Last year Irmo High School choir announced that they would be going to New York City to sing at Carnegie Hall. We knew that we all wanted to go. So we started saving money. Baylie baked a million cookies and Jalen did yard work. We all pitched in and saved and saved. Grammy and Grandad decided to join us as well. We were all very excited.
Baylie was flying on American Airlines with the choir so we sent her up the night before the flight with April and some of the other girls.
There are few people I would trust Baylie with, but April is at the top of that list.
It ended up being a wonderful blessing because we were able to catch a ride on the choir's chartered bus to the hotel. That saved us a lot of stress and money. I had been worried about how to comfortably transport Grammy and Grandad and all the baggage. Plus I got to ride with April!
We stayed at the Park Central Hotel, which was conveniently located right across the street from Carnegie Hall and only a block from Central Park. It was the sight of the assassination of two mobsters and was home to the NFL draft in the early 80's.
the Plaza Hotel,
New York Athletic Club,
Our first stop was to buy a pretzel. So delicious!
We strolled through the park. It's such a fascinating place. There were musicians, vendors, runners, and so many dogs! New Yorkers really love their dogs.
There were ice skaters.
And bridges over roads and ponds. And lots of ducks and geese.
It was pretty cold.
This building was so pretty. I loved the rounded corners and detail in the architecture.
Lots of carriages with and without horses.
Their room was huge!
View from our 7th floor room.
Definitely bigger than most rooms I've ever had in NYC.
Jalen and David had massive burgers.
Grammy, Grandad and I had omelets.
It's a very popular restaurant because the waitstaff sings. Very cool! We were lucky and didn't have to wait at all. Later in the week the lines were long.
That night, the choir, David, and Jalen went to see The Lion King. I stayed at the hotel with Grammy and Grandad. It was Jalen's first time seeing a show on Broadway and he was impressed.
The choir director, Mr. Turner, had a friend in the cast so he took pictures with the group after the show. Had the group not been so big, he would have given them a backstage tour.
Baylie joined the choir kids for some Times Square adventures after the show.
Love these two.
David went and got us some cheesecake from Juniors. So incredibly delicious!
This skyscraper was under construction. Construction materials were brought in by helicopter.
This cool building is designed like a suitcase so of course it's Louis Vuitton.
We had hoped to get rooms close together, but our room was with the group and Grammy and Grandad had an accessible room that was much higher up.
View from their 18th floor room.
The room was quite nice, but the bathroom artwork was a peculiar choice.
We met Baylie and the choir at the Stardust Diner for dinner.
That night, the choir, David, and Jalen went to see The Lion King. I stayed at the hotel with Grammy and Grandad. It was Jalen's first time seeing a show on Broadway and he was impressed.
Of course he had to buy concessions.
It was only the first day and already we were having an amazing time.
