NYC Live Trip Report.....NOW WITH PHOTOS!!

[georgemoe]

Don't bother George, turns on they were filming Fridays show. So watch Friday. I did see parts of Mondays show, they were doing some stuff out on the street.

Thanks Don. I always though filming and replay happened on the same day. Who'd a thunk? Mobile Tivo update time.

Have a safe trip home Don.

 

[dpuck1998]

Day 4

Busy day planned today, lots of things on the agenda.

We started the day early since we had 9am tickets for the statue cruise. We grabbed a cab and told him to head to Doughnut Planet. We got to Doughtnut planet and it was closed In my hast I didn't notice it was closed on Mondays! So we told him to just head to battery park/statue cruises. Luckily when we got to the pier area there was a bakery right next to it. We grabbed some good baked good and walked over to catch the ferry to Liberty Island. They let us bring the food on the boat so it was perfect. The boat wasn't very full, so we were able to sit up top and enjoy the view and breakfast.

The cruise was very nice and within 10 mins or so we were at Liberty Island.

We had arranged the audio tour only, no crown or pedestal visit and I'm glad! The line was horrendous for those two tours. We walked around the island and shot a lot of photos.

It was very inspiring to see the statue up close. The audio tour was well done.

We even saw a tour guide with a Light Saber!!

The next boat was to Ellis Island. This boat was packed!! We stayed in the front for a quick exit. We had an audio tour for Ellis island also. We grabbed our headsets and headed off to tour the complex.

This stop was awe inspiring and well put together. Walking the halls and hearing the stories of was people went through to enter the US was amazing. The kids got a little stir crazy, but overall were excellent the entire time.

I'm glad we went early, because the boats arriving were completely full when we left. We hopped the next boat back to NYC and walked around battery park for a while. We were hoping to visit chinatown for lunch, but decided we were short on time so we went directly to the USS Intrepid.

The lines to get into the Aircraft Carrier were long, but we were through security and into the complex in about 15 mins. We started our tour of the Intrepid with lunch. The food was actually very good for a cafe in a tourist location. Very good sandwiches and a large selection of soups.

After lunch we started on the tour of the ship.

They did a great job with the setup of the museum. The tour is much more than just a walk around the carrier to look at some planes. We have a great air museum about 7 miles from our house, (Right ADP ) and it looks like they have taken some pointers from our little Air Zoo. Lots of fun activities for kids to enjoy and not be bored looking at planes. The Hanger level was well done and the kids really enjoyed it.

The boys even got to climb up a rope net.

They had some simulators and 3-d show, but we skipped those since we can do that at home. We made our way up to the flight deck and toured what they called the largest collection of cold war aircraft in the world. I assume they are right. Some cool planes to check out, but I'm more of a WWII historian myself, but we enjoyed walking around and checking them out.

They had the bridge open also, so we were all able to climb up the stairs and checkout the bridge equipment.

After an hour or more of walking the ship we headed down the elevator. They also have a cold war nuclear sub to tour. There was an age requirement of 6 so our youngest wasn't able to go. Mom and 4 yo sat and waited while the boys and I went on the sub. It was about a 30 min wait, but a very cool tour. The start it out with a tour guide telling you the history of the ship and lots of great details about how it operated and the people the served.

Another stop that was well done and enjoyed by the three of us. They also have a concord available to tour, but it was getting late so we skipped it and headed back. It was only 7 blocks to the hotel so we walked back.

I had won Letterman Tickets for tonight, so we dropped the kids at the hotel to hang out with Grammy for the night. The watched TV, ordered room service and played all night while we were at the taping.

Almost time to board, so I'll pick up the report later tonight or tomorrow.....

 

[kimisabella]

Sitting in the airport now, waiting to go home

So day 3 wrap up

After we were done at Nintendo we went back to clean up. Next stop was Shrek the Musical and dinner with Andrea (kimisabella) and family.

