
NEW YORK
We went on a little vacation to New York City this past week. I was there last in 1989 over New Years and got to watch the ball drop on Times Square. The town seemed a bit more tidied up this time.
The weather was horrible. We went through 3 umbrellas. The wind kept turning them inside out. The streets were strewn with lifeless skeletons of umbrellas that people tossed.
We booked a flight via Priceline.com. I used http://www.Kayak.com to let me know when the fare price dropped. Using a Continental credit card we didn’t have to pay extra baggage fees.
To get from the airport to the hotel the best mode of transportation was to travel by subway or bus. We got a one-week fare for $27 for unlimited bus/subway travel. A taxi from just the airport to the hotel would’ve cost at least $35. The subway saved us tons and was convenient and easy. We did have a whack-job or two on the subway, but nothing unexpected. One was ranting about something and told people to smile. One was raising money for a midnight basketball league. One sang while another said it was for a midnight basketball camp. I didn’t see many bums or any rats…except for the Yankees. Go Tribe!
Driving to New York and parking in a garage can be very expensive. Easier to get around via the bus and subway system.
We used Hotels.com to get the hotel. They ran a 30% off special last fall and I was able to get another 10% off. We stayed at the Salisbury hotel on West 57th in Midtown Manhattan. Perfect location. The hotel charged $10 a day for Wifi, but luckily I was able to pick up free Wifi. Most expensive hotels charge for Wifi while the cheap hotels don’t. We asked for an upgrade and they wanted to charge $50 more for the suite. Not bad, but I wanted free. They offered us a Corporate King room for free. I happily said yes while I moonwalked across the lobby.
We did a lot. Saw the Late Show with David Letterman, Dr. Oz Show, and the Colbert Report all for free. All it usually takes is sending them a request for a ticket via their web-site. I even requested tickets for the View. Didn’t get the tics and my ears thanked me later for that.
We were on the Early Morning Show freezing with the rest of the handful of people outside.
Someone from the Letterman show called me about the tickets and I had to answer a question before they gave them to me. They asked what color the hair of Allen Coulter was, the show’s announcer. What, what I thought to myself. I hadn’t watched the show much since it went to CBS. I was a die-hard back in the NBC days. I saw him back in ’89. But the color of Allan’s hair stumped me. I said gray. He said brighter. I thought bald or white. Nope. He meant red. I should’ve told him that he dyed his hair red and it really is gray. So he gave me another chance. He asked what Dave throws – and before he finished the question I blurted out “PENCIL!” Got the tickets.
Jennifer Aniston was the guest. He keeps the studio at 53 degrees. Nobody likes sweaty guests.
I e-mailed for tickets for Colbert a couple months before the show and a couple weeks for Dr. Oz. I didn’t get tickets for tons of other shows I requested. Some said sending duplicate requests will cause them to throw out your request.
Waiting for the tapings was a pain. They herd you into pens and you have to wait while they get things organized. The seats we got for each show weren’t the best and it’s a crapshoot as to where you will sit. No rhyme or reason as to where you line up or whatnot. You can probably see me in some of the shots of each show. Or you can hear me blurting out stuff or laughing. I have a very-recognizeable heh, heh, heh, laugh.
I was on the Dr. Oz show about sex addiction. Let me rephrase that. I wasn’t one of the guests. I was there to see the show about sex addiction. Quite the show it was. Dr. Drew was there to talk with a sex addict couple.
Another segment was on when food expires. This was my bag. Listen for me yelling out 8 months as to when mustard expires – and I got it right. I also yelled out 6 months for when meat expires. I was wrong on that one. It was 12 months – hmmm, not sure if I would recommend keeping meat frozen for 12 months. Cans of vegetables was 24 months and I knew that. The lady stopped at 12 months. And eggs were 1 month and I knew that one too, but the lady stopped at 3 months. I wouldn’t want to eat at her house.
