New York. What a freakin' ride!
Many things happened that seemed for the worse, but ended up well in the end.
We begin with our subway trip (3 transfers) from the airport. Well, actually, with the heavy luggage and all, that just plain sucked. So let's skip down to Wicked.
Before the trip, I ordered tickets from Ticketmaster to ensure that we'd get to see Wicked (because it's the hottest thing on Broadway right now). The tickets I got were "partial view" seats for $55; second row (CC) seats 6, 8, and 10 (far right). In an attempt to save Erico Suave and MacArthur money for other shows, we entered in the lottery (2 hours before the show), which draws for the first two rows. If we were to win lottery tickets, I would then give my tickets to Ellvin Kelvin and his girlfriend. Ten minutes before the lottery was to take place, Ellvin Kelvin called me and told me to enter his name into the lottery and that he'd get there just in time. But I was afraid they wouldn't let me do it or something, I was chicken crap, so I didn't. And sure enough, Ellvin Kelvin came right when the lottery started. So he was disappointed in me. So the lottery started, and name by name, none of us were called (there were a lot of people). So after the last name called wasn't us, Erico Suave and MacArthur went to sit down while I went outside to apologize to Ellvin Kelvin. Then, I saw the lottery drawer calling out another name and I saw Erico Suave jump up. HE WON! Turns out that some people didn't need the original requested number of tickets, so two were left. And after Erico Suave bought the tickets, his seats read row CC, seats 2 and 4. Right next to my seats! So we all got to sit together anyway.
We got to see a show every night during this trip. The next show we saw was Beauty & the Beast, which was okay. We bought tickets at TKTS for half off; all the way in the back center. The next day we tried for Avenue Q lottery tickets, but lost, so I bought RUSH tickets for Brooklyn (front row, far right), which was also okay. Actually I enjoyed it for its powerhouse performances and creativity. But the story was a little hard to get into and overly dramatic at times; See CORNY. But Eden Espinosa, of Disneyland fame, was freakin' amazing and she's smokin' hot! (She has better hair in person.) After the show, I told her to come 'home' for Disneyland's 50th anniversary.
Then came Avenue Q day. At first, Erico Suave and MacArthur weren't keen on paying $97 (full price) for the show (probably any show unless it's a Cirque show). So, since I really wanted to see it, and since I was willing to pay whatever, I got a ticket early in the morning (sixth row, far left). Then, when showtime came around, and we lost the lottery for a second time, they lined up in the cancellation line and hoped to buy tickets for $97. Right up to showtime, tickets opened up and they got in (sixth row, far right). So we all enjoyed the show and I bought myself a T-shirt.
Then on the last night, they wanted to see Phantom of the Opera, but I didn't. So they went to the box office and bought $20 tickets for rear mezzanine, far right. I wanted to see Rent instead. I've heard that the lottery for Rent is very easy to win because they give away 34 seats and the show's old, so no one really goes. But being a Monday (when most shows are dark), Rent, Phantom, and one other show were the only ones playing. So of course there was a huge turnout for the lottery and the show was almost sold out. Well, we three entered and didn't win. So as Erico Suave and MacArthur went to Sketchers to shop, I ran to the opposite end of Times Square to get half priced TKTS seats. When I got there, the tickets were sold out! So I ran back and dreaded paying full price for a show I'd seen 3 times already, but I wasn't about to do nothing that night, so I decided I'd just pay. When I got to the box office, all sweatylike, I asked the ticketman if he had any seats left.
The ticketman said, "Yeah, I got some left."
I replied, "What's the cheapest you have?"
"How many do you need?" he asked.
"Just one."
"Let's see," he said while typing into his computer. Then he stopped. "Oh! Just one? I have an extra $20 lottery seat here."
I was freakin' ecstatic! I gave him $20 and I got a front row, far right ticket. And being the 4th time watching that show, I can honestly say that that cast was the BEST cast I've ever seen do it. The Mark was great. The Roger looked the part and sang exactly like the soundtrack and even played his own guitar! And the Mimi had the most energy I've seen. It was an incredible way to end the trip.
It just goes to show that when things look their darkest, a light will shine through in the end. Yeah, I stole that from Kingdom Hearts.
Of course, we did do other New Yorkian things than watch a bunch of shows. We visited Central Park, the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty, Rockafeller center, 5th Avenue, The Natural History Museum, and other places.
Oh and there were some plumbing problems that wouldn't leave us alone. For instance, the third day, we found the bath tub/shower was flooded. Then on the last day, the toilet wouldn't stop flushing. But it all was resolved in the end.
Oh yeah, and then on the last day, it snowed. It was pretty harsh by California standards. And when we reached the terminal, some New York ladies were making fun of us because to them, this storm is a "flurry." So we conceded that we were wimps when it came to snow storms, but when we reach the check in counter, we found our flight cancelled! Some freakin' FLURRY!!! But for some reason, we had decided to leave for the airport 4 hours early and they were able to get us on a flight to Long Beach. The flight left at 7pm (we got to the airport at around 6pm), but that flight had originally been scheduled to depart at 3pm. So I guess it was delayed for us!
It was a weird vacation, but fun. It had its stresses and messes, but fun. And that's it.
Staying on the west coast where toilets and showers WORK,
Ricky
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