Sunday, August 19, 2012

Saturday in the Parks... and other places


It's Saturday!  Day 2 - and we have a plan for the day...  Head to Donut Plant for breakfast, then down to Battery Park, lunch at Katz's, back up to Time Square to get show tickets, Central Park to kill time and revisit "the rock", dinner at Shake Shack, and then hopefully see Clybourne Park.    Battery Park, Central Park, Clybourne Park... 

We are up and ready to get going, and we take turns in our small shower which has a window that looks out into the alley - not frosted - just an open window that you can clearly see out (and into).   We're on the first floor, and there is a window across the way.  But it's great ventilation.   Here are some of the pics of the apt that I said I would post..

Into the bedroom

Down the hall to the door

Our living room, den and kitchen

Living room (all taken from the same spot)

Bathroom.. and the tub that goes around the corner

And our window



We are still riding high from our encounter with Russell, recounting conversations and talking about how much his sign style makes him cuter (it totally does, and he doesn't need any help with that department anyway).   Oh and we remember the weird guy in the red pants that he obviously didn't want to engage with.  How quickly his face changed from our conversation to the other the one with weird guy.  We wonder if this guy has been around before.   Here's the pic of Patti with Russell ready to go work out.  
Super nice guy


Britt slept on the couch last night - its our third bed, and its really very comfy - but it's leather so she said that she got so hot during the night she was sweaty, like dripping - and she's out in the living area with the AC.  She describes herself as a violent sleeper and we can't dispute that.  Anytime we got up in the night, she was in a different awkward position, like head bent backward, legs up on the back of the couch.  It's like sleeping couch yoga.  One position looked like the kill pose from Karate Kid. 

We start out for the subway with the handy dandy map app (free on iPhones) and it didn't have our starting spot in the right place and had us walking to a stop further away, so I
recalculate and they say the fastest route is a bus just around the corner.   We get there just as it pulls up!!  Lucky!  We struggle with the metro cards a bit - I tried to give a quick tutorial before we got on, but it got there too fast.   The card reader tries to be helpful with all these pics and examples and arrows telling you how to put the card in, but it just makes it more confusing, too much input - you have to just focus on the arrows on the card and make sure you follow that.  Otherwise you take a long time to get on the bus, passengers roll their eyes, the driver chuckles a bit and takes the card from you to help you, poor dear... and that was us.   Well, not ME of course (I did that last time and was determined not to repeat so I made sure I had it right this time).  

We smell a little urine... Scott may be right.  Maybe people do pee on the seats.   We're in the back of the bus and we notice all the locals are sitting in the front area... maybe there is a reason.  

We head to Donut Plant, a place recommended by Girlyman on their Facebook page (that's a group, not a person).   And O.M.G.  -  it's like one of those gourmet cupcake shops, except with donuts...  we each order two and share - oh and they also make their own homemade peach ice cream.   Diabetic coma, party of 3 please.   So Patti and gets the creme brulee, carrot cake and vanilla bean (I know that more than two, but the creme brulee is like a small creme puff) - and please it's incredible.  In fact Patti and Brittany get the last two - I order one and the woman at the other register gets the last one before I do.  I have to change my order and just ask them to give me something and they recommend the Tres Leches - she thinks I would like that (from what she knows of me in our 30 second encounter).  I get that and a peanut butter and blackberry jam, it tastes just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich inside of a Krispy Creme... drool.   Brittany gets the creme brulee and a peanut butter and banana creme.   The best by far is the creme brulee, there is a reason that it sells out.  The sugar on top is exactly like the hard sugar shell and the creme inside is heaven.   The carrot cake is up there - and I loved the peanut butter and jelly.   We posted picks of some of the donuts on facebook if you haven't had a chance to see them.

The selection

Outside 

























We head down to Battery Park just see the water and look around - Brittany hadn't been there yet and we need to walk off some donuts.   There is also a 9/11 memorial there - there was a globe sculpture that was at the World Trade Center, and when they found it, it was relatively unharmed for the amount of stuff that had fallen on and through it.   And so it's no in Battery Park.   