We arrived to see shrek around 2:15 and waiting inline to get into the theater. We had great seats right in the center of the theater and 14 rows back. The show was excellent! Hard to compare it to something like the Lion King, but it was just as entertaining or more. It was classic Shrek style, bathroom humor for the kids and some great jokes that went over the kids head. The storyline is from the first movie, but it was different enough so it wasn't boring. I think everyone in our party from 4 to 60 enjoyed the show.

The show was about 2 and 1/2 hours long. After the show we walked a dozen or so blocks to meet up with Andrea, Vinny, Kim and Isabella. We (Andrea) setup dinner for 10 at Tony DiNapolis just off 7th ave. Dinner was great! It was italian family style. Each entree we ordered served 2-3. Of course we ordered way to much food, but everything was excellent. The company was as good as the food. Shout out to Andrea and family for making the drive into the city to eat with us. THANKS!!

After dinner we headed back to the hotel to let the kids chill and play with new toys......then sleep.

I'm so glad everyone liked the restaurant - I had Vinny ask some co-workers for a good restaurant in that area and that was the restaurant they recommended. It wasn't too crowded in there and we were able to actually hear each other talking, unlike some other restaurants in the city that are so loud. We had some good food and good desserts - it was such a nice time. I didn't get to talk to Tamra at all on the cruise so it was really nice to find out how much we have in common.

I enjoy going into the city every now and then to see the crazyness - Vinny on the other hand has to go in every day so it's nothing new to him. I have some pics to post but will do so after you post your pics.

 

[dpuck1998]

Thanks Don. I always though filming and replay happened on the same day. Who'd a thunk? Mobile Tivo update time.

Have a safe trip home Don.

Apparently they film Mon and Fri show on Mon. The rest are filmed the same day, so Tues, Wed and Thurs are done on that day.

Andrea, feel free to post pics, I might be a little slow getting them up. I don't have much free time until this weekend.

 

[kimisabella]

Apparently they film Mon and Fri show on Mon. The rest are filmed the same day, so Tues, Wed and Thurs are done on that day.

Andrea, feel free to post pics, I might be a little slow getting them up. I don't have much free time until this weekend.

OK, I'll post them later, didn't want to step on your toes .
They are mostly the ones I put on FB, so alot of people have already seen them.

 

[Madi100]

Don, I'm loving the report. I may have to hire you to plan me a trip to New York.

 

[kimisabella]

Here are some pics from Sunday


Lily & Kimberly

Lily, Kimberly & Isabella

being silly

Group shot

dessert!

Times square

I didn't get any pics of Don's boys, but, they were there and were very sweet well behaved boys!!

 

[minie_meese]

Wow, you can get to NYC from Rochester in 3 to 4 hours by train? Everytime I look it's about 6-7 hours. What train do you take Elaine?

On vacation this week so just saw your note - I work in Boston so instead of going back to Rochester some weekends I head to NYC. The train from Rochester is pretty long - a good way to go is drive to the Poughkeepsie train station and park there then take the metro-north train from there to the city. I think parking is free on the weekends and very inexpensive during the week.

 

[minie_meese]

Great trip report. Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Thanks for posting! I'll have to try the night at the museum some time. I like the museum a lot but I agree with your comment on the layout.

 

[dpuck1998]

Day 4 wrap up....

We dropped the kids off at the hotel and headed out for Letterman. We were told to arrive in front of the theater between 4:30 and 5:30. We arrived around 5:00 and lined up to be in to the theater. After talking to some workers, we discovered that they were filming Friday nights show. They apparently film Mon and Friday show on Monday and the rest on the normal day. A quick check online and we found the guest. Artie Lang and some comedian I'd never heard of before. Ohh well, still should be fun. We go into the theater only to have our names checked have them write a number on our tickets. They told us to come back at 6 and line up in a certain color section, for us it was green.

We went to check out the cbs store. They had setup a batting cage on the street for the guest on Monday nights show. The Yankees first baseman was a guest and it appeared they had him out in the street hitting down the road at cabs with distance markers on them. We hung out a while to see if we caught a look at anyone, but no such luck.

Off we went to grab a quick bite to eat before the show. I stopped into Radio Shack to grab a cable also. Rays pizza right next door to Bad Boy Records was our choice for dinner. It was good quick service pizza, nothing like the pizza from Johns, but good enough for a quick bite.

