Late, but hopeful, we hopped on our plane to take us from Chicago to New York. Well, New Jersey actually. When we booked our flights we just took whatever was the cheapest that fit into the time slot we had to work with. That put us flying into Newark airport. I’d always heard that Jersey was “just across the river” from NYC so figured it to be no big deal. Unfortunately when you’re late … it’s a big deal.
We got into Newark around 4:00. By the time we got bags and got out to the taxi stand it was 4:30. Yes, taxi stand. We didn’t have time (or so we thought) to take the train. As we approached the front of the line and told the “taxi master” where we needed to go (midtown Manhattan) he told us that would $66 plus tolls and tip. Holy crap. But at that point we had no choice. We hopped in the cab and off we went.
The flight in had been bumpy and turbulent, making even me – a pretty seasoned flyer – a little nauseous. Let’s just say the cab ride wasn’t any better. We zipped in and out of traffic, on and off of freeways, in and out of tunnels and screeched and zoomed through stop and go traffic for an hour. Yes, an hour.
By the time we got to the hotel it was 5:30, we were tired, cranky, hungry and in a hurry. Not a good combo for an evening that was the axis on which our entire trip spun. So much for our plans to be fabulous ladies of leisure strolling out to see a show as a start to a wonderful evening. As we checked in we realized we would have no time to shower much less time to get a bite to eat. We asked the clerk to have an appetizer sent up to our rooms, ran to the elevator as fast as we gracefully could and flew into our closet-sized room in a frenzy. Indeed – closet sized. The room had a queen sized bed and not much else, since not much else would fit. The bathroom had enough room for one … tough with two women staying there in full primp-mode. For $400 a night we were a little taken aback. We knew Manhattan isn’t known for large open spaces, but this was a little much. However at that point we were too “on a mission” to stop and consider it for long.
I sadly glanced in the direction of the shower and I pulled my wrinkled Diane Von Furstenberg dress out of my suitcase. We knew all we would have time for was, as my friend called it, “reconstituting”. We both ran around the room politely jockeying for mirror space, makeup space, and space to get dressed. We teased, sprayed, reapplied, changed and were out the door - somehow still feeling like we "covered in airport". We had hoped to be at the theater by 6:30 in order to get good seats. We left the hotel at 6:40. As we ran past the concierge we stopped briefly to ask if the Regal Theater was within walking distance. He said it was. Apparently he has never walked there in four inch heels….
… to be continued.
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