WTC Memorial in Battery Park
Tower 1 and 7 being built

While we're there we're approached by a homeless man that keeps telling us that we have "nice purses" - we're not sure what that means.  Is he saying something else? (Britt thought he said "Nice plus sizes"... ) or is this a way to hint that we should give him nice money from our nice purses?    The park is great because the weather is incredible. When we come up from the VERY hot subway, we are hit with air so cool it feels like New York is being air-conditioned.   It's wonderful.   We see where you catch the ferry to go out to the Statue of Liberty, walk along the water front, just chill for a while before we head back up to Katz's Deli.   We realize that many of our must-see destinations involve food and that we will be posting about more food after we've just indulged in these donuts - oh well.  :)  
We look for a bathroom, and Patti had spotted one near the entrance to the Park (thankfully because another one we found had a very long line) - but this one seems to be a secret, no line, three stalls, no waiting.   Brittany squeals from her stall that it's gross and wet and it won't flush and her pants are wet (and many other high pitched things) and Patti and I are laughing so hard because we know that by this time a line has formed and now she has an audience, people waiting in line for this glorious stall that she's in.   I head outside and I see Patti through the doorway, completely entranced.   This is what I see... and a close up...


Take me to your leader

My view...


























Turns out she's watching a squirrel.   A very talented squirrel... he was digging and finding ways under fences by digging his face in the dirt..  she was captivated.  I'm still laughing because while I see this, Brittany is still being squeaky about the stall.   She comes out and sees the line and people thank her for warning them.  She's done them a service.


We head back on the subway but there is no direct line to get to Katz's ... we're looking at where we need to be and focus on the number - and we end up in Brooklyn.  Oops.  Oh well, we're just so happy to just be on a train.   And cool.    We get off and now we have more train options..  We just want to try all the trains, the 4, the 3...  Do I hear a 2?   Maybe a 1 - oh but that's a bus.  What we really want is the 6.  And then my phone tells us that a bus would be faster - the m15.  But it's timed by actual schedules, which is great because you know when buses and trains should arrive, but it's bad because if you miss that route then the next time you search for a route it's completely different and possibly two block back the way we just came.... and by the time we get there, the M15 is gone and now we need the M9...luckily it's right next to where we're standing.  

The bus ride is great - all through downtown, chinatown... we're cool, we didn't have to go below the surface, and we can see the city.  We're looking for the Houston stop. They're  supposed to  turn and then stop.   But they don't and suddenly we're in 4th street (Houston is
like zero in this case).  So we rush off and find our way back.   Not a bad walk, and Katz's is within our sight!

We had been here before, but it was during a week night and at night, so we had the place to ourselves.  Not the case today - there is a line to get in, and it is controlled chaos inside.   Once again we are warned not to lose our tickets - every person gets a ticket when they go in and every person gives it back when they leave, or your get a $50 fine.   We step up to the line and pick the wrong guy to be behind, he's ordering for his whole family, but Patti reminds me to be patient, and our sandwich guy is worth the wait, lots of character.  

I order the pastrami and corned beef with coleslaw, and he asks, "Are you staying baby?" - he's got a bit of an accent, so I have to ask him to repeat a few times - and then I get it.  OH!   For here or to go?   I tell him I'm sorry, I'm not used to people calling me baby - and so he says "What they call you? Darling?" and from that point on I'm darling.  Patti gets a pastrami with mustard - and Brittany who was in a much quicker line gets the combination on white and gets fries for us all to share.   This is sooo good.  We are stuffed and happy.  And silly.   Patti and I each go through a panic moment where we think we've lost our tickets.  We JUST had them, and we're super paranoid about losing them - how could they be gone?   Mine was on the floor, below my foot.  And Patti's was in her pocket with her blackberry.  We check out and Patti and Britt both get shirts - Patti's says "I found my ticket at Katz's Deli".
Mmm.  Pickles at Katz's


We walk back to the F station and what should be a 15 min straightshot to Time Sqaure to check for tickets for a show tonight.    Omg.  The F train is down for the day.   So we ride it back downtown and plan to transfer to another train that goes to Time Square at the next station.  Time Square has a million stations around it, nearly every line stops there at some point - and we can't find one.   The train doesn't stop at the station where we could transfer (weekend schedule) and we end up in Brooklyn. Again.   Change to the A train, and decide that we want the 50th street stop instead of 42nd...  a ton of people get off at 42.   Next stop 50th street.   And the train doesn't stop. Are you kidding me?   So we get off at 59th and take a different line (the D) back to 47th.   We've been below the surface for over an hour.   It's hot and gross and never at the right stop, and I am glad that we are finally where we want to be. Ugh.

