In any event, our last trip ended up with a breakdown at Exit 7 on the NJ Turnpike. Believe it or not, after all of the trips over all of the years, this was my very first breakdown! There were actually many "good" things about the breakdown though: We had an excellent driver (thank you Eric Harding!) who got us over to the shoulder of the road where we were completely safe until our replacement bus arrived. Also, we were on the way BACK from NYC, rather than on the way TO, so itineraries weren't impacted. And everyone was very patient and understanding, which I appreciated more than they will ever know. No one (especially me) likes being stuck on a bus for an extra couple of hours after a long day, but they all made the best of it and I thank them for that.
On the positive side, it was a beautiful day to spend in NYC and I started my day with the Rockefeller Center Walking tour. Well worth the $17, but they certainly don't make it easy for you to find where the tour actually starts. There is plenty of signage for the Top of the Rock observation deck, but nothing to show you where to queue up for the walking tour. So you do need to ask one of the nice folks who work there in order to find out: 1) if your tour is actually taking place (I had ordered my ticket online and I learned that it had been rescheduled to a half hour later) and 2) where you need to go to wait for the tour to begin. It's amazing how many times I've walked around all of the buildings that comprise Rockefeller Center, yet I never took the time to stop and appreciate the incredible artwork. 
The walking tour includes audio headsets so that you can hear the guide from wherever you are which is great so that you don't miss anything he/she says. But you do still need to keep an eye out for the guide because ours was a fast walker and we lost him briefly a couple of times along the way. There's an awful lot of information covered during the tour and while I learned a lot, it left me wanting me more so I'll be looking for a book or two to fill in the gaps.
Speaking of books, another nice thing about the tour is that your ticket includes the opportunity to purchase a very nice hardcover book for only $5 about the history of the Rockefeller Center Christmas (the book is normally $30). They don't make it easy to find the store where it's sold (again, I had to ask) but it's worth the effort. Super nice enthusiastic young ladies were working there--one of whom suggested that I visit the Rockefeller estate, Kykuit, and she took the time to go online to give me the address.
After my tour, I walked over to the Minus 5 Ice Bar. Wasn't going to because I kind of resent the $20 cover charge (and that's for the El Cheapo package) but I had time before Cinderella started and I figured since this would be my last visit to NYC for a while, I'd check it out. It would be a great place to go cool off on a steamy hot summer day and I will say that the $15 Snowflake cocktail had plenty of alcohol in it, so it was almost like getting two drinks for the price of one. Would I do it again? Nah, but it would be a fun thing to do with some friends when you want to kill an hour or so.I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Cinderella even though I was disappointed that Harriet Harris wasn't playing Madame in the performance (loved her in Fraiser and Desperate Housewives). Show could have been a bit shorter (it's a bit of a long time for most young kids to sit still) but it's a fun musical that anyone of any age would enjoy. Still trying to figure out how they did some of those magical costume changes!
Dinner at Frankie & Johnnie's ended the day and it was a bigger treat than normal because I got to enjoy it with my friends Ginny and Shirley. The only downside was that Mario was not there, but fabulous Roxy and the rest of the amazing staff took excellent care of us. Still have not found better salmon ANYWHERE and they have a new dessert menu (I recommend the raspberry crumble cheesecake)!
So this is it. At least for a while. I know I'm going to miss doing all of the research for new trips and traveling with all of my friends. But I've learned never to say never, so we may be back again with fresh new trips some time in the future. I'll keep you posted...
