The last day of a vacation - especially when it's also your travel day - is always the worst. That was Saturday for us.
We were up early, packing and showering. I wanted to sleep until noon, but that wasn't going to happen no matter what. We left the hotel at 9:45 and walked the six blocks to Times Square to the Hilton Doubletree where I was going to be filmed for Kindle Love Stories. I was so nervous that I thought I was going to be sick. I had carefully picked out my outfit - the list of colors I was not allowed to wear was pretty much my entire wardrobe so I was nervous about that too.
We got there and were escorted into the filming/studio space. The entire crew was amazing! They were all so friendly and encouraging and just genuinely happy people, that I was instantly relaxed. I brought hubby and son with me to witness it all. I mean, how often is something like this going to happen to me??
They touched up my hair and makeup and then got me wired up. And for the next forty-five minutes, I had a blast! The questions were very fun and I wasn't prompted in advance so when this airs, just know that it was all spontaneous. I did stumble a few times and they had to re-shoot, but all in all, it was a lot of fun. I was sorry when they said we were done! Normally I'd say I have a face for radio, but other than the flat hair, I think I looked okay.
When we were done, we took a few last minute shots of Times Square and grabbed some lunch before going and checking out of the hotel. Hubby went and picked up the car and we were on the road out of the city by 1:20. I felt like we had lived an entire day by that point, but unfortunately, our long day still had a long day to go.
The drive back to North Carolina took ten hours - and that was with stops for gas and dinner. It's become a bit of a tradition to stop and eat at a Cracker Barrell on our road trips and this day was no exception. The last twenty minutes of the drive was the worst. We were all frantic to get out of the car and just be home. Me? I was frantic to get back to my dog. My poor little Maylene who I missed so darn much!! Our reunion was very sweet and it felt so good to walk through the door and just be in my own house!!
I slept like a log that night.
Home Sweet Home.
It's days like this that I wonder why I don't travel alone. My hubby was obsessed with getting our parking ticket stamped because the guy at the parking garage scared the crap out of him. So we had to wait until the EXACT time on the card before we could start our day - which was 11:30. I wanted to strangle him. So much to do and now we're sitting around waiting to get the car stamped!
When we finally walked out of the hotel, we went over to Rockefeller Center and checked it all out. We were huge fans of 30 Rock so it was kind of a thrill. We hit the NBC Experience and then had lunch right there and then went across the street to St. Patrick's Cathedral. So beautiful and it breaks my heart to see the security guards in there doing bag checks.
I had a meeting with my agent across town and convinced my husband to have pity on me and please let us get a cab rather than walking. And to be fair, it was VERY hot out. So we did and it was nice except the cabs don't use air conditioning - just open windows. So I was slightly windblown for my meeting.
Now here's a bit of childhood for you - growing up on Long Island, the ice cream man used to come around often - Mr. Softee. We don't have that here in North Carolina and it's something we miss. So we get out of the cab on Madison Avenue and what is parked right there???? You guessed it. I was so nervous about my meeting that I didn't get myself any but hubby and son did and I had a taste. My fear was that I would drip and drop it all down the front of me because, believe me, it's happened.
After we left, it was off to the SNL Exhibition. I was positively GIDDY about this and it did not disappoint! I am a HUGE fan of the show so to be able to go to the exhibit and see all of the memorabilia and learn so much of the history of it was just beyond exciting. We spent probably close to two hours walking through and took a ton of pictures and when we walked out, I was sad that it was over!
It was all down hill after that.
We had to walk over fifteen blocks back to the hotel because we could not get a cab! I couldn't believe it! With like a million of them on the streets of New York, not one of them was empty when we needed it! So we walked and walked and walked and walked and by the time we got back to our hotel, I was just done. The thought of walking anywhere - including to the other side of the tiny hotel room - made me want to cry. So what did we do? It was fairly early - not even six p.m. - so we looked up the best Chinese food takeout in the area and super-hubby and son walked and picked it up and I ate Chinese food in bed. It was GLORIOUS!!!
I realize we were in the city that never sleeps, but believe me...that night, we certainly did!
We were up early, packing and showering. I wanted to sleep until noon, but that wasn't going to happen no matter what. We left the hotel at 9:45 and walked the six blocks to Times Square to the Hilton Doubletree where I was going to be filmed for Kindle Love Stories. I was so nervous that I thought I was going to be sick. I had carefully picked out my outfit - the list of colors I was not allowed to wear was pretty much my entire wardrobe so I was nervous about that too.
We got there and were escorted into the filming/studio space. The entire crew was amazing! They were all so friendly and encouraging and just genuinely happy people, that I was instantly relaxed. I brought hubby and son with me to witness it all. I mean, how often is something like this going to happen to me?? 
They touched up my hair and makeup and then got me wired up. And for the next forty-five minutes, I had a blast! The questions were very fun and I wasn't prompted in advance so when this airs, just know that it was all spontaneous. I did stumble a few times and they had to re-shoot, but all in all, it was a lot of fun. I was sorry when they said we were done! Normally I'd say I have a face for radio, but other than the flat hair, I think I looked okay.
