A "Wicked" New York City

This year for Mother's Day and Mom's birthday, I purchased tickets for a bus trip to NYC to see "Wicked."  I had purchased the tickets back in early April (before I knew that the show was coming to Pittsburgh.)  Mom asked me at Easter if I would be interested in getting tickets for the Pittsburgh show, so I had to tell her about the trip to New York a little early.

The bus picked us up at Walmart in Clearfield at 4:00AM.  We traveled to State College, switched buses, and we were on our way!  There was a quick breakfast stop at The Cracker Barrel in Bloomsburg, and we were seeing city skyline by 11:00AM.

Our first glimpse of the advertisement right beside the theater!

The entrance to the Gershwin Theater to see "Wicked"

Here we are!  Just about ready to go in!

The show was absolutely AMAZING!  The time flew by.  It was funny, and the show really kept your attention.  I don't say this very often, but the play was sooooo much better than the book.  I had a very hard time reading the book.  It took me a while to get through.  The play definitely gives you more of a visual, and I was blown away.

Before and after the show Mom and I were able to wander around the city and do as we pleased.  We started by seeing Rockefeller center and St. Patrick's Cathedral.  Then we wandered up to Trump Tower and of course, Tiffany's Jewelry Store.  After the show, we went to Times Square, where we spent some time in M&M World and Toys R Us.

The statue at Rockefeller Plaza.

"Top of the Rock" - This building offers the only 360-degree panoramic view of New York City.

St. Patrick's Cathedral from across the street.

Inside the cathedral.

One of the many stained-glass windows.

I was amazed at the art and sculpture inside the building.  I probably could have spent hours just looking at it and hearing how it was made or what inspired it.

The Lego store!  The dragon and skyscrapers are all made of Lego's.  I was so impressed by the talent it took to put this together.  We were able to view it closer, and between the buildings are Lego-people walking on the street.

I call this the Wall of Lego's.  This was only a portion of it.

We went into Tiffany's Jewelry store to scope out all the jewelry we cannot afford.  We came across this beautiful yellow diamond.  This is the largest diamond in the world, totaling 184 carats.  It has the highest clarity rating as well.  Before the diamond was cut and polished, it weighed in at over 250 carats.  My sister, Adrienne, has added this to her Christmas list for the year.

Mom and I had a great day together.  We grabbed some pizza as a quick dinner before heading back to catch our bus.  Traffic was HORRENDOUS to get out of the city, but what do you expect?  It took up an hour and forty-five minutes to get through the Lincoln Tunnel back into New Jersey.  We had a small pit-stop on the way home at a rest area.  I slept most of the way home.

Because there were three buses that traveled to NYC, we all reconvened in State College.  Our bus arrived first.  It took eighty minutes for the second bus to arrive, and about twenty minutes after that, the third.  The third bus had a small breakdown somewhere on Interstate-80 on the way home.  We boarded the bus at 7:00PM and arrived at Walmart in Clearfield at 3:00AM.  It was just about a 24-hour day.  Mom and I went home, and we went straight to bed.