Goodbye, New York

Look at all that wasted space on the lefthand side of the bed. Josh totally took up too much space on that teeny bed. I just wanted evidence.


See how I have no space?

We really tried to keep up with the New York City pace but in the end we are who we are and one night we were in bed by 7:30. Sorry. We're a couple of old folks, I guess.

Back to the tour.

I was recently outed in a comment by my Uncle Ron as a ginormous Olivia Newton John fan. So when the choice of Broadway shows came up it was a no brainer to me. Seeing Sandy smash that cigarette on stage in Grease was a dream come true. I honestly teared up a little when the girl who played Sandy sang Hoplessly Devoted to You.


See where the lady in the red jacket is sitting next to the red head lady? Those were Josh and I's seats.

The usher is to the right asking them to please move. Awkard. I just knew someone was going to come and say our tickets were wrong and we were supposed to be in the back row. But they didn't and we sat there in the third row.

Look how close I was to Vince Fontain. That guy was great and he was the last picture I got to take because they asked us not to take any pictures. The guy and gal who played Danny and Sandy were fabulous. They could not have been better. Then there was this guy named Ace that played Kinicke. He was not so great with the acting but a wonderful singer.

Grease was everything I thought it would be and more. I smiled through the whole thing.

After Grease it was on to Times Square.

We had to take a lot of self photos because it was just the two of us. Sometimes it took a little practice to get a good one. Why do ya think we felt the need to lean back in that one?

I don't know but we took another one and it turned out much better.

The next day we woke up early and went down to the Today show. I got close enough to Meridith that I could have done the weird creepy handshake. But I didn't need to. I was good just to see her. She walked around and talked to everybody that was there. She was so nice.

I was really surprised at how beautiful Ann Curry was. She was just a natural beauty. I couldn't take too many pics, though, because my battery was dying and I had a really important person to get pics with.

My new best friend, Scrappy Sue. Who would come halfway across the world to meet you? Someone you only bloggy know?

No way.

Yes way. That Sue is a special person. Talk about someone who is living life to the fullest. She doesn't seem scared of anything. Not even her semi-sketchy hotel. (the hotel wasn't really bad, it was in a much nicer part of town than ours) I don't know if I ever told her thank you for coming but I enjoyed her so much and was so grateful to have the opportunity to meet her.

I was a little nervous for her to meet Josh. You know how most people have a little switch in them that tells them not to say certain things around certain people. Josh doesn't have that switch. He is just a good ol' southern boy all the time. He believes what he believes and makes no apologies. Not something to be embarrassed by, just a little nervous about sometimes.

Does it look like I should have been concerned? That Josh is like a tic you can't unstick. He just sort of grows on you. I'm so glad they got along so well. When it was time for us to fly out he walked her back to the subway to be sure she got on the right one. She asked if he could stay with her and I gladly would have let him, but he's the bacon bringer homer.

Here's a shot of the two other bloggers. Sue on the left and Paula on the right. I wasn't sure if Paula wanted me to out her so you will just have to figure out which blog is hers.

She was such a pleasure to meet as well. I asked her if she had any apprehension about meeting stranger bloggers. Sue broke in and said she should have been scared of us since she had traveled so far to see us. When I started this blog, I was a little scared of who might see it. I was scared of the strangers. But I'm not anymore. Meeting these gals has been such a fun addition to my life. Thanks for not being scared of me.

Now it's time to say adieu to New York. I loved ya but I don't need to live there or go back for a while. It was the trip of a lifetime and I had a blast. What a way to turn 30.

I couldn't go without doing this.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice, schmactice. The subway is right around the corner.

New York City Part II

I wasn't sure if I wanted to visit the site of the World Trade Center. I thought it might be too hard. September 11th 2001 was about 6 months after Jonathon was born. I remember that I felt so sad that I had brought a child into this world. I also remember thinking that I couldn't believe someone could have so much hate in their heart. It was just unfathomable. So, thinking of going to visit the site where so many innocent people lost their lives was something I wasn't sure I could do. Even now, 7 years later. Josh really wanted to go. So we went.

Right across the street was a deli. We thought the food in the window looked good so we went in to have a sandwich. That was when we saw all of these pictures on the wall.


Apparently, very shortly after the buildings fell, this deli was turned into a medical station. I was glad we stopped in there. I was uplifted by the spirit of our culture. The spirit in us that feels an urgent need to help wherever or however we can. I know there are those random reports that people don't help others in need but I think that is the exception rather than the rule. I know that right after Sept. 11th many people wanted to go to New York and help in anyway possible. I know of people that tried and were told there were too many people helping.

The people who hurt us that day are long gone and whatever you believe about who was working with them or who they worked for, I think the thing we should take away from those horrible events is how we pulled together after them.

Now back to your regular programming.

This was one of only two times that we took a cab. That face watched the meter the whole time we were stopped in traffic and I thought at one point he was going to blow a gasket.

We also asked this man to take us a few blocks in his fun bike/carriage.

This was also another very scary experience. He didn't obey one single traffic law while we were in that buggy.
Also, he told us it would be $25 and Josh said he would give him $20. He agreed and got us there safely. Bless his heart, I know it must have been hard work because we are not a couple of lightweights, if you know what I mean. By the time he got us a few blocks away he was sweating profusely. I thought Josh should have given him $30 but he gave him $25.


I know I already mentioned the Rainbow Grille, but I wanted to show a few pics. The table where the waiter is standing is also the one where the guy proposed to his girlfriend. (The ladies at the table left an hour into mine and Josh's dinner)

Yes, Josh and I dined for about 2 and a half hours at that restaurant. That's a long time for us. This was Josh's face right after he saw the menu.