The last segment he took questions. One gal had an issue with her arm going numb, another gal said her bottom half of her nipple was white, and the other asked something about her odor from her menses – I’m not making these up and I wish I was. The show will air in a couple weeks.
Colbert Report aired on Tuesday already. Very funny. They had a comic warm up the crowd. For each show they also give you a pep talk to tell you to get into the show and laugh. If they let me tell a few knock-knock jokes I’m sure I could’ve gotten the crowd in a frenzy.
We also tried to get into Saturday Night Live via stand-by, but I knew our chances were slim. Apparently they only take ticket requests in August of each year. We were number 200 and 201 on stand-by. We didn’t get up at some ungodly hour to wait in line. Some people get in line in the middle of the night to go stand-by. Instead we stopped around noon and asked if there were still any available and there were. The weather was horrible all weekend so we figured there was a slight chance the weather will keep some ticketholders away.
We had to show up at 10:45 PM that night to wait in line. They took the first 30 people up and checked them for knives, guns, bombs, and the other usual stuff that people might try to sneak into a popular show. My most menacing item that I tried to sneak in was Trident gum with a foil pack.
As I figured we didn’t get into the show. There were only a couple people from the group of 30 that they brought in that got into the show. We watched the show when we got back to the room and it was one of their lame shows – one of many. Their pep talk people must get paid good for SNL.
We saw people lined up to be contestants on The Biggest Loser. Lotsa beef there. A greeter at the NBC store noted how the stairs were very sturdy where they were lined up.
Got some deals at the NBC shop. They had clearance items on sale for an ADDITIONAL 40% off. Plus because we had wristbands for the Dr. Oz show we got an additional 10% off. I got myself a t-shirt that said “I’m what Willis was talking about.”
We saw Mama Mia. I went to http://www.nytix.com. When I first checked they had seats available in the fourth row. They were on special at $150 for 2. Not bad, but I wanted better. There is a place called TKTS that you wait in line for that sells tickets for half off on the day of the show. I figured I could find them there. But I checked again on nytix and found that row 10 was now the best seats available. Snap, I said in my head. Then for the heck of it I clicked on next best available. Then again, and again and again. The fourth time was the charm. Row A. Yes, front row for the same price as the initial tickets I looked at. And sure enough, we sat front row next to the orchestra. We chatted with one of the percussion guys. He was cool. I asked some places to eat and go. So between his parts he would sit down and furiously write down places to go. At the end of the show he handed us three pieces of paper full of stuff.
We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The ‘recommended’ admission fee is $20 for adults. What that means is that you can tell them you will pay 10 cents and they will take that as your admission price. We got in for $10 for each of us – didn’t want to be too cheap after all. It’s a great museum. We could’ve spent much more time there. It was crowded.
Saw Phil Collins and John McEnroe at the Rock Hall inductions.
I found a great site for New York freebies at http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/features/75099/free-things-to-do-in-new-york-city. I was looking for good happy hour deals and attraction freebies. I checked http://www.myopenbar.com. One place called No Idea has a deal where if your name is the ‘Name of the Day’ you get to drink for free from 5 PM to 11 PM. And would you believe my name was the name of the day on March 15th. Bingo! You can find the place at http://noideabar.com/namenight.html. Guido was the name two days after mine – good people watching night. I wonder if Potsie or Nipsey was ever chosen.
We used Restaurant.com for all of our dinners. The locations and restaurants were perfect. The food prices were about the same as in Cleveland, but the wine and beer prices were at least 50% more. A lady told us they had raised their taxes on alcohol.
We stopped at local supermarkets to get some breakfast food and snacking. Found items on sale at great prices.
We saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Only $12 for the ferry ride over to both. Don’t take the line that just sails past them. Go to the one sponsored by the National Park Service at http://www.statuecruises.com/.