In the midst of all of this, we have an odd fellow travellor.   He's sitting right next to Britt, and he's slurping up noodles and egg drop soup.  He's apparently got an issue with his lower lip because he's slurping up the soup, but a lot of it is dripping down on onto the subway floor.   If you look closely you can see the noodles on the floor... 

Britt's new friend


We get off and surface to find a street festival!  So that cheered me up again - hard to be grumpy in New York, too many things to do.   But we want to head to time square and TKTS first - they open at 3 and its now a little after.  The play line is always short, not the madness of the musical line.   We get there to find that Clybourne Park is still on the board, and there are like 20 people in line.   After all my worry that we were going to be too late to get tickets, we actually get there at the perfect time.   We make a few line friends (there is a person wearing a Wash U polo in front of us), and the guy behind us is considering Peter and the Starcatcher, which we saw last time and completely recommend.  Turns out his friend produced it and said that it was great - but he produced it, so he wasn't sure if that was just him saying that.   

Now  back to the street fair - the one we went to before was only a few blocks long, but this one goes on forever!   It goes all the way up to the Park on 6th Ave, and since we're going up to the Park anyway we just decide to walk all the way up (about 10 blocks).  It's cute, many of the same places repeated, purses, scarves, shirts... and little dog toy place.  Patti finds a big glow in the dark ball that says "Luna" on it - but it's much too big for Luna's little mouth.   Brittany got some for her babies that smell  like mint to help their breath.

Luna.


We (ok, I) wanted to do a redo of the Doctor Who pics on the rock - we were in the right place before, but not at the right angle, so the backgrounds don't match up.  Patti is a very
patient photographer.    Brittany has a little trouble getting up from the rocks, but we're not showing that picture on the blog (as me later). 

Small Doctor Who rock

Big Doctor Who rock


Time to make a choice - walk back down to Time Square, about 20 blocks or find the subway.
We're droopy.  So we find the train and it's a station with the full body turn styles - we are wary.  We hated them last time because you have to be careful, sometimes they stop you mid turn and you're locked out.   We had to buy multiple single tickets before when we got locked out....  Patti went thru first which was a mistake, we should have modeled the technique, rejected.   Had to buy a single ticket. Grrrr.  But now she's been initiated into the club.

Go out at Time Square and Britt needed to go to the M&M store again and we needed a potty (3rd floor).   We're in line and it's long, when this lady just cuts the line a couple of people in front of us.  The girls in front of us kind of giggle and tell her "this is the
line...".   The lady just responds with "yes it is.".   Whoa bold. Most skillful line cutter ever.  I want to try it one day.  I had to get a pic of her for posterity.   

She's in the blue with the crocs...



Got out of the store and we wanted to go to Shake Shack for dinner - it's just 4 blocks up, so we head in that direction before our show - we see it, but it was quite the line out the door and halfway down the block, and we're not hungry yet (we thought we'd get a shake), so we decided we just needed a drink for now and we ducked into the McDonalds (gasp!).  It was nice to sit and have a drink and chat while waiting for the show.   I carry my drink while we walk back and Brittany is concerned for me - she hates to carry a drink and walk. It just gets in the way.   Ok...

THE SHOW!!   It's show time!!   I'm really excited about this show.  Act one is set in 1950, a white family owns a house and is selling to a black family, with the reaction to a black family moving into their area from the neighbors... Act two is 50 years later, the same house, now in a black neighborhood, being purchased by a white family - and the parallels in the reaction from the neighbors...



