5th Wedding Anniversary

On May 22, 2009, Ben and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary...we aren't newlyweds anymore! To celebrate, we went to New York City for the weekend.
My flight was scheduled to leave RDU at 4:00pm, so I left work around 12:30 to go home, pack, and meet my friend who so graciously took me to the airport. At 1:35, I get a call from Delta telling me my flight has been delayed and I won't be leaving until 5:41pm (my original arrival time in NYC) and will be landing at 7:22pm. Since we had dinner reservations at 8:30, I decided to go ahead and take a shower and get dressed for dinner...this meant putting on heels and I normally do not travel in heels ever!!! I also called my friend to let her know that we don't have to leave until 3:30pm. She picks me up then and we head for the airport. It took us an hour to get there...it normally takes 30 minutes at most! After getting to the airport, I check in at the Delta kiosk to find out that my flight has been delayed again!!! I will now be leaving RDU at 7:22pm and arriving in NY at 9:15pm, which means no anniversay dinner for us! :( Thankfully, I packed flip flops, a jean skirt, and t-shirt in my carry-on, so I changed asap and decided to grab some CPK for dinner. As I was eating my pizza, I hear the girl come on the speaker saying that flight whatever with service to LaGuardia has been CANCELLED!!! I grab my pizza and run to the counter to find out that yes, I did not hear wrong, my flight to NY has been cancelled. After waiting in line for a bit and talking to random people in my same boat, a Delta employee tells me to follow her to another gate. She is able to get me a seat on a flight to DC and tells me I will then be on a US Air flight to LGA. So, that's what I do. We land in DC...my first time there and I saw like all of the monuments and the capital building in the air. I don't even need to go in person now...joke, we're going for July 4th!!! I'm so excited! After landing in DC, we have 20 minutes to find the US Air gate. Of course, it is in a completely different concourse on the other side of the airport and we are flying out of gate 41 of like 45. We had to go through security again and everything. Luckily, I made it on the flight and we finally landed in LGA at 10:40pm...yes, that is five hours later than my original flight time. At least I got there safely and was able to spend an hour and twenty minutes with my husband on our anniversary, even if it was only being at his apartment in East Harlem (yes, East Harlem/Upper Upper East Side/ghetto) with his three other roommates.
The next morning, we slept in, ate a small breakfast, got dressed, and headed for our hotel, the Belvedere, in midtown. We were lucky enough to check-in early at noon instead of 3pm. It was nice to lay on a king size bed instead of a futon, which is what Ben has at his apartment. After dropping our bags off, we headed south on the subway to walk through Chinatown and Canal St, specifically. It was Ben's first time, and it was madness! There were so many people there, so we decided to get back on the subway to head further south to Battery Park. We were going to go on the Staten Island Ferry, but decided against it and just walked around down there for a while, laid in the grass, and relaxed. It was nice. Around 4, we left Battery Park and headed back to Canal St. I just couldn't get over coming to NYC and not buying anything from Canal St. We got there, and I tried on sooo many sunglasses. That was the problem...there were too many to decide from, so we left because I couldn't decide and we had dinner reservations at 6pm.
