Sunday morning came along, and there is just something wonderful about attending church on vacation. The fact that no matter where you are in the world, you can find a group of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to gather and worship together. Even in NYC on a wet Sunday morning.

And it was wet – very rainy, puddles everywhere, but it was worth the walk and subway ride to the Upper Eastside of town to attend the visitor’s branch. It was a lovely testimony meeting, and I felt inspired to tell my cancer story and bear my testimony. Afterwards, I was able to talk with a few people whom the Lord put in my path because they needed to hear it. Pretty amazing how He can use us to help others, no matter where we are in the world.

After church, we went in search of a bookstore so that I could have a copy of Kelly Rippa’s book for the next day when we went to the show. We ended up going to multiple Barnes and Nobles, but it all worked out. We also stopped at Levain Bakery to get some cookies to bring home to the kids.

After all of that, we dried off in our hotel for a little bit before we went to get lunch at Los Tacos Number 1 – so yummy! (Just don’t get the fire salsa.) After we ate, it was time to head to the matinee of our final Broadway show of the weekend.

We went to see the musical, “Operation Mincemeat,” which is loosely based on the true story of an operation during WWII. (The movie about the story is so well done and fascinating.) The show was great and it was truly the perfect way to spend a rainy day in the city.

When it was over, we needed dinner – and I needed to warm up with some hot cocoa, and so we went to Carnegie Diner – which was delicious. So good! It was the perfect way to finish off a fabulous day.

Luckily, we made it back to our hotel and were able to get to bed earlier, because on Monday morning, we were up super early so that we could get in line for our taping of Live with Kelly and Mark. I have been watching Kelly Ripa everyday for over 20 years – since back in the days of Regis. It has always been a dream of mine to get to be there in person for a show, and Kevin made it happen. He stalked their website, emailed, and all sorts of things, and everything came together for him to get us tickets. Best gift ever.

At six am we were in the line outside and got our wristbands for our place in line – and blessedly, there was no rain. We were standing by this nice couple from Georgia and their Senior daughter on a fall break trip. He is an elementary school principal and she is a second grade teacher, and so we talked and talked – I’m sure Kevin and their daughter were bored by us – ha ha! Before we knew it, they were leading us into the building and through security.

We sat in this holding room while we waited and it had cool pictures of them all over the walls. They also had merchandise to buy, and so I had to get a tshirt, but especially the special Live with Kelly and Mark mug. And I got a magnet and a few other little things. Because I purchased so much, they gave me a gorgeous hardcover copy of Kelly’s book (the one I had spent Sunday searching bookstores for on Sunday – ha ha!).

I was so incredibly excited to be there, I couldn’t contain it. I think Kevin was highly entertained by my happiness. I kept noticing random people, like Jan Shule who is one of the producers, or talking about random cameramen 😂. And then when Gelman came out to warm us up, it was so unreal and awesome.

Before we knew it, it was nine and the show was live!! It was so much fun!!! And crazily enough, Mark walked out with a little puppy (which they ended up adopting – so cool!) for their adopt a dog week. It was so much fun to see and be there in person.

We got to be part of the group that shouted out “Stump Mark!,” which Kevin did very well, if I do say so myself. It was just awesome.

During the first commercial break I was brave, stood up and waved my book at Kelly. She called me down so she could sign it, and I was so overwhelmed and happy I almost cried. I told her that I have been watching her forever, and she said, “I’ve been doing this forever,” and we all laughed. It was amazing!!!!

Watching the guests were fun, even if they weren’t big names. One of them was especially exciting for Arthur, because it was the actress that plays Aurora Teagarden’s mom on the Hallmark channel, and he has watched all of the movies with me.

The dog segment was hilarious, not because the expert was funny, but because we could see all the MANY people who were trying to keep them from escaping off the turf and into the rest of the studio. It was organized chaos, and so cool to see behind the curtain.

During the commercial breaks Mark and Kelly would come and talk with the audience. They would tell us stories and laugh and talk. It was just so much fun.

And the time flew by – seriously, before I could blink, the hour was over and they had just finished the Inbox segment. After our show, they were doing a second taping, and if we hadn’t had to fly home, I would have loved to stay. The experience was amazing though, and completely lived up to my expectations. A bucket list moment and so very fun!

After the show, we headed to our hotel to pack up and check out. We then made our way back through the streets, subway and bus to the airport with Kevin’s golf clubs and our luggage. Luckily, once again, the rain from Sunday was long gone.

We got to the airport five hours early, since we really didn’t have anywhere else we could or needed to go. I went and talked to the man at the counter and asked if there was any way we could possibly get on an earlier flight home, and for a few hundred dollars well spent, we flew out 45 minutes later. That meant we got home at 9pm instead of after midnight. What a blessing!! We didn’t sit together on either flight, but of well. It was fine. And on one of the flights I had this bizarre leg room area and couldn’t reach my bag. Pretty funny.

And so it was goodbye to New York City. It was such an amazing and much needed getaway for Kevin and I. It filled us in so many ways and was the best distraction from all the hard we have been and are still dealing with. Twenty five years of love and fun and adventures with my best friend = I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else.

PS. Once we got home, we watched the episode of Live with Kelly and Mark and found us in the audience multiple times. The kids thought it was especially awesome – I mean, they have spent their whole lives with me watching Kelly on TV, and there Kevin and I were. Good times!