Classic New York City Tourist Agenda

Last week, Megan and I traveled to NYC with my sister to visit Mary's husband Long. He had been working there for several months and we all decided to take advantage of his company-paid Times Square area hotel. It was only a two day trip, but we certainly made the most of it. We did all the classic Times Square area tourist activities.
We went shopping on Fifth Avenue.
We ate out. Carl recommended a restaurant called Vynl. All the menus were printed on the backs on vinyl album covers. The desert menus were printed on 45's. It was perfect if the group you were traveling with was hungry for both comfort food and Thai.
That evening we saw the Broadway adaptation of Hairspray. I never saw the original John Waters movie nor the recent film, but I really enjoyed the stage version. It was back-to-back show stopping numbers. As a bonus, one of the performers who nearly stole the show was Darlene Love of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" fame. It was a nice surprise, especially considering the season.

The following morning was dominated by Megan's agenda. Her favorite television show was "The View": the one with Barbara Walters and a tableful of chatty women. She wanted to be part of the live audience. Most audience members requested their seats months in advance. However, Megan wanted Mary and I to wait with her that cold, wintry December morning for stand-by seats. Waiting in line, we learned that for the past two weeks no stand-by spot had been available and even those with advanced seats were turned down.

Well, that morning turned out to be an exception. Maybe it was the bad weather that may have prevented some fans from traveling, but the show staff immediately allowed the first 13 people waiting to enter. Megan and Mary were numbers 12 and 13, so they just made the cut. Being the last ones onto the elevator, they were the first ones off. Two separate VIP seats way in the front were available that morning, so they had first dibs.

Megan was in the front row (on the Whoopi Goldberg side, just under the camera on the crane.) Watching at home, you could see Megan every time the camera panned the audience before commercial break. Guess which show episode will forever remain on our TiVo?
Mary's spot wasn't too bad either.
As for myself, I was 14th in line but the show staff kept the next five people, including me, waiting just in case there was anything last minute available. Fortunately, they allowed us to wait in the lobby, where I watched cast members of the soap opera "All My Children" pick up their pizza deliveries. As it turned out, one more spot was available so I turned out to be the last person in. My seat was way in the back, but hey, it was warmer than waiting in the street and got to take pictures and walk away with the free gifts (a massage pad and a Jeff Foxworthy book.)
By the way, leaving the show, Megan got to ride the crowded elevator with Barbara Walters. However, that wasn't the day's only celebrity sighting. Walking past the Dell store, we were told that Brooke Burke was doing some promotional thing there. Turned out there was barely a line, so Megan and Mary chatted her up for a while. I think I was a little too star-struck to say much. "She smelled perty." However, when the three of us left, she said "Bye guys! Bye Michael!" which left me a lot more star-struck.
Like I said, it was a NYC classic experience: shopping, restaurants, musicals, tv shows and celebrities. It probably wasn't an experience we'll be repeating anytime soon, but it was definitely one for the scrapbook.