So, now that you know my sweet friend actually WON this trip through our work and graciously decided to ask US.. US of all people (note: I am 99.99% positive we were not first round draft picks but that is ok with me) I will say I was a little nervous going on this trip. Sarah and I have become very close friends over the past 3 or so years. But even out time has been limited to work, lunch, whining sessions, a few recent happy hours, a Scentsy party or two and our housewarming party.. However, we are kindred spirits so we connect very well. Our husbands on the other hand.. Well, you couldn't find two more different people if you tried (this of course is prebeer, post beer they are long lost brothers) But love us or hate us we were going to NYC!! I must say Sarah is a bigger picture dork than I am, one of the many reasons I love her. She literally pulled me over in front of the sign to take a picture.. He husband wanted nothing to do with us! HA! We were a bit worried because all the weather reports said Hurricane Earl was going to hit Manhattan Labor Day weekend.. UGH! People kept telling me "Well, you know Earl is coming." I'm sorry what am I suppose to do, not go? NO, we are going come rain or shine!!
We landed about 30 minutes early which was great and had zero problems collecting our luggage, the positive side of direct flights. As soon as we got in the taxi I had to take a picture of my husband.. and this, this is what I got. It was literally the very first picture on my camera so every time I would "review" pictures I would ultimately land on this one.. for real??
After a quick freshening up we headed out to get some food. Now let me tell you, I have multiple emails in which I had asked NYC suggestions from some friends who either live in or visit the city frequently and the majority of "things to do" involve food. I can honestly say our food choices throughout the weekend were for survival purposes only. We didn't eat at any "top notch" places.... but that was fine with us. So for this experience we walked for multiple city blocks but only located things like --Pizza Hut, McDonald's, etc.. We did make the rule that we wouldn't eat anywhere we could eat at home. So, we ended up at a deli called Getting Hungry. It was the first decent, non from home place we came across. And we were starving as it was about 2pm our time. After we made our way around this HUGE lion in the entryway, because why wouldn't you have a HUGE wooden lion in a deli??? 
We began looking at the menu and immediately my tummy started to growl.....Paninis, Pasta, Grilled Chicken... mmmmmmmm! We were quickly "greeted" by a very agitated man behind the counter.. "I'm going to tell you something" We all looked at each other like the cast of Beverly Hillbillies had been plopped right in a NYC deli... "greeted" by the Soup Nazi.
"We are closing early today. And everything is put away." At this point we all become very aware that little to nothing is out, everything is packed away!! Did I mention by this point we.are.starving!!!
We must have looked pretty pitiful because he reluctantly said "But I will do you a favor. I have turkey, ham and roast beef.. and this cheese. I will make you a sandwich with what is here.... but nothin' fancy"
We all looked at each other ---"everyone cool?? Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep"
We all carefully chose our sandwich toppings making sure not to upset the Soup Nazi. Paid as quickly as possible and grabbed a seat at a tall top table right behind the HUGE lion. We new we needed to hurry out of there BUT we figured we had enough time to inhale our food, right? Nope, we were quickly "greeted" with a guy with a mop and bucket literally mopping under our table.. Really? Welcome to NYC! and as we tried to inhale faster, which I didn't think was humanly possible... the background music, you know the stuff that plays in the background and you never notice until you quietly catch yourself singing along, well it kept getting louder.. and louder....and louder. Never mind the fact that it was an Eminem song which had a few questionable lyrics--something you would not hear in a Jason's Deli in NWA. But it got so loud that we were screaming to talk to each other.. as we were inhaling our sandwiches. It was quite the experience. I didn't even get to my chips for fear they would literally toss me out the front door for taking 3 more minutes, I stuffed them in my purse.. But of course before we left we had to pose with the HUGE lion.. The boys were not amused.. 
Next up: Empire State Building. This was part of the original plan for the day but we didn't realize how lucky we were about to get.. First, ZERO rain. Yep, take that Earl! Second, there was overcast skies so there were not a ton of people in line. I hear the line for the Empire State Building can take hours.. Not for us, oh no, we were up to the 86th floor within the matter of minutes. We did pause for a moment to see a giant "stuffed" King Kong attack my husband. Of course we all laughed and pointed.
We did have a moment in one of the elevators when Sarah turned to me and said "you think it will be too foggy?" She had a point. Did it seem odd to anyone else that there was ZERO line and overcast skies? Did everyone in the city that day know something we didn't? Were we about to be in for a BIG disappointment??
Negative, it was beautiful!! We could literally see for miles. I was worried for a moment that we would get the wrath of the boys for paying for something and it being a bust. They are a little tight with the dollars, to say the least! But there was no bust here. It was AMAZING!!