We did pay a visit to the World Trade Center area. Very somber to know what happened to the people in those buildings. They are putting up the new buildings there now. Looks like they started not too long ago. Being there makes you realize that we still need to defend this nation as we are in Afghanistan where Al-Quida is holed up and where they are planning more plots of devastation against America. Nobody wants to be at War, but I don’t think they will ever want to make peace. Africa is where much of Al-Quaida is being trained now too. I wouldn’t be surprised if more actions are taken there. Must always be vigilant to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
We brought some coupons for fast food places and some printed out coupons for restaurants. Used some.
You can find some good souvenir T-shirt deals. They sell them 6 for $10 or 7 for $10.99. Haggling is always par for the course.
New York is good to visit. Lotsa concrete and not many green spaces. Huge buildings and lots of them. I’ll have to let LeBron know his home is better off in Cleveland though. And after all, the Harlem Globetrotters can beat the Knicks on any night. His empire fits much better in Cleveland.
KMART
Click here to get a $10 off a $20 purchase coupon at KMart – note: coupon limit may have been reached:
http://www.kmart.com/ue/home/KM_Coupon_Renaissance_Chicago.pdf
ROMAN MEAL COUPON
Get a $1 off Roman Meal bread coupon here:
http://www.romanmeal.com/balancingact.htm?utm_source=streamsend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=9514061&utm_campaign=3%20steps%20to%20optimal%20fitness
SKYDIVING
Ever wanted to jump off a plane? Start Skydiving is offering a deal for skydiving for $119 (up to $239 value). Ends Sunday, 3/21.
Website: http://www.startskydiving.com
Location: 1711 Runway Dr, Middletown, OH 45042
Click here to order:
SKYDIVING DEAL
RED ROOF
Using your RediCard®, save 25% on your room at participating Red Roof locations. You’ll also receive a “Buy One Build Your Own Grand Slam® Breakfast and Get One Free” coupon from Denny’s. Book in advance at http://www.redroof.com or by calling 800.RED.ROOF (800.733.7663). Use Promo Code 604992 on the phone or on the web.
BEST DEAL MAGAZINES
DEAL OF THE DAY OFFERS:
3/22 Wine Enthusiast 1 Year $4.29
3/23 Family Fun 1 Year $3.89
3/24 Redbook 1 Year $7.99
3/25 Readymade 1 Year $5.29
3/26 Newsweek 1 Year – 54 Issues $27.00
3/27 Sporting News 1 Year $4.29
3/28 Woman’s Day 1 Year $4.29
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TAKE AN EXTRA $5 OFF $30 ORDER COUPON Code: MNDCJ328
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BEST DEAL MAGAZINES
OH NO YOU DIDN’T
Check out this video showing retailers selling returned, opened underwear. Yes, ewwww. The stores were big-name stores. Makes me think I can get my money back from some old pairs that I’ve had since ’88.
Click here to view the video:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/35659447#35659447
ALDIS
Pineapple – $1.49
Grapefruit – $1.79 – 5lb bag
Oranges – $1.49 – 4 lb bag
GIANT EAGLE
Breyers yogurt – 20 for $10 – get an additional $2 off with purchase of 20 – use two $1 off 10 coupons = 30 cents a cup
Stride gum – free after recent (.50) mystery coupon
Mentos – $1 – free after .50 coupon
Blue Diamond almonds- BOGO – use .50 coupon that doubles found at: http://www.bluediamond.com/index.cfm?navid=8
Smart Ones entrees – 5 for $10 – get $5 off with purchase of 6 – use freebie breakfast and flatbread coupon with purchase and also print $1 off 5 coupon here: http://www.eatyourbest.com/index.aspx
Freshetta pizza – 2 for $10 – get $4 on your next shopping trip with $30 purchase, $2 with $20, or $1 with $15. Click here for $1 pizza coupon: Freshetta Coupon
Ore Ida potatoes – 4 for $10 – get $5 off with purchase of 6 – use today’s $1 coupon = 6 for $3.
OPENINGS
Little Mountain Brewing – Kirtland – beer making
Wing Warehouse – Eastlake (formerly Scorchers)
Joe
http://www.joethecouponguy.com