We got seats in the mezzanine, second row - really in these theatres there are no bad seats.  You're so much closer than at the Fox - just a completely different experience.  The mezzanine has quite a slope to it though and the rows are tight.  So when we sit, the backs of the seats in front of us are pressing into our shins.  Painfully so.  At intermission we move up a few rows to some empty seats, and we get a look at our shins.   There is a huge indentation!  Its very weird, like there is a hole in my leg - the upper seats are fine because the slope is at a different angle so the seats don't hit us in the shins.    But all that is beside the point - what a great show!   We chose wisely.  

We know that the Shake shack is open till midnight, so we decide to walk back up and see if we can get in.   Perfect way to end the evening!   No line, we go right in and order.  We know that we want burgers, it came highly recommended by a former co-worker of Patti's (Sandy) who said that the burgers were even better than Cheeburger Cheeburger... and it's the SHAKE Shack, so we had to get a shake.   Patti gets a chocolate malt and I get a peanut butter shake, we all get burgers...  I'm wearing my Gallaudet shirt that has sign language on it, and my cashier asks me if I work for the "Hearing disabled"... um sort of.   Some of the tables are common tables that you share with others and our companions were having what Britt considers to be booth talk, not common area table talk.   This guy she's dating, when he makes love he makes looooove... 20 minutes of details.  And she wants to find a place to party on Wednesday because she needs to party every night of the week, that's her goal.   It's great people watching - the lady in red... oh my.   

Good burger

Oh my... 



We walk back to the subway, which they say is accessible "through the passage" - which is a very long and hot walk through what seems like miles of "passage".  Next time never take
a passage, always walk in the open air. Take the N down to the NYU stop and we see a lady coming up and talking to each person, handing out pamphlets for something.  Britt and I pretended we were deaf.  Had a very in depth conversation about flavors of milk you could but at the store.  Totally worked, she skipped right over us.   

We get off and walk back by the black cube.  We have passed by this cube many times in the past 2 days, and I've told a story of how it was near the Blue Man group theatre because I remember it from when I camehere with my niece and nephew.   And Brittany has never seen this cube before.   It's just a HUGE black cube on an island in the middle of the traffic center... nothing conspicuous.  But oh, she remembers the Chase bank (next to it).  Hmmm.  

Home sweet home and ready for Sunday... 

 

Friday, August 17, 2012

New York Take Two, Part Deux, Deja Vu...


Well here we are, back in the city!   How did this happen, and why did this happen?  One person - Brittany McKay.  She is a motivator.  She first said that she wanted to go back and we said, yah, yah... we all do...  NO, I *really* want to go back.  So then the little researcher that I am, I got online and looked at flights and apts, fully expecting to report back that this was impossible unless she wanted to pay out the nose.  BUT turns out I found super cheap flights for this weekend only, the apts were affordable (like $100 each for the whole weekend), and I had a code for $39 tickets to Tribes.   Sooo... I reported back that if she was serious, this could be doable.  Patti, who didn't go on our longer trip was also very interested to go and see Tribes - so we went for it and booked flights.   Crazy.  But I do love the city, love seeing shows - and it's so rare to be able to see a Deaf actor on Broadway, that we just had to go back (as nutty as you all think we are).  I think I've said before that I know many people that make annual trips to Vegas (and I never have to go back there again) - but I could definitely see myself making an annual trip to NYC. 

We wanted to stay in a different area this time - we did the glitz of the Theatre District/Time Square, and now we're going a bit more gritty staying in the East Village area.   In fact we're right by the Village Voice (and everytime I think about it I have to sing the line from Rent).  We're right in the RENT part of town, just around the corner from many locations where they filmed in fact.   We might go get a pic outside of the (fake) Life Cafe (the real one is now a bagel shop or something).
Village Voice
Cool mosaic pole

We arrive after a fairly uneventful plane ride, a nice direct flight with no delays or weird people to captivate us.  Our cabbie has a little trouble getting us to the actual apt, and I think we added $10 to the fare in just going around the block...and around another block, and just one more U-turn...  but it gives us a chance to get a feel for the area.  I mentioned gritty, right?  Brittany calls it "seedy"...but this is just the real flavor (and smell) of the city.  We've been in touch with our host - once again we're using Roomarama to book an apt - love that site - and the person cleaning the apt is running a little late so we have some time to kill (with our bags) while we wait.   Patti spots McSorley's Pub just a straight shot from our apt - and I recognize the name from my research of the area.  It's noted on all of the maps like it's a landmark, and I think that's because it is.  And we need to go to places deemed as landmarks, so we're in.  Its OLD - established, and in this same location since 1854.  The front window says, "We were here before you were born" - tons of flavor.   
4 beers -2 people