This view was what made it all worth it. 65 stories up and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life.

How'd that get in there?

The next morning we went to the Empire State Building. It is 86 stories high. If you look at the very bottom of the pic you will see the Macy's that we were staying a block away from.

Isn't Central Park beautiful? What? You can't find it? That's because we picked the worst day ever to go to the Empire State Building. It was so foggy you couldn't see anything. But if you really squint and look right past those big buildings you will see a green square back there and that is Central Park.

See the Statue of Liberty? She's standing in the middle of the pic on one of those little islands. Get your bifocals out and take a look.

Ever heard of Madison Square Garden? There it is on the left. The round one. And if you still have the bifocals out squint over to the right and you can see my hotel. The New Yorker. Its right there on the corner with all the crosswalks. Are your eyes crossing, yet?

There's Josh standing right next to the building we ate dinner in the night before. It was funny how short it looked from 20 floors above it.

Okay, guys and gals, that's two down one more to go. You will see the other bloggers and Meridith in the next post I promise.

New York City

Anybody wondering how my trip to New York City went?



Can you say FABULOUS???



What an exciting and scary experience. It was exciting because Josh and I did so many things that we have never done. We rode the subway, climbed A LOT of steps to the top of many things and haggled over prices of purses in tiny hidden back rooms. None of those things were the scary part, though. Leaving the kids for 5 days was the scariest part of the trip. It was great to be away, but even better to come home. I loved New York but I don't think I could EVER live there.



You ready for the pics?



Okay, here's how it's going to go. There will probably be 2 or 3 posts because, frankly, I am a little intimidated by the thought of uploading all of the pictures I took at one time. So, I'll leave this one up a couple of days until I can get another one done and so on. By the time I'm done you will see some nasty feet, two other bloggers and Meridith Viera. Just be patient.





We took a few shots of our little area from the plane. I thought they were neat. That one up there is Jekyll Island.





The road that runs across the top is US Hwy 17 and the one that forks off to the left is Spur 25.





This one is the causeway over to St. Simons.





The Sydney Lanier Bridge.


After a two hour flight and a stinky shared super shuttle ride we arrive at the New Yorker Hotel. I recommend just taking a taxi from the airport it might of cost about $10 more but would have been well worth it.


This is Josh checking my receipt for the hotel room. We were supposed to have a queen bed and I think this was their idea of one.


This is the view outside of our hotel room at night. I don't know if you can tell how gorgeous it was. Josh is in the background calling everyone he knows to let them know how small the room is. This was taken just after he had paced the room to find out how many feet wide it was.


This was what we woke up to every morning while we were there. I thought it was gorgeous.


However, if we would have been on the other side of the building this would have been part of our view. See that big building, there? That's the Empire State Building. And to the left there is the Macy's on 34th street. I'm not sure how many 'Miracle on 34th Street' fans there are out there but it was a big deal to me to stay on 34th street one block away from the Macy's that was the backdrop of the movie.


This is Bobby Flay's restaurant. It was delicious and we highly recommend it.


Me and my two purses in front of Radio City Music Hall. I bought that purse right before dinner, and had nowhere to put it.


Me at Rockefeller Plaza. Or maybe it was the Center. If you ever want me to finish this post you won't get mad that I didn't go check online...


We ate dinner at the top of the rock one night. We didn't ask if there was a dress code (mostly because we've NEVER eaten anywhere where there was a dress code) and we showed up in jeans. We had to hop the subway back to the room and change. They said they would hold the reservation for 45 min. We rushed and made it back with one minute to spare. Literally. But that dinner was my favorite part of the trip. You know the part in 'Sleepless in Seattle' where the heart comes up on the Empire State Building and she tells Walter she's got to go? That was the exact view that we had from the Rainbow Grille. It was a night I will never forget.


That's where they shoot the Today show. At the bottom of the rock. Don't worry you'll get the pic of Meridith in a few days.


Then it was off to visit the Statue of Liberty. She was so much smaller than I envisioned.


After that semi-weird experience at Battery Park we jumped on the ferry and went over the see the real Statue. The look on my face is saying, 'Josh are you sure you can get the city in this self photograph?' But he did a good job, didn't he?


There she is. The awe inspiring Lady Liberty.


I was coming down the steps from the top deck of the ferry when she came into view. I was very happy with the shots I got.


Then it was time to go up the steps to the observation deck. Man that was a lot of steps.


These are the steps that you are not allowed to go up. I guess they go all the way to the top.


Josh made me take a picture of the nuts and bolts. He was impressed by their size. What a nerd.

See, this is what you really want to see. Nuts and bolts are for geeks. You want to see me irreverantly kiss the Statue of Liberty on the cheek. How inappropriate. I'm only slightly embarrassed to show that.


Almost as embarrassed as I was comparing my foot to hers. 'Hey, Lady Liberty, you think your dawgs are barking? At least you had on what appears to be comfy sandals or maybe no shoes at all.'

There's a price to be paid for those sassy shoes.

And it's called very painful toes. I really messed my pinky toes up walking all around in New York in horribly uncomfortable shoes. I now know what blisters on top of blisters looks like.

Okay, guys and gals this is all I can do for now. It has taken me too long to do just this. I'll do another over the weekend.

P.S. I also tried to call my good friend GIGI and share my Lady Liberty experience with her but I just got voicemail. I hope she got my message.