It's Up To You New York, New York!

At this point in life, Jon and I are able to go on date nights pretty regularly. We have reliable babysitters, and recently we have graduated to having Gretchen babysit her brothers - which is really the best option. She is responsible and knows the house rules, the boys know that they can't get away with multiple desserts after dinner or fibbing about bedtime, sister runs a tight ship! We wanted to go somewhere together for a long weekend, which is a more difficult venture with young kids and no family nearby. The stars aligned when Gran and Poppa were able to visit Texas over a weekend and agreed to handle the very busy schedules while we took a time out. 

There was no question as to where we would go in the middle of fall - New York City! Broadway! Incredible food! A city we can walk in! And as an added bonus we saw some incredible fall foliage!

We got in nice and early on Thursday so we had time to get settled, change and hit the town. We sat for an early dinner at La Pecora Bianca and had delicious Italian food sitting in a corner booth watching the city pulse. We finished in plenty of time to get in line for The Book of Mormon, a show we've been walking to see for years. Waiting in line outside the theater, we saw all kinds of folks walking into the stage door, getting Uber Eats deliveries and wondering who we will see on stage. 

Then we're allowed in, we get drinks from the most boisterous bartender I've ever seen and we sit fantastically close to the stage and wait for the show to start. Offensive and hilarious, this show is not for the tender hearted. We knew this going in, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are not known for their political correctness. 

The second day, we walked from our perfectly-placed hotel to Rockefeller Center, 5th Avenue fancy shopping, Radio City Music Hall and got our fill at the Nintendo store. We walked The Highline start to finish and meandered around Chelsea Market. It was a real reminder of how much walking we did every day in Argentina, and how suburban our lives have become. 

We search for an easy dinner spot and find the brilliantly named,  Thai Food Near Me. It was delicious, the best Thai food we've had in a very long time. Texas knows how to do a lot of food well, Thai is not one of those options. 

Finish off the day by sitting at our hotel rooftop bar, staring at the Empire State Building. No complaints here. 

We get even more spoiled by having our bestest buddies come up and join us for the next two nights! 

The first day of our foursome was a rainy, dreary east coast day. The city that never sleeps didn't disappoint with the Museum of Broadway, an indoor experience available within a drizzly walk from our hotel. We all now own new, terribly crafted NYC-themed umbrellas. 

This place was my heaven! Orphan Annie's original dress *eek*, costumes from Cabaret, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hanson and so many others from the years of broadway shows. A short video on the history of Broadway and how it was created, and then they let you loose to wander the decades of theater. 

We have an early dinner at Bourbon and Branch so that we can catch our second show of the weekend, & Juliet. This show is a party! Fun, sing along songs set to the background of Shakespeare. A real crowd pleaser!

The rain cleared and we had this lovely 2nd full day to wander, this time we went Up! To the Top of the Rock and had fantastic views of the city. 

Farewell New York. We'll see you soon!