So we go in - and its full of locals and a few tourists (you can spot tourists because we look up, and there is lots to look at in this pub).   I think many of the things on the wall have been there since 1854.   We overhear a few comments about "oh straight from the airport" since we're lugging our bags in with us, but it's not unfriendly.  The floors are covered in saw dust, and the mood of the place is great old Irish Pub.  It occurs to us later that our first meal on our last trip here was in an Irish Pub.  Funny.  We see the people at the table next to us, and their table is FULL of beer mugs, like for a group of 6-7 people there are about 15 mugs!  We look at the menu and it's pretty limited, but then we realize that it's all on the chalkboard and you just order from the daily specials.   We decide to get some ale as well, and you have two choices - light or dark.  We like those choices, sometimes too many beer choices are overwhelming.   We discover that they make their own beer, so that's obviously one of the draws - we get "light" (Brittany just gets water), and each order the fish and chips which we are told by our waiter is good, and they have a corned beef hash, so we get one of those to share and taste.   I love corned beef, and after Brittany's Katz's experience, she's curious to try it.   He brings our ale, and gives us two mugs each - two drink minimum?  But it explains why there were so many mugs on the other table.    The fish comes and it's not just good - its amazing.  Like moist and meaty with the perfect amount of breading - and this is coming from a certified Catholic (Patti Ann), they know their fried fish.    Brittany is just thrilled that our waiter speaks in a "real" New York accent - this is what she wanted most.  

Just wrong
We head back to the apt when she arrives, just to drop off our bags so we can head out again while she's cleaning.   It's a little apt (TINY bathroom), but its good for what we need.   I didn't take pics of it today, but I'll get some up tomorrow.   Brittany is a big fan of New York Ink, and last time we were here we went to Wooster Street Social Club, but no one was there.  Now she's heard that they're currently filming, so she wants to go back and "meet" Ani (or Ari?  Or Ami? I'm sorry I'm not trying to be funny, I'm  not sure of his name and she's asleep)... so we indulge her, and we go.  It's not far from us - like 2 min on a train and then a little bit of a walk - and on the way we go by places that we went before in Soho.   We see C Wonder again, and Dash, and Evolution (the place with the Raccoon penis bones and the coin purses made from Cain toads)- and we go in because Britt and Patti haven't been there yet.  I leave with a coin purse.  I couldn't pass it up twice.  

Turns out that the tattoo place is just around the corner from these places, and we had made a special (and long) trip to get there when we went before.   Man, we were so close to it, like 2 blocks away when we went to Dash.   It's nice to start to make those connections and put together a spacial map in your head.  Anyway, we get there and it looks pretty quiet - I was a little unsure that they were going to be filming, but we get in and we have little greater at the door that we didn't have before.   We see people tattooing through the glass and there is definitely a film crew in there.  Two cameras and a sound guy.  I was looking at someone else that I thought was Ami, but then Britt points out that it's the bald one.   OH.   Our little greeter guy asks us to come back and join him at the door, and I'm a little nervous that we're not going to be able to get in because they're filming, or that they're screening and only allowing people getting a tattoo or something.  But he tells us that because they're currently filming that he needs for us to sign releases on his handy dandy ipads.   He's SUPER nice to us, much nicer than he has to be, and kids around with us.  We are hot, sweaty messes, and he's being sweet.   We fill our info on the ipads, and he has put down that we are "models" - Britt beams... he says that well, he had like 15 choices under occupation and he picked models for us.   I asked if I could be a Truck Driver, and he said that it was too late (dang).  I get done and then he takes a picture of us on the ipad (good lord, we are seriously a mess because we've walked a bit and it's MUGGY out there) - Patti is almost half way done with hers and Britt is still working on hers.  Our new bestie chastises her a little for being the youngest and not having a handle on the technology.   While we're being processed, Tony (another person that Britt was thrilled to see) walks by us and out the door, and then pops his head back in to joke around with our friend.   Britt says that this is so cool (I trust her), and that BP would be DYING right now if she were with us.   I ask if we can take pictures (no, sorry) - and we head in.   

