In the Spring of 2006, my wife and I vertured to the Big Apple with her brother, Dave and his wife Dorothy. Wanting to see the big city was a motivator, but we mostly were wanting to see the musical "Wicked." Dave and Dorothy had already seen it once, but wanted to make the trip with us.
There were several highlights of the trip, the first being our walk on the top of the Empire State Building on the first day were in 
Manhattan. What an incredible thing to be at such a historic place!We could see for miles. We could see clear out to the Statue of Liberty one direction, and we could see beyond Central Park the other direction. And it was humbling to see where the World Trade Center once had stood. (They would have been visible right between the girls on the horizon in this picture.)
It is hard to imagine the amount of work and concrete, steel, materials, etc. must account for all of this jungle of a city.
Another highlight was our trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Being at the statue was a beautiful photo shoot, but Ellis Island was an amazing experience. They have restored the main building and tourists can walk through a self guided showing of the former immigration station. It opened in 1892 and ran until the late 50's, and had over 12 million people come through it's doors. They say 40% of Americans can trace their ancestors through Ellis Island. We must have spent a couple of hours in awe o
f the many stories of triumph and tragedy for the millions of people that brought all of their belongings in bags and trunks to America for a new beginning of freedom. (Some were told they could not stay and had to turn around and go back!) Talk about hallowed halls. It was almost erie walking through the vacanct rooms of the building.We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grand Central Station and ate "fish balls" in Chinatown. We even got up early and met Al Roker at a taping of the Today Show (in 25 degree weather!) and even got a chance to be on TV! (Laurel was thrilled to also see Mathew McConaughey, who was an interview inside!)
We had tickets for two broadway shows, but we wanted to possibly see a third one, and decided on an "off broadway" show called "The Alter Boyz" after someone recommended it. It was hilarious! We also had tickets for "The Lion King" which was also amazing! But the highlight of the trip was our experience seeing "Wicked!"
We had previously purchased tickets for "Wicked" and thought we would be going alone because Dave and Dorothy had already seen it, and were not planning on going. However, the excitement of it all made them want to see it again, so we put our names in for the ticket lottery, which happens two hours before each show. Ten people have their names drawn and can receive two tickets to the show for $25 each. Out of a couple of hundred people at the lottery, I ended up getting my name called, so we all got to go!
Little did we know, the tickets were front row, dead center!!! Dave and Dorothy insisted that we use the front row tickets, and they took our other tickets. (They were 11 rows back on the left side.) We sat 4 feet from the conductor of the orchestra! It was one of the most thrilling things we have ever done. And the play, of course, was incredible. Ben Vereen was the Wizard, and the rest of the cast was outstanding. We were so close, we could see the performers spit when they would sing! When it was all over, Laurel was literally crying as we were giving the standing ovation, and while the performers where bowing, Ben Vereen actually saw her, and mouthed "Are you okay?" She cried, "Yes! Yes!" It has been 3 years since we were there, and it still plays in my mind like it was yesterday.