We walked back to get in line for Letterman. Our number was 164 and 165. The line was suppose to be in order, so we had to check around and make sure people got in line correctly as they arrived. Our wait was about 15-20 mins until the let us in the theater. We waited there for another 10 mins or so and then one of the workers started giving us the "pep talk". Another 15 mins or so and they started letting us in. We were lucky and got seated about 10 rows deep right in the middle of the theater.

There is always talk about how cold it is, but actually we didn't find it to be overly cold. They had music going and lots of staff jumping around and clapping to get the audience going. It was a very fun, party like atmosphere. Before long the introduced the band and they played a few songs. A warm up comedian came out to give us some details and tell us a few jokes followed up by a short video clip of Letterman working at taco bell.

Now the fun begins If you want to wait to watch the show on Friday the don't read anymore....but I don't think anyone will wait sooo.....

They had mentioned to us that Dave would come out and answer some questions before the show. Not sure what came over me, but when he came out to take questions my hand went up. He called on me and asked me where I was from, I said Kalamazoo, since its the closest city to little ole Vicksburg and it was part of my question. Kalamazoo is home of the Western Michigan Broncos who are part of the Mid American Conference (MAC) with Ball State (Daves former college). So I asked him what he thought of the MAC this year and how Ball State looked...he made a couple jokes and gave me a hard time about my t-shirt. I was wearing an M&M tshirt I had bought at the Giant M&M store. This was a running joke for the rest of the show and during part of the show a camera man was pointed right at me for at least 10 or 15 mins. Watch the show on Friday! It was great!!

After the show we walked back to the hotel and started packing up and got the kids to bed for the night.

Our Limo was scheduled to arrive at 1:30, so we had some time to kill tomorrow...so Day 5...coming up...

 

[Launchpad11B]

Day 4 wrap up....

Now the fun begins If you want to wait to watch the show on Friday the don't read anymore....but I don't anyone will wait sooo.....

They had mentioned to us that Dave would come out and answer some questions before the show. Not sure what came over me, but when he came out to take questions my hand went up. He called on me and asked me where I was from, I said Kalamazoo, since its the closest city to little ole Vicksburg and it was part of my question. Kalamazoo is home of the Western Michigan Broncos who are part of the Mid American Conference (MAC) with Ball State (Daves former college). So I asked him what he thought of the MAC this year and how Ball State looked...he made a couple jokes and gave me a hard time about my t-shirt. I was wearing an M&M tshirt I had bought at the Giant M&M store. This was a running joke for the rest of the show and during part of the show a camera man was pointed right at me for at least 10 or 15 mins. Watch the show on Friday! It was great!!

The DVR is all set! Can't wait. You are such a dork!

 

[dpuck1998]

The DVR is all set! Can't wait. You are such a dork!

Says the guy with the dancing "thing" in his profile!!

 

[Launchpad11B]

Says the guy with the dancing "thing" in his profile!!

Never mock the BEAST!

 

[shellyminnie]

Now the fun begins If you want to wait to watch the show on Friday the don't read anymore....but I don't anyone will wait sooo.....

They had mentioned to us that Dave would come out and answer some questions before the show. Not sure what came over me, but when he came out to take questions my hand went up. He called on me and asked me where I was from, I said Kalamazoo, since its the closest city to little ole Vicksburg and it was part of my question. Kalamazoo is home of the Western Michigan Broncos who are part of the Mid American Conference (MAC) with Ball State (Daves former college). So I asked him what he thought of the MAC this year and how Ball State looked...he made a couple jokes and gave me a hard time about my t-shirt. I was wearing an M&M tshirt I had bought at the Giant M&M store. This was a running joke for the rest of the show and during part of the show a camera man was pointed right at me for at least 10 or 15 mins. Watch the show on Friday! It was great!!

After the show we walked back to the hotel and started packing up and got the kids to bed for the night.

Our Limo was scheduled to arrive at 1:30, so we had some time to kill tomorrow...so Day 5...coming up...

