Spring Break 2012

I feel like I am due for a very long blog post here. First of all, today is my last day of Spring Break, and let me just say, this has been one of best spring breaks I've ever had. But that is not including the cruise I went on two years ago, because that was pretty awesome too.

I originally planned to spend a few days with Rachel and wander around DC, then go to Jenn's to wander around NYC, and then drive down to visit Kaitlin and Mike in their new apartment in North Carolina. However, a few weeks ago, I had to deal with some credit card fraud, and ended up having to come home to get my new card. So, I ended up only going to NYC and DC. I was bummed, but hey, at least I go to see this pretty boys (above) face and got to see my brother play in a soccer tournament. 

On Monday night, I drove to Rachel's and spend the night, and we left first thing in the morning to head to Jenn's house. Hannah met us at Rachel's house too! Before we left, I remembered I needed some money for tolls, so I went to local ATM to get cash off my card--and, it didn't work. The original pin was not transferred to the new card number like I requested. I called the bank right then, but they couldn't do anything about it, so I had to find a branch. That took two hours, and even though we left Rachel's house at 11:30, we didn't actually get more than thirty minutes away until about 1:30. Story of my life.

Once we FINALLY got on the road, we made it to Jenn's house by 6, and her mom made us SUCH a good dinner, plus a stop to Yogurtland and a longboard sesh. The next morning her dad drove us into NYC, since she only lives about 30 minutes away. 

The day started off with a quick pit stop to the TKTS booth. Now, I only really wanted to see one show, and everyone know's it was How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying because Nick Jonas is playing the lead. But the likelyhood of there being leftover discounted tickets in the TKTS booth was slim to none. BUT, God is so good to me! There were tickets left, they were 60% off, and they were 6th row orchestra. CAN WE SAY OH MUH GAWRSH?! However, it was a huge risk, because most read roles don't do both the matinee and evening show on Wednesdays. So, Nick could of easily taken the matinee off (which is the show we bought tickets to) and just of performed in the night show. But we risked it.

Then we headed to the Wicked theater so Hannah and Jenn could try to get lottery tickets for the show. There were over 150 people there for only 12 names being drawn. All four of us (Rachel, Jenn, Hannah and I) put our name in for an extra chance. And SOMEHOW, Hannah's name got called first! WHAT?! God's amazingness much? We had a 4 out of about 200 chance of winning those tickets. So, Hannah and Jenn got first row seats for only $26 each to see Wicked. EVERYONE WAS SO HAPPY.

After that, we frolicked in Central Park a bit, but not for too long, because we only had about an hour and 15 minutes to kill before our matinee shows started. So, by the time we realized we needed to leave, we had to rush to get back to Times Square. And mind you, I am from little old Delaware and have legs that are about 3 inches shorter than everyone elses. So I literally had to jog, while they just sped walked.Hannah and Jenn left for their theater, and Rachel and I sprinted three extra blocks to get to ours. By the time we made it, I was sweating bullets. No big deal.

I sat down and had the playbill in my hand. We were still unsure if Nick was even in the show, so I closed my eyes and shook the playbill. All the papers fell out, and none of them had anything about his character being replaced. The speaker came on, and he said nothing about his character being replaced. And the show started, and he appeared from under the stage---I DIED. LITERALLY DIED. I was literally about a dozen feet away from Nick for almost two hours (I apologize for being such a fangirl). Right after the show ended, I sprinted to the back stage door where he greets fans. But, my bubble was bursted when the security guard told us that he wasn't allowed to come out between matinee and evening shows, because he needs to rest, sleep, and eat for the next show. I WAS SO BUMMED! I had the perfect spot too. Oh well, I took pictures with his face instead. 

After that, we met back up with Jenn and Hannah, and got on the subway. I have never been on the subway before so I was real intrigued. We took it down to China town, and did a little shopping. They had some pretty interesting things on sale (see above). I didn't buy anything, except a scarf (thanks Hannah!). All four of us got matchin scarves, isn't that precious?

We ate dinner in Little Italy. And let me just say, one restaurant had the CUTEST young italian man at the front. Although flirting is literally his job, I kind of melted and he noticed, so he kept talking to me hoping to get us in the restaurant to eat. Thank goodness I have my friends to keep my head on straight. Then we stopped and got coffee and cannolis (spelling?).

After that, we headed got back on the Subway to the Financial district where we saw Ground Zero, the new World Trade center, the Hudson, and the Statue of Liberty. Seeing the Statue of Liberty has been on my bucket list for FOREVER so I was pretty excited. 

By this point, it was almost 9:30. Nick's second show would be done by 10:30, and since I didn't get to meet him after the matinee, my wonderful friends were oh so kind to let me go back to the theater to see him after his evening show. So, we worked our way back to Times Square, going through Grand Central Station, past the Rockefellar Center, past the SNL studios, and stopping for muy delicioso cupcakes. 

We got back to the theater around 10 o'clock before the rush. Orginially, we had to stand on the side for "people without evening show tickets." But Rachel and I managed to get on the side for people with evening show tickets after being really friendly to the security guards. So we were front and center, and had a clear view, and were standing directly across from Jenn and Hannah (who were also in the front, but on the other side) for maximum picture capability. (SCORE FOR TAYLOR). We stood out there for almost 45 minutes, and a couple hundred people eventually ended up swarming around us. But again, I was front row and the body guards liked us. at 10:45, he FINALLY came out and I DIED. 

He non-chalantly went down the row to sign autographs and take pictures. He habitually signed my playbill, smiled for the camera via Hannah on the other side, and started walking on. But then, Rachel calmly said to him as he was walking down the line more, "Hey, I know this is random, but we have a question. My friend here was at a concert of yours a few years ago and she got pushed in a trash can, and you said you saw her. We weren't sure if you remembered or not." He literally stopped what he was doing, walked back over to us, looked at me and said, "Wait, what?!" I explained what happened that day (if you do not know that story, I'm not saying it on here now), and he was like "Wow, no I don't remember that. But, thank you. Really." And then I asked for another picture, and he was like "Yeah, of course!" (Hence, the picture above). He said by to Rachel and I and walked over the other side. 

HE LITERALLY STOPPED WHAT HE WAS DOING TO COME BACK TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH ME.

Okay...fangirl moment over now. 

The next day, after getting very very lost on the NJ Turnpike, Hannah, Rachel and I drove back to Springfield. And on Friday, Rachel and I roamed around DC. We looked in a couple museums. But my favorite part was the area near Georgetown, it was SO cute. We found the yummiest bistro for dinner, and my dinner was delicious--Shrimp Florentine Crepe (above).

We tried to go into Georgetown Cupcakes (aka famous cupcake store from TLC) but the line was too long, so we got Sprinkles cupcakes a few blocks down instead. 

And then we come to today. I got to go to the archery range with Rachel. I felt like I was in the Hunger Games. And we pulled the best prank on our dear loves Brittany and Kirsten. Sadly, we have to head back to school tomorrow, but I will be returning happy.