My Family Takes Manhattan: Day 1 (Airport Fun, Writer Friends and Lincoln Center)

Ooooh, friends!!! As I’ve been fond of saying lately, “That was a time!!!” And nowhere is that phrase more appropriate than when talking about our amazing trip to the Big Apple!!! As you can probably imagine (and especially if you were following my adventures in real time on Twitter!), our time in NYC was pure magic and better than anything in my wildest dreams!! Allow me to recount all the tales all this week because this trip of a lifetime deserves more than one post! First up: Day one includes airport fun and Lincoln Center…

We were up bright on early on that first day! If you know my sleep schedule, you know that getting up at 7 a.m. is practically the middle of the night for me. But, we were about to jet set to the big metropolis, so this was no time for snoozing! We made it to the airport and, of course, had plenty of time to spare! Ms. Bear believes in getting to the gate VERY early, which is fine by me because…

Look…our gate was right across from the CNN newsstand!! It’s fate!!! I must admit that I felt a surge of pride when I saw the newsstand — I thought, “I’m so proud to be a regular contributor for CNN.”

Two and a half hours later, following a complimentary Diet Coke and trying to read a celebrity weekly without getting nauseous (no success there!)…

Post-flight hair, don’t care because…WELCOME TO NEW YORK. “I can’t believe I’m actually here,” I thought as I rolled off the plane and took in the sights and bustle of LaGuardia Airport!! I could feel the pulse of the city already and it was my first time in Queens! My heart started to race at the mere thought of all the excitement that awaited us!

Whew! Just our first HALF day in NYC had lots and lots of fun firsts. First time taking an Uber. First time at Lincoln Center…complete with a pretty water show!!

But my absolute favorite part of our first day?? Getting to meet a dear writer friend in person for the first time!! Laura and I became fast friends two years ago after she edited my essay in Good Housekeeping, and I’ve admired her ever since!! It was such an honor to go out to dinner (we went to indie food and wine, a really interesting restaurant close to Lincoln Center!

and talk about everything from writing to our fathers — so grateful to know this exceptional writer and kind soul.

I also want to mention just what going on this trip means and how important it is: All three of us are really proud of ourselves for getting to the Big Apple! Special thanks to my mom and Janelle for helping me so much and my cousin Mona for being a wonderful host/tour guide!!

Be sure to check back on Wednesday and Friday for more photo fun from our adventures, including my ABC television debut, my first Broadway show and the thrill of meeting a true beauty guru!! Like I said, friends, IT WAS A TIME… xoxo