So, the weekend was great, as expected. We headed to NYC bright and early on Saturday morning. Hit no traffic and made great time. I think we got there in about 3 hours. For some reason, everything seemed to just work out perfectly. There were no time issues, nothing fell through, it was great.

When we got into the city we decided to try our hand at an early check in to our hotel and they were able to accommodate us. We stayed at this cool little (for New York - if you consider 16 stories little...) boutique hotel called Hotel QT. It was so cute and really funky. Instead of mini bars in the rooms they have what is fashioned to look like a news stand in the lobby where you can buy whatever you want for your room individually. They had everything there from little airplane liquor bottles to magazines and snacks to full size bottles of beer, liquor and champagne. They were stocked!

From where you catch the elevators there is a glass window that shows off their INDOOR POOL with a SWIM UP BAR that is open until something ridiculous like 4am!! It looked so cool. In the pool area were stadium style lounging beds/seats, a steam room, a shower room, a gym and then, of course, the bar area.

Our room was also very cool. Very New York and very good use of the limited space. Our king bed was up on a platform. Things like the dvd player were mounted under the platform, there were seating areas in the forms of benches and the bathroom was also very cool and spaced out nicely. Our bed was so feathery and comfy too and that was nice!

SO - anyway, we check in and go park the car so that we don't have to deal with it until we leave the next afternoon. That was also a great thing - we got hooked up with a garage that was only $25 for overnight! That is almost unheard of in Manhattan.

After checking in and relaxing for a bit we headed to Olunney's Irish Pub for a few cocktails. TSO was treated to a $30 glass of Whiskey (Scotch? I don't know - it was Johnny Walker Blue and I don't like whiskey/scotch so I don't know the difference) for his birthday from our good friend Steve who rode up with us. After our drinks we headed two blocks up to the Golden Theater where we had tickets to Avenue Q. If you don't know this show, it's great. You should see it. The hubby has wanted to see it for 4 years now, since it came out, and we've just never been able to make it work, so he was SO excited about this event. It was so funny. We loved it.

After the show we went back to the hotel to watch some football and get ready. Then we headed out to our dinner reservations at Blue Smoke where we met up with some of our other friends that came up to celebrate with us. The blood orange margaritas were going down really smooth! The BBQ was SO GOOD and I am still thinking about the mac and cheese! So creamy and delicious. I think I'll have to make some this week!!!

After dinner we headed to my friends place and pre-partied before the actual party they had planned at a lounge on 51st street. They had the entire place rented out for themselves. It was great!

Around 1 or 2am I had a brilliant idea to head back to our hotel and get in the pool. I mean, what a great thing to do! So, about 6 of us head back to the hotel and when we get there, boy were we in for a surprise!!! There were probably about 40+ people in the pool. There was a DJ, lots and lots of people...it was NUTS!!! I was instantly over getting in the pool. Especially because I don't think I would have fit. YUCK! I don't ever want to be that close to that many people that are half naked and wet.

We went up to our room where we hung out for a while then decided to go down to the lounge/bar and check out the pool bar scene. It was utter madness. Being that I was a tad intoxicated at the time I couldn't decipher the scene completely but I am certain the whole atmosphere was a little shady. I think there were lots of gay men there (not that there's anything wrong with that). One indication...one of the girls with us decided to take me with her to check out the pool and during that time decided to ask the DJ if she could "Scratch his records" and his response was..."I like Dudes"!!! OMG I think I almost peed my pants I laughed so hard at that.

I also think there were lots of drugs being done down there. It was just a weird vibe. I felt like it was 1976 and all these people were tripping out at some kind of indoor pool commune. I think a lot of the people in the pool were European but I can't be sure. Maybe they were just gay...? All I know is that it was a definite scene and I decided that I would never go swimming in that pool...ever. BUT, the hotel really was cool and the people watching was enough to make me definitely go back there again. Not to mention the service was great, the rooms were cool, and clean and it was just a good experience.

On Sunday we slept in then walked around (god NYC after the holidays is GLORIOUS! not crowded at all), got some food and hit the road home. The ride home was pleasantly uneventful and the best part was going to pick up our pooch! She was so happy to see us. I wanted to eat her for dinner.

And that was our weekend in a nut shell. A good time was had by all. I'm including some random shots below. A shot of 45th street where we stayed, dangerously close to Times Square but not so bad since the holiday rush is over. Some shots of the pool area in our hotel during the day and before the mob took over. And the reason why NYC is so great. Did you know that you can toss your own salad for only $5.99?

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

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