Our dinner that night was at JoJo. We didn't get there until 6:15, but we made it, and I am glad we did! This place was divine!!! We each got appetizers. I got Ricotta Ravioli and Ben got Coach Farms Goat Cheese. They were so good. And then for dinner, I got a chicken dish and Ben got duck. For dessert, yes, we ate a lot, we split the cheesecake that was topped with a cherry compote with pistachio ice cream and roasted pistachios on the side. Whoa, that dessert was amazing!!! After dinner, we just walked through downtown. Thankfully, I packed my flip flops in my purse, so I didn't have to walk in heels the whole night. We strolled upon Rockefeller Plaza, through Times Square, and went up to Ben's office in his building. It was on the 35th floor, and my ears were popping in the elevator because it took us up so fast. His office is about a block away from Times Square, so we could see a bunch of the lights from there. It was fun! Then, we went back to our room and watched the NBA finals game...we're so romantic! :)
Sunday, we went to church for sacrament meeting, and then went to One if by Land, Two is by Sea in the West Village for brunch. This was another absolutely delicious meal!!! I got the french toast dish and Ben got the Wild Mushroom and Leek Quiche. They were both so good, but so different. Mine was so sweet and Ben's was very earthy and healthy. Sooo yummy!!!! After brunch and walking around that neighborhood for a while, we headed down to Battery Park again. This time, we decided to go on the Staten Island Ferry. It was free, which is why we decided to go on that instead of the Ellis Island or Statue of Liberty ferries. It was really nice, and cool to see the city from the water. We didn't do anything on Staten Island. We just spent a while outside and got back on another ferry to NYC 30 minutes after we got there. After we got back, we took a nap in our hotel room, then went to this mexican restaurant near our hotel for chips and salsa...and that was our dinner! After "dinner" we again walked around! This time, we headed to the southwest corner of Central Park and Columbus Circle. They have all kinds of shops, restaurants, and art exhibits. It was neat. There was one carved crystal piece at the art exhibit that was being sold for $255,000.00!!! I couldn't believe it! Who in their right mind would pay that much for something to sit in their home or office?!?!?!? Please, you could buy another home or office for that much money! No doubt, it looked really cool, but $255,000.00??? That's crazy!
On Monday, I decided we had to go back to Canal St because I was going to buy a bag and sunglasses! So, we woke up early and got to Canal St around 9:15. I am so glad we did because no one was there. It was sweet! I went into a store, tried on a few sunglasses and decided against them. The girl looks at me, "You like Coach, Chanel? I show you. I have some." So, she pulls out this box from her cabinet that has Coach and Chanel sunglasses. I got a pair of Chanel's for $10. Yes, they are probably fake, but whatever! I don't pay more than $10 for sunglasses anyways. After leaving that store, I finally say to Ben, "Ok, are we going to follow one of these people or what? That is the only way we are going to get a decent bag." He responds, "If that's what we need to do to leave, then let's do it." So, this guy comes up to me and says, "Lady, you like Coach? Handbag? Prada? You want bag?" (in their chinese accent...it's funny), and I ask him "where?" and he says, "I show you, Follow me." We follow this guy half way down the block and then we meet up with this lady who takes us back down the block we just walked and then down a side street to this green van that is just sitting on the side of the street! Sketchy? YES! She tells us to get in the van so she can lock it. Ben was freaking out at this point and I just jumped in! Holy cow the bags!!!! Yes, most of them are probably fake, but they were still beautiful! Luckily, it is not illegal to buy those bags, but it is illegal to sell them. After negotiating a little and Ben telling me to hurry up and make a decision, I got a Gucci, and it is so pretty! To Ben's relief, I was happy to leave Chinatown after getting my bag and sunglasses. We checked out of our hotel, and took our bags to Ben's apartment. He lives on the northeast side of Central Park, so we decided to walk around there until I had to leave for the airport. It was really nice, but it was sooo crowded. It was Memorial Day, so that is somewhat expected. We got some street food outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art (we didn't go in...next time), and walked up 5th Avenue to his apartment. We also stopped for ice cream on the street...definitely not the best ice cream I have ever had, but it was an experience. We then grabbed my bags and headed for the airport. Luckily, this flight was only delayed about 20 minutes, so I got in around the correct time.
All in all, it was a fun weekend! I cannot imagine living in that city, but it is fun to visit! I look forward to going again at the end of the month. Next time, we are going to a show! We were going to go this time, but with my flight messing up our plans, we decided to postpone to my next trip up. Also, I have lots of pictures, but I haven't loaded them on my personal computer or my work computer, so no pictures right now...maybe later! Sorry this is so long...I didn't want to miss any details! :)