✈️ I Made It to New York—and What Happened to LaGuardia?!

I made it!

After days of watching the weather forecast go from 55% rain to 77% rain with thunderstorms and then back to almost nothing, I got on the plane in Charleston this morning and headed to New York.

It has been a very, very long time since I've flown into LaGuardia Airport, and I have one question:

What did they do with the old LGA?!?

Seriously.

The LaGuardia I remember and the LaGuardia I walked through today seem like two completely different airports.

It's new. It's clean. It's bright.

There are food options everywhere.

People aren't sitting on the floor waiting for their flights because there aren't enough seats.

And, perhaps most importantly...

I didn't see any rats running around in the drop ceiling.

If you flew through the old LaGuardia, you know I'm not necessarily exaggerating. 😂

This place has changed.

🗽 Now THAT'S a New York Welcome

As we descended into LaGuardia, I was also able to catch a picture of Lower Manhattan from the plane.

That's one of those views that immediately tells you:

Yep. I'm back in New York.

There's something about seeing Manhattan from the air that never gets old.

Then it was time to start working through today's agenda.

👻 Paranormal Activity Didn't Happen

I had hoped to score one of the same-day Rush Tickets for Paranormal Activity.

That didn't happen.

And I'm still not paying around $200 for a ticket.

I wanted to see some ghosts, but not badly enough to have one haunt my credit-card statement for the next month.

But Broadway isn't completely off the agenda.

I got a ticket to see & Juliet instead!

So tonight I'll be heading to Broadway after the party to see something I hadn't originally planned on seeing.

Sometimes those spontaneous choices end up being the most fun.

I'll post afterward and let you know what I thought of it.

🥓 Hotel Accomplishment Unlocked

Next challenge: Could I check into the hotel early?

YES.

That might actually be today's biggest victory.

I got into my room, dropped everything off, and then took care of another extremely important New York travel priority.

I grabbed a plate of bacon.

Because obviously.

So let's review:

✈️ Made it to New York.

🗽 Saw Lower Manhattan from the air.

😳 Discovered that LaGuardia apparently became a completely different airport while I wasn't looking.

🏨 Got an early hotel check-in.

🥓 Ate bacon.

👻 Failed to get a Paranormal Activity Rush Ticket.

🎭 Got an & Juliet ticket instead.

🎉 Party starts at 1:00 PM.

I'd say we're doing pretty well.

And now, after I hit publish on this...

I'm taking a nap for a few hours before the party.

Because apparently my New York itinerary also includes scheduled unconsciousness.

Stay tuned. There is still a lot of Saturday left.

✈️ Plot Twist: I’m Going to New York!

Well, Mother Nature apparently reads my blog.

A few days ago, I was questioning whether I was going to make my trip to New York at all. The forecast went from a 55% chance of rain to 77% with thunderstorms, and I wasn't particularly interested in flying to Queens just to sit in a hotel room and watch it rain.

Fast-forward to Saturday morning.

70 degrees. Fair. A 2% chance of rain this morning.

Okay, New York. You win. I’m coming. 😂

My flight is scheduled to get into LaGuardia around 9:00 AM, and from there I'll head to the hotel and hopefully be able to check in early. At the very least, I'm hoping they'll take my bags because I've got places to go and people to see.

The yearly gathering in Astoria, Queens starts at 1:00 PM, so I've got a few hours between landing and the party.

And because apparently I don't believe in relaxing on vacation, I've already started thinking about what I'm doing afterward.

👻 Paranormal Activity on Broadway?

I'd really like to see Paranormal Activity on Broadway.

There's just one tiny problem.

I'm not paying $200 for a ticket.

I enjoy Broadway.

I enjoy paranormal stuff.

I enjoy sitting in a dark theater wondering what's about to jump out at me.

But for $200, the ghost better leave the theater with me, carry my luggage back to Queens and tuck me into bed.

Fortunately, there's another possibility.

There are some same-day tickets scheduled to be released at 9:00 AM, and I'm hoping I can grab one for the 8:00 PM performance.

So somewhere around the time my plane is landing at LGA, I'll also be trying to score a reasonably priced Broadway ticket.

Because apparently landing an airplane isn't enough excitement for 9:00 in the morning.

If it works out, my Saturday could look something like this:

✈️ 9:00 AM: Arrive at LaGuardia
🏨 Morning: Head to the hotel and hopefully check in
🎉 1:00 PM: Party in Astoria
👻 8:00 PM:Paranormal Activity on Broadway — IF I can get the same-day ticket

And somewhere in between all of that, there had better be a New York bagel and some pizza.

Those aren't optional.

After several days of watching weather percentages climb and wondering whether this trip was going to happen at all, it's funny that I'm now looking at a forecast with almost no chance of rain this morning.

So...

New York City, here I come.

Now I just need the flight to cooperate, the hotel to let me check in early, and the Broadway ticket gods to smile upon me at 9:00 AM.

That's not asking too much, right?

Stay tuned.