Only you would be picked to ask a question and then get picked on for the entire show on national television!!

I LOVE IT!!! Can't wait to see it!!

 

[disneyholic family]

Day 4 wrap up....

We dropped the kids off at the hotel and headed out for Letterman. We were told to arrive in front of the theater between 4:30 and 5:30. We arrived around 5:00 and lined up to be in to the theater. After talking to some workers, we discovered that they were filming Friday nights show. They apparently film Mon and Friday show on Monday and the rest on the normal day. A quick check online and we found the guest. Artie Lang and some comedian I'd never heard of before. Ohh well, still should be fun. We go into the theater only to have our names checked have them write a number on our tickets. They told us to come back at 6 and line up in a certain color section, for us it was green.

We went to check out the cbs store. They had setup a batting cage on the street for the guest on Monday nights show. The Yankees first baseman was a guest and it appeared they had him out in the street hitting down the road at cabs with distance markers on them. We hung out a while to see if we caught a look at anyone, but no such luck.

Off we went to grab a quick bite to eat before the show. I stopped into Radio Shack to grab a cable also. Rays pizza right next door to Bad Boy Records was our choice for dinner. It was good quick service pizza, nothing like the pizza from Johns, but good enough for a quick bite.

We walked back to get in line for Letterman. Our number was 164 and 165. The line was suppose to be in order, so we had to check around and make sure people got in line correctly as they arrived. Our wait was about 15-20 mins until the let us in the theater. We waited there for another 10 mins or so and then one of the workers started giving us the "pep talk". Another 15 mins or so and they started letting us in. We were lucky and got seated about 10 rows deep right in the middle of the theater.

There is always talk about how cold it is, but actually we didn't find it to be overly cold. They had music going and lots of staff jumping around and clapping to get the audience going. It was a very fun, party like atmosphere. Before long the introduced the band and they played a few songs. A warm up comedian came out to give us some details and tell us a few jokes followed up by a short video clip of Letterman working at taco bell.

Now the fun begins If you want to wait to watch the show on Friday the don't read anymore....but I don't think anyone will wait sooo.....

They had mentioned to us that Dave would come out and answer some questions before the show. Not sure what came over me, but when he came out to take questions my hand went up. He called on me and asked me where I was from, I said Kalamazoo, since its the closest city to little ole Vicksburg and it was part of my question. Kalamazoo is home of the Western Michigan Broncos who are part of the Mid American Conference (MAC) with Ball State (Daves former college). So I asked him what he thought of the MAC this year and how Ball State looked...he made a couple jokes and gave me a hard time about my t-shirt. I was wearing an M&M tshirt I had bought at the Giant M&M store. This was a running joke for the rest of the show and during part of the show a camera man was pointed right at me for at least 10 or 15 mins. Watch the show on Friday! It was great!!

After the show we walked back to the hotel and started packing up and got the kids to bed for the night.

Our Limo was scheduled to arrive at 1:30, so we had some time to kill tomorrow...so Day 5...coming up...

we don't get letterman....we get every other stupid interview show, by people i've never heard of, but not letterman...
maybe i can find it on the internet after it's broadcast...

by the way, my nephew went to western....(one of a handful from our side of the state)...

 

[dpuck1998]

While I am wrapping this up, I posted all the good photos on facebook and my website.

If you aren't on facebook you can see them in the August folder at
http://www.vicksburg.k12.mi.us/~dpuck1998

Don

 

[dpuck1998]

All the photos are in, I didn't get any photos at Letterman or on the last day before we left.

Thanks for following along, we had a great time and were happy to be home so we could rest

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Thanks for posting the pictures Don. I loved the photo of your family on the horse carriage and your daughter by the Statue of Liberty. It looks like you had a great trip. I really need to get to NYC with the family soon. Thanks for sharing.

 

[georgemoe]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us Don. Good stuff.

 

[katscradle]

Don I just thought I would chime in here and say your trip report was wonderful.
Thank you for sharing with us.
Saw you on Letterman last night what a hoot.
I am so glad you all had a great time.