The AC is great in this place - it's my favorite.   There are lots of people like us just milling about and watching Ami do a tattoo, and I notice that the girl he's working on is getting a Olympic ring tattoo like we had seen so many times on the athletes... and if he's doing it and its film worthy, then we bet she's an Olympic athlete.  Others tell us that she won the silver in diving (we didn't watch much diving) - Abby Johnston.   So watch for that on the show, and you might see us looking on somewhere in the background.

We head back to the apt, and we think she's done - she's not there - but just as we were getting comfy, she comes back in and is apologetic, she just has to make the beds.   We're so low maintenance it's ridiculous, we don't care.   We hang out for a while and then start to get ready for the evening.   We want to eat at Johns Pizza - yum - which is right around the corner from the Tribes theatre.  We get to John's about 5 (show is at 7:30) because they had slower service before and we wanted to be sure we weren't late.   We were much cooler this time because we sat in the front room- the last time they sat us in the second room and we didn't have much air moving.   Anyway - food!   We had the veal meatballs again (Patti needed to try them), and the meatball pizza ... so good!   And actually got out of there pretty quickly.  So since we had time to kill we went back to David's Tea and tried some new flavors.
Floaties

PIZZA


























Getting tea here is an event.  You consult with your tea girl, tell her if you want caffiene, if you like a fruity blend or something in an oolong or a black tea... then you smell the teas and hear about their life story... and finally a decision is made and tea is brewed.   Brittany really relishes this process, and Patti and I just kind of glom on to her consultation session.   I get "Birthday Cake" which is a tea that actually has candy sprinkles in the blend, Patti gets a Mango, and Brittany gets "Movie Night" that includes apples and popcorn (popped popcorn).  And bonus, this will be brewed "cosmopolitan style" - when Britt asks what that means she's just told, "You'll see".    When we get our tea we find out that it means that popcorn will be floating in your drink, and soggy apples and stems will be at the bottom - you can't really suck up through the straw without getting what Britt calls "floaties" in your drink.  She says, "I see wet popcorn in my thing and it grosses me out a little."  But she liked the flavor.  Just needed it strained.   She goes back to try another flavor (Kiwi's playhouse) and the tea lady asks how she likes it - she says loves the flavor but not the floaties.  So the tea lady won't let her pay for it.   Nice.  

OK - it's Tribes time!  We were a little worried that we would get an understudy after coming all this way. They list the actors that will be in the show for the evening in the lobby - and we see Russell's name.  Whew!   We have great seats this time - I knew which section we wanted to be in, and we got in the front row.  There is a part pretty early on where Russell comes up into the audience and stands right next to the place where we'll be sitting.   We're a little worried about Britt's crazy creeping over the edges if he comes too close.   The seats were perfect - Russell great again!   The audience is SO close to the actors, there are only four rows around each of the 4 sides of the stage, and we're all lit from the light of the stage.  They can see us, and we can see each other as easily as we can see the actors.   So there are times when people across the way attract our attention - one guy especially is wearing nice red pants, sitting in the front row, with his legs spread open like he's on the couch at home.   It's odd.   We're signing to each other a little, and I'm sure that the actors can spot that if they're looking, especially those deaf eyes that catch all movement...  So when the play is over and they're doing their curtain call, it was obvious that we had already been spotted by Russell.   Even before we did the Deaf hand wave, he gave us a wink and smile that said, "I saw you guys!"...   You can imagine the energy coming from Brittany.   

