Day 16 - New York Mystery Endeavour

As you know the alarm went off at 5am and we stumbled out of bed and were pounding the pavement by 5:30...heading to...drum roll...the Jimmy Fallon Tonight Show stand by ticket line! We arrived at 5:55am hoping to be somewhere near the head of the line but found there were 19 people ahead of us. Apparently the first couple arrived at 2:45am. So it was time to dig in and wait. The way this works is that you line up at a designated place on the pavement outside NBC studios and then at 9am they come and take your name and give you a numbered standby ticket. You then need to come back at 3:30pm at which time they tell you whether you have made it in.

We had both taken our kindles so that helped pass the time - we sat, we stood, we stretched, and pretty much did everything we could to be comfortable in a sidewalk line at 6am. By 9am the line had swollen to over 50 people and we all dutifully got our numbered golden ticket (Carly was 20 and I was 21) and were told to return at 3:30.

By this time we were more than a little peckish as I was too scared to eat or drink anything on the line as you are not allowed to leave the line for any reason, including going to the bathroom. So we found a place to grab some take away oatmeal & fruit and a cup of tea, and the day was underway for real. Carly wanted to shop and I wanted to go to the Top of the Rock - the viewing balcony on the top of the Rockefeller Centre (67th floor), so we split up. Moving out into Rockefeller Plaza, I stumbled upon Miranda Kerr and a ceremony putting the sparkly star on top of the big Christmas Tree. Apparently it's a big deal - there were paparazzi everywhere...and I couldn't believe Carly was missing it. I decided to stay and take lots of pics so I could show her later. Unbeknown to me, Carly was also there filming it so she could show me later!

It was then time for me to climb to the heights to get a bird's eye view of New York. Although it was chilly early, the day was perfect - quite warm, sunny, and totally still. The view was amazing! I spent about 20 minutes ups there taking heaps of photos and generally taking it all in - I was so glad I did it.

I checked out the skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza on the way back to our hotel room where we had agreed to meet. It was all very festive!

Carly also had a successful morning and having dumped her shopping we were once again pounding the pavement. We grabbed lunch at the diner Gary & I frequented back in 2008 and then headed off to Central Park for a bit of exploring. It really was a lovely day - at 3pm it was 21 degrees!

By the time we realised we were actually walking the wrong way to get back to NBC, we needed to do a bit of a flash walk to make sure we were there by the 3:30 deadline. Yes, that's right, the time of reckoning was nigh. At 3:30 as everyone assembled at the NBC shop, the designated spot, it was announced that people with numbers over 50 had no chance and should leave. This gave us some heart that we were a chance. We were then lined up in number order from 1 down and asked to wait. We were starting to get excited by this time. Things were looking good. We knew that they were very strict about people being on time but we were pleased for the 2 young blokes from Nashville (numbers 18 & 19) who were allowed to join the line 10 minutes late as one of them had lost his wallet and had been looking for it. It would seem churlish to cry "shenanigans" on this blatant breaking of the rules. It wouldn't matter, would it? I'm sure you've guessed where this is going...they called out the next cut and announced only 1-19 need stay. Do I need to remind you that we were 20 & 21? No Jimmy Fallon for us. So close...and yet so far. WE WERE SHATTERED!!!!!

Well, when faced with a set back such as this there is only one thing to do. It was off to the bakery!

We were pretty tired and disappointed so decided an early night was in order. Ah well, tomorrow is another day...

On a side note, we heard this morning that poor old Oska had to be put down yesterday, aged 17. It must have been hard for James and Gary and we were sad here too, but the poor old fella had reached that time when there was really no choice and it's good to know he is not suffering now.