Almost the second we got up there I lost track of Ryan, this is a very easy thing to do just so you know. Then I hear fingers snapping and "Sir, Sir. You need to get your head back in!!" Yep, that is right. My husband, King of A.D.D, had literally maneuvered his head out the small little diamond shaped wire "window." Something you are NOT suppose to do! I guess he thought the "mommies" of the group needed a little toddler-style amusement or the view from outside the fence was somehow dramatically different. This quickly became a catchphrase of the weekend "Sir. Sir....." I joked that he looked like a velociraptor trying to get his head back in, it really took some talent! 
See Ryan, the other husband on the trip didn't put his head through the fence..
But he makes me smile, even with all his craziness!
While up on the observation deck I learned a little fact about the top of the Empire States Building.. the top was actually designed for a blimp, yes a blimp, to land on it! Seriously??? On top of this?? On that tiny little tip right there on top? Note: it was designed for this but this insane event has never actually taken place. 
and the crew!
When you leave the observation deck you walk past these rows of mirrors. we thought we would be "cool" and take some self portraits.. They didn't turn out so good!
and the creme de la creme of the Empire States Building trip...The cheesy tourist picture!! As soon as you are out of security they shuffle you into a line and you stand in front of a green screen.. We assumed we would be greeted at the end of the trip with some high priced, very cheesy, bad quality, terrible photo of us all.... The photo isn't bad and it wasn't expensive at all... but it is super cheesy!
After this we decided to keep on trucking, no rest for the weary here folks. Heck, we were only here for a few days. We were going to see it ALL! Next up: Time Square! We walked up Broadway to Time Square. There were sections of Broadway blocked off where they had placed patios tables and chairs. It was very cool, but I had not been to NYC before so I didn't think much of it. Sarah assured me this was not normal. Well they made a place for us to take a load off and we did.... right there in the middle of Time Square we sat down, yes on.the.ground. For all you germaphobes--First, if you have kids the germ thing usually goes out the window Second, I can probably guarantee the subway we had been riding on all day long was MUCH germier than the ground. Whatever, our feet were a little achy and we wanted to sit.. So sit we did. 
and then this happened..... while we were sitting on the ground in the middle of Time Square something caught our attention. And yes, Ryan is a staring kind of guy! I mean why wouldn't you stare at someone in Times Square.. I am sure nobody has ever been killed for less! Geez!
But I will say he had good reason to stare.... HA! I love NYC!
I had to take a picture of the scrolling billboard I have seen on T.V. SO many times in my life.. But what are the odds that an "Ole Miss" headline scrolls through just as I am snapping my picture?? Seriously? The team that I hate more than Texas?? My dumb luck!
If I haven't mentioned this yet, now is the time.. Sarah and Jeff are MAJOR Seinfeld fans. Actually, I wouldn't even call them "fans" maybe more like addicts, junkies or crazy people! I love them but they are a little nutso for Seinfeld. So much so that every day, every 4 or 5 comments were met with a Seinfeld reference. It became quite comical. Ryan would say "what the heck does that mean??" and I would respond, without knowing for sure "Duh, Seinfeld" and yes it was indeed a Seinfeld reference.. Our trip kind of revolved around Seinfeld. We had to see the sights, make the references, site the shows, etc.. Needless to say Ryan and I were little to no help. But we enjoyed the Hood's humor throughout the trip.. First Seinfeld stop: Sardi's. I am guess this was mentioned once, twice, maybe a million times in the Seinfeld sitcom run. All I knew is we all needed to pee.. First things first.. after the pit stop we decided to stay and have a drink at Sardi's, take a load off and eat far too many stale bar pretzels
This is our tour guide for the weekend. Not only did Sarah win the trip to NYC but she also had the once in a lifetime opportunity to guide us around. Note: The three of us (me, Ryan and Jeff) rarely had an opinion about anything. We didn't really care what we did as long as we were doing something. I think sometimes this can be a challenge.. Sarah handled her duties like a true professional :) She had a folder with all of the "planned" activities outlined, clearly noted all the Seinfeld places that were a must visit and had maps, guides, pamplets and the like all in this cute little folder in her purse. She thought we were making fun of her for being the tourguide but in all actuality I think we would have been lost little puppies without her. Thank you Tourguide Sarah, thank you!
I post this picture not because it is a cute one of the Hood's relishing in the "Seinfeldness" of the place.. but because of the awkwardness of myself in this picture.. Sarah and I laughed and laughed about this! I am just hanging out, next to the window, completely out of view, right?.. Ryan could have told me to scoot over, but no I have to be the weird girl.
and then it was back to Time Square to see the lights at night. Yes, it is just as bright as they say. Almost daylight really.. odd.
and like most of our day, this was our view on the way home. I tell you, I could not live here. I relish in my drive home in the evening. I love to look at the trees, notice people doing weird things in their cars, see people in their yards playing with their kids... NYC I like to visit but I will not be taking up residency.. 
and of course insert a side of Ryan humor to end the night.. what did he do? Well he thought he would be cool and jump up and grab the metal bars over the subway platform.. gross!
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