It was around five a.m. on an icy cold Saturday morning when my three best friends and I, lay cuddled in a queen sized bed at my friend Janae’s house. Two of us were awake talking about the planned day ahead. The other two were awakened by our giggles and whispers. Mrs. Carly, Janae’s mom, knocked on the door and poked her head in to tell us to get ready. It was Janae’s birthday and we were going to New York City.
As we got dressed, music blasted through stereo speakers which echoed throughout the house. We were all in and out of the bathroom, taking turns in the shower and in front of the mirrors. The aroma of bacon, eggs, pancakes, biscuits, chopped potatoes and sausages floated through the vents up to the second floor. Mrs. Carly yelled, “Girls hurry… we’re going to run into traffic!” During breakfast we made a toast, “To an unforgettable Saturday and a Happy Sweet Sixteen to Janae!” We layered up (sweaters, jackets, coats, scarves and gloves) and headed out the front door to Mrs. Carly’s red jeep.
All of our parents were stationed right outside of Philadelphia, which was about an hour and a half from New York City. It was the birthday girl’s decision to have a full travel experience. We drove to Trenton, New Jersey (about forty five minutes away) and took the train right into the city. The first thing on our mind was to go SHOPPING!
Two hours later, we were starving so we decided upon this Italian Bistro. While waiting for our lunch we go over our plans once again. When lunch is over we leave the bistro and head out for more adventure. We spend all day shopping and sightseeing until we are tired and at sunset we head into a McDonald’s in Time Square.
This is when Mrs. Carly tells us that she has a surprise for us and we need to change into our other outfits that we brought along with us. We talk a cute employee into giving us the key to the employee’s restroom which was ten times better than the customer’s restroom. Heading out of McDonald’s, we walk no further than a block and ran into a guy selling tickets to a comedy spotlight night at an underground comedy club. An hour later, we head out of the comedy club and into a winter wonderland. Snow fell all around us as we walked. My heart ran wild and my face was filled with amazement. The timing couldn’t have been any better and we were finally headed to our surprise.
We walked down a couple of streets and then over a few blocks. We were a little lost so Mrs. Carly asked for directions. We kept walking until we came to a building where the entrance read “Lips”. As it turned out, it was a drag queen restaurant. In this underground spot men dressed up in costumes and acted out feminine personalities. Lasting memories were made as we ate amazing food and shared our laughter. Later, around midnight, we headed back to the train station and waited for the train back to Trenton Station. When we arrived home, the snow had turned into rain and the temperature had dropped. It was three o’clock in the morning and we were back cuddled in the queen sized bed, except this time we were all sound asleep.
This was the last trip we spent together before our parents were transferred to different parts of the country. Everything was not planned but worked out just fine.
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