We head out to the lobby quickly because last time he came out right after the show, so we didn't want to miss him.   And you need to know that all Brittany has talked about is getting him to go out and have a drink with us, which makes me a little nervous.  But last time he's the one that brought it up, he said that if his mother weren't' in town we could go out for a beer, dang it... so since then that's been her mission.  I convince her to just take it easy, have a conversation, and if it happens it happens, but it could be weird with that as an underlying goal.   So we're waiting, and we're waiting, all the other actors have come through - no Russell.   I mention that it's possible he went out the other door, and Britt is not happy with that thought..  we're waiting... and then he comes in through the front door, straight for us!   Patti says "there he is!" but Britt is looking at the wrong way (since he came back in the front he's actually coming up behind us) - yay!   He gives us hugs right away (me and Britt), and he says that we came back!  That he remembers us from a couple of months ago!   And he's voicing a little as he signs, and then turns to Patti and explains that in Deaf culture, they hug hello when they know each other (!) - so I say, "Her parents are Deaf"... OH!!   Voice off.  Beautiful ASL.   We get to have a nice chat with him about the show, we had seen different actors before (Jeff Perry had to leave, and we saw the understudy for the brother), and we ask if he's staying through January since they extended the run (he is, but everyone else is leaving and he has to work with a new "girlfriend" who doesn't sign but is supposed to be a CODA).   We ask about his sign name - it's like the handshape for "MOON", but tapped against his neck (right side) and it's because he has a moon tattoo there, but he's getting it lasered off because it's a pain to cover as an actor.   Britt tells him that she's applying to Gally and that I graduated from there and was there the same time as he was...    Patti gets a picture with him since she wasn't there before, and he apologizes for being so sweaty, but he's going to work out and he'll shower there - we don't mind much.    And it's worth mentioning that this whole time that weird guy in red pants is trying to be a part of our little circle.  So much so that I actually thought for a while that Russell knew him.   But when we said our goodbyes (and got our goodbye hugs), he had an awkward conversation with him - weird dude.   

So that was nice - so cool that he remembered us.  I'll get the pic of Patti and Russell up tmw too.. It won't load tonight for some reason.

Back at the apt I struggled with the internet connection (grrr) and we made tentative plans for the next two days... can't wait!!

The hall entry - our apt is on the left

Our front door

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Saturday.... and our NYC Finale


Here it is – the last day and the wrap up.  I’ve been slow in getting these last few out, but I’ve been enjoying the luxury of time.      So this is it, the final chapter.   We had some random quotes that didn’t make previous entries (I’ll post at the end), and I also wanted to add some pictures that I left out of Friday’s blog.  I wanted you to see the lady with the parrot (who, incidentally we saw later in Central Park with her parrot perched on her park bench as she read), the yellow highlighter hair, and Dana’s panoramic photo of our view at Yankee’s Stadium.  



Also at the end, we had a goal to post pictures of the 8 things that we should never post pictures of… we’ll see how we did.    And I’ll post a list of what we did and who we saw.   J

Parrots in the Mac Store








The yellow doesn't show as well in the pic - but you get the idea

My swamp water

Now, notice the level of her tea - HOURS after she got it

































Also, I found a picture of BP on the train up to the game with her tea – now keep in mind that this is her first tea and that the rest of us have had two glasses of tea this size (and finished them) while we sat in the tea shop for a period of at least an hour - and a picture of my "swamp water" tea. So BP has been able to drink this much tea in a very long period of time.   

   OH!And we reviewed video of us at the Today show and I captured some frames of our moments of greatness just in case you blinked.   Also at the end, we had a goal to post pictures of the 8 things that we should never post pictures of… we’ll see how we did.    And I’ll post a list of what we did and who we saw.   J

Me, BMc and BP with Al on air

I'm in the white, BM in the teal and BP in the peach

Here we are with Matthew...

And with Hoda and Kathie Lee


It’s Saturday, our last day, our 9th day in the city; and today we have thoughts of HOME!    We are walking wounded.  I have a blister that no shoe I have will accommodate, Becki has knee twinges that we’re still not to speak of,  BM has a red rash, BP has foot issues and her shins are starting to hurt… Dana is the only one that I haven’t heard about aches or pains, but she can be stoically quiet about that stuff sometimes, so I’m sure that there’s something.

