no. How blessed was I!?!

Snack fairy had my back! :) 

I was doner than done!

     Morning dawned, Krista appeared with coffee, and everyone was anxious to get checked in again, go back through security, and get reassembled near their gate. We woke up the kiddos, cleaned up our area, and again seamlessly sent them off towards their plane. The goodbyes were no less sincere this time, but they were for sure much faster! 

     Deja Vu! Our group was gone, and we were without a plan. Krista's flight to Texas was canceled and my rental car didn't seem like a good idea: I had no desire to drive in my condition or the road's. The ACTS office gave us the green light to make whatever plans necessary. Hotels near the airport were still full from the weather backup, so...

     Slowly all the pieces to a brilliant plan began to fit together: Uber into NYC, hotel downtown, we could sleep, hang, and then Amtrak south later that weekend for our next job in DC or to New Jersey (my original weekend plans were to see friends there). 

   *Cue soaring, miraculous music!* It is a dream from here on out and reads like a Hallmark script!

     Our Uber driver was prompt and so nice. WON'T HE DO IT!!! As we pulled away from the terminal curb, the sun came out and a double rainbow appeared! WON'T HE DO IT!!!

     The roads and traffic had cleared, and we pulled up to our hotel just over 30 minutes later! WON'T HE DO IT!!! Even though it was 9:30am we were able to check in early! WON'T HE DO IT!!!

So excited for a shower and a bed! Also, first and second time staying in NYC  - 2 days in a row!  WON'T HE DO IT!!!

The hotel was gorgeous. The shower was fantastic. The beds were soft. And we both took a 90 minute nap before hitting the town! Krista had had an epiphany on our drive into NYC - to see the Radio City Rockettes!! Tickets were on sale, far cheaper than we'd imagined, and they had a matinee that day!  WON'T HE DO IT!!!

Who would have guessed we'd be back - and for the actual Christmas Spectacular Show!?!?!  WON'T HE DO IT!!!

Radio City foyer! STUNNING!

Just a couple of small town girls...!! :)

Our seats were so close!! 

the Rockettes!! :) :) 

could not get over that chandelier!

had to visit the vintage bathroom! :) 

     After the show and a thousand pictures, we hit the streets! We wandered up and through Central Park in love with it's freshly snow-covered look, enjoyed some creepy street musicians, admired the architecture, relived every New York movie scene, and stopped to watch the seals at the zoo!

Central Park

The Met 

The Plaza Hotel 

     We eventually got hungry, so we stopped at a classic diner type restaurant on 6th. We were ready for a taste of home at that point. We walked right in and sat down, but by the time we left, the waiting line was wrapped around the building!  WON'T HE DO IT!!!

hit the spot!
We were starting to wear down but not before one last walk by of  Macy's and a stop at Sephora.

     And that just about did us in! We wandered back to our hotel, put the face mask on we'd bought at Sephora, and tried to watch a movie, but we were both so exhausted we fell asleep just a few minutes into it. What a day it had been! Cinderella round two! Except the sequel was just as good/better than the first!! :) When does that ever happen?! Oh. I know. When God writes your story! ;) WON'T HE DO IT!!!

     We didn't know this when we booked the hotel, but it was one block from Madison Square Garden and the Amtrak Penn Station! :) WON'T HE DO IT!! So the next morning, I simply walked around the corner and hopped aboard an early train bound for Philadelphia where my friends (who just *happened to be going that way that weekend... WON'T HE DO IT!!!) picked me up, and my original plan of seeing the Williams family was back on! Hours of laughter and heartwarming family time... WON'T HE DO IT!
      Krista stayed an extra day in NYC and was joined by her mom that night for one more day of sightseeing and adventure before they boarded an Amtrak for DC on Sunday afternoon. I was able to jump on that same train when it came through Philly so we could rehash and reminisce and write our work report on the ride in. WON'T HE DO IT!!! A day later we were homeward bound - back to our small town worlds in Minnesota and Wisconsin. But we would never be the same again!

Fancy meeting you on this train! :) 

Last ACTS pic of the year: I started 2018 with Emma and finished with Krista

     I cannot say it enough: my God is good! He blesses and protects; He tests and He rewards! I'm simply a recipient of unmerited grace! He gets all the praise! Because HE WILL DO IT!!! :)