Start Spreading the News, I'm Leaving Tomorrow

I am positively giddy today. Early tomorrow morning (5:15 a.m.) I will depart for a four-day trip to none other than New York City. The trip is a birthday gift from my parents. My mom and I, my two Aunts, Dorothy and Marg and family friend Marlys and her daughter are all making the trip. For those who know me well, you know I have traveled to the Big Apple countless times and have always enjoyed my adventures there. The sites, the sounds and the smells (good and bad) are so different from home. It almost feels like stepping into another world. It is a place I adore visiting but would not want to make home.

We are going on a tour planned trip. Following is the itinerary for the weekend:

FRIDAY: We depart Minneapolis and arrive at LaGuardia airport around lunch time. After settling into our hotel we have a bit of free time and then will meet up for dinner at a restaurant called Carmine's -- this is an Italian, family-style restaurant. We top off the evening with the Broadway show, "Phantom of the Opera."

SATURDAY: We go for a tour to Ground Zero (I have seen this several times so am not sure if we just go there and see if or if there is an actual "tour"). After lunch it is shopping/window shopping on 5th Avenue and a stop at Bryant Park on the way back to the hotel. Dinner will be at Churrascaria Plataforma restaurant. Again, sort of family style serving and lots of different types and preparations of meat (good thing I am not remotely close to a Vegetarian). We cap Saturday night with a trip to the top of Rockefeller Center to see the city lights.

SUNDAY: We will enjoy a morning Semi Circle Harbor Cruise to see the Statue of Liberty up close. I have done this cruise long ago -- 1990 to be exact -- and it was wonderful. The rest of the day will be spent exploring on our own. I have already scoped out restaurants for us and we may try to see another Broadway show if we can get tickets.

MONDAY: We leave for the airport around 10:30 and are due back in Minneapolis around 3:30.

I hope to blog each day to give a more detailed tale of our adventures. Hoping the hotel has a computer in the business office I can use. If not -- I will recap the trip when I return.

Until then ....