Thursday, the day before our trip, was donned the worst travel day of the winter with over 6,200 flight cancellations and 3,700 flight delays. To say we were feeling a bit worried about our Friday morning flight would have been an understatement.

In full, “Mark & Melissa Fashion,” we showed up at the airport about 45 minutes before our flight. Thanks to my husband’s service in the US Navy, we’re able to use the military line, which was essential this morning. The security line for our concourse was totally unreal. The wait had to be at least an hour, if not much longer than that. Even in our quick line, we still waited 10 or 15 minutes, which is unheard of.

Anyway, somehow we got through security with enough time to grab a bagel (a total essential travel-day treat), use the bathroom and jump in line at our gate. When we got to our gate, we discovered that Southwest does not assign seat numbers. I guess neither of us has ever flown with them, because it was news to us. And, as two of the last people boarding the flight, we didn’t have much hope of actually being able to sit together… BUT sure enough, we got on the plane and found two seats next to each other. Another relief.

So enough about our transportation… once we were there, it was wonderful! We were both SO tired (after only 2 hours of sleep the night before), but by the time we got to the hotel around noon, we were equally hungry. So, we mustered up some strength, and went out to enjoy the beautiful 37 degree and sunny day. We didn’t have to walk far to find a place that tempted us, so in we went to some weird Asian market buffet. Everything looked wonderful, although, I’m not going to lie… it wasn’t all that great!

After lunch, we walked across the street to a giant Macy’s mall. On our way, we caught a whiff of the most amazing aroma… Waffles & Dinges (pronounced “dings,” although the husband and I refer to it as “Dingy’s”). We decided that after our little mall adventure, we’d grab a delicious Dingy on our way out.

And oh did we…

Post-dingy, it was nap time. We were totally zonked. Then, it was up around 5 or so to get ready for dinner. We were even able to walk to dinner because the weather was so manageable!

The restaurant we selected, Osteria al Doge, was so perfectly romantic and adorable. A friend who used to live in the City made the recommendation and we were so happy we went with it. The place was perfectly candle-lit, authentic and delicious. They even came around and brought all the ladies roses.

After sharing some berries for dessert, we glanced at our clock to see that somehow we had let time get away from us and our show was starting in 9 minutes. We quickly paid the bill and started running to the show. Of course, in the excitement and chaos, I directed us to the wrong theater, which caused a slight delay. But again, we somehow made it JUST in time to use the bathroom and get to our seats right as the first number of NEWSIES began.

The theater, the Nederlander Theater, was totally great. It was really small and quaint, making it hard to believe there was a bad seat in the house. And the songs and dancing… oh they were perfect! The only trouble was that it wasn’t appropriate to sing along. Instead, my poor husband had to deal with me singing the songs the entire rest of the evening.

The next day, we went to visit with one of my mom’s oldest friend’s, her daughter and her lovely bf. It was a great brunch and such a wonderful visit.

Then it was onto Long Island to visit with Mark’s sister, brother-in-law and two nieces. By the time we got there, I was zonked, so while Mark took one of the nieces sledding, I took a nap.

My nap was funny. The youngest niece is pretty much my biggest fan… ever. She might love me more than Mark does. So, she decided she was going to lay down and “nap” with me. This turned into her waking me up every 20 minutes for about an hour by saying, “Melissa… are you done yet??” I can’t complain though… I did get a solid hour in after that.

That evening, we went to the Globetrotters. I had never been and didn’t really know what to expect. It was pretty silly; although, from what the boys said, it wasn’t what it used to be.

The next day we went to their amazing gym/country club, where Mark and the oldest niece rock climbed, and then they all swam and played bball. We were probably there for a good 4 or 5 hours. The place was really nice… I even got to take a yoga class that afternoon. All-in-all, a very nice day!

We finished the evening with some Mediterranean food, the olympics and manicures. It was a great time!

The next morning, we headed to the airport nervously. Milwaukee was expecting 8-10 inches of snow that day and we were feeling a bit nervous about our travel luck. BUT, somehow, we made it! Anyone travelling to Wisconsin as a connecting flight, was unable to board the plane, as their trip had been cancelled. But as long as your final destination was Milwaukee, you were good to go. So we got on the plane and ventured back.

Just as we were about to land, they informed us that Milwaukee’s airport had been closed, so we would be cruising for a little bit until they were able to clear the runways and reopen. As scary as that was, we made it and landed safely… only to return to the blissful snow-filled state of Wisconsin.