Fabulous Army Life

Nate and I enjoyed our final morning in NYC by eating a wonderful breakfast at Junior's Bakery then strolling over to Tiffany & Co. in the rain.  Is anything more romantic?

Neither my hubby nor I had ever been to Radio City Music Hall so when we found out that The Rockettes were opening up their Spring Spectacular while we were in NYC, we were eager to go. In the funny way things happen sometime, I got a Facebook note from a friend of mine from college that her nephew was in the show! Her parents are good friends with my parents-in-law and we attended church with them for several years while we were stationed at Fort Hood. I tried to get some good photos of the little star, but no flash photography was allowed so I could only get a few iPhone quick pics. He was absolutely adorable, though! The show itself was very entertaining. The Rockettes are always amazing and they certainly did not disappoint in this show. Laura Benanti (whom I ADORED in "Go On" and cried actual tears when it was cancelled) was just fantastic. She sang and dance and acted and was beautiful and graceful, funny and energetic. She even held her own in the famous Rockettes ki...

One of the absolute highlights of our trip to NYC was getting to see our dear friends and former neighbors from Fort Hood days. They are currently assigned to a War College in Boston and I was thrilled that they made the trip! We enjoyed a very fun dinner at Sardi's catching up on careers and kids and life in general. We saw "Honeymoon in Vegas" on Broadway, thoroughly enjoying Tony Danza's character and had some good laughs. It was a fabulous evening with some equally fabulous friends.

Our second trip of the day was to visit Ernst and Young, known to locals as "EY."  This company was impressive from the very beginning, brining in some of their military veteran hires and really focusing on supporting our military members.  They engaged us in conversation about how to better reach military spouses looking for a career and how to connect with those leaving the military as well.  They are impressed with our veterans' skill sets and seem to have a genuine desire to show their support ... while gaining excellent employees in the process, of course. =)

Our first visit of the day was to NBC Universal which was a simply fascinating experience.  We met in a conference room where we were able to hear from some top executives about leadership challenges and solutions and were able to visit briefly with Willie Geist and Tamron Hall, whom I adore! Every single person we encountered at NBC -- to include some top-notch pages -- was sharp, professional, friendly, and focused. We toured some of the studios in the building including the Tonight Show and the Meredith Vieira Show. We learned that it was a "dark" week as several shows were not filming that week, including Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show.  I left there feeling positive about NBC and impressed with their beautiful building and excellent employees.

I'm not sure how many visits to NYC I will need before I get out of my total-geeky-tourist mode, but it's more than what I've encountered so far. I love this city. The lights, the sounds, the people, the energy ... it's absolutely breath-taking and awe-inspiring. One night during our NYC Trip, my hubby and I just walked around Times Square, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. It was fun, lively, and yet romantic, being there with my love. It's a favorite memory of mine and made me all the more anxious to visit the city again before we move too far away to drive. I'm in a New York state of mind ...

An amazing tradition at the Army War College is the annual trip to New York City. Much of the teachings and discussions at the War College focus on strategic leadership so the few days in NYC meeting with leaders from major corporations and with UN missions to further that discussion. It's a wonderful opportunity with the economic capital of the world and I'm thrilled to have been a part of it.  Each of the 26 seminars took a chartered bus to the city and engaged in a variety of meetings and visits. Our seminar happens to absolutely ROCK and we had a great time with each other from the moment we stepped on the bus until the moment we got home.