We clean up the apt and I finish up the Thursday blog – yes it’s Saturday and I’m finishing the Thursday blog (this is how I got so far behind).  I swear Thursday kicked my hiney in so many ways.  I was so brain dead that I really didn't take notes during the day, it just took longer to reconstruct it with the detail that we like (I know it makes for a book, but it's for us and the ya-yas that couldn’t make the trip to remember it by).  I didn't do anything to it on Thursday, I needed to just go to bed.   Then I worked on it Friday morning, and again last night until about 3:00 (we all got to bed late after the Yankee game and the Empire State building, so it pushed back my time to work on it too)... Then I finished it up today while we were all packing.   It was the day that would never end.

People have asked how I managed to remember the amount of detail that I included in the blog, and typically my process is to write notes in complete thoughts as they happen, the more complete the better.  Instead of writing a quick text to someone, I just have a notepad open and keep little quotes or moments documented as we go – the others have even gotten into the habit of turning to me and saying “blog that”.   I’ll have time while we’re on the train or cooling off with our tea, and then I just string together the stories. Even that takes a little while, but it's fun, not tedious.  With little or no notes, it’s tedious; more work and the blog doesn’t have the same feel to it. 

So Saturday…  we clean up and get packed.  Dana has been "finishing packing" for two (or maybe three) days now.  I’ve been chuckling at her every time she says that, we get back and we’ll sit around, or I’ll work on the blog, and Dana packs.  I'm not sure how to take that long to pack - but certainly not the model packer, I'm definitely on the other end of the packing spectrum.  We leave in a few hours and I haven’t even given a thought toward packing, I just pile things that are mine together in a corner and put them all in my bag.  I think Dana must have a plan and a system. She’s a master packer.  If you need a packer, she’s your girl.  I think we may need to make a tutorial video on packing with Dana as our instructor…  Ok Dana, I’ll stop razzing you about packing… I kid. 

We eat up the remaining food or at least nibble on the rest of the crumb cake, the black and white cookie (it's more like the texture of a cake than a cookie, it's like a "cake cookie".  I tried one a few days ago from Carve and talked about it...even blogged about it…  Mentioned it again
today...). And then BP tries the cookie -it's her cookie from the Cake boss - and she exclaims, "HEY! This really is like a cake.  Like it’s like a CAKE, like a cake cookie...".   Um yes I've been saying that.  BP says "I know that, but I didn't think that it was like a cake-cake"... It's not, I tell her.  “It's like a cake-cookie”.

The Brittanys head out to Time Square for one last trip, they have last minute items them want to get.  Bmc has been comparison shopping for hoodies and she's going back for the one that she loves.  It's an iconic "I heart NY" sweatshirt, but it's embroidered instead of screen printed.  They get one last hotdog from a street vendor and he’s really flirting with BP – he thinks that she’s like 17 and says that BMc looks 20…  and he really, really, really hopes they had a good time in NYC.
Black and white cookie

Our land lady Ludy (say that 5 times fast) comes by and offers advice on how to get back to the
airport by the subway (there are many transfers and busses are involved).   We're just going to take a taxi.   It's about a $30 trip total and when we split it, it's definitely worth it - but she
continues to explain the process in great detail despite acknowledging that a taxi is a good decision.   We gave her a deposit for damages and she doesn't look around at all, but she gives
us the full deposit back and just asks us how our trip was.  We thank her for the advice about the unlimited metro pass - we got our money's worth out of it for sure.  It was great to have to freedom to be able to get on any train or bus that we wanted without worrying about the fare.  The city of New York lost out on that deal.

It’s about 11:00 and Ludy has previously told us that we could be out by 1:00, but has amended that to 12:00 because the people need to clean and she has new people coming at 1:00 to check in.   That’s cool – we’re flexible, we’re interpreters.  I’m now jealous of Dana’s three days of packing and wondering why I didn’t do that.  J  We text the girls that they have an hour less then we thought, so they start to head back – I get the blog up and starting gathering things from the apt and throwing it in a pile.   Everyone is cleaning and sorting stuff and food – and while it’s earlier than we expected, we figure that we might as well head to the airport.   By the time we get packed and find a place for our bags and get some place, it will be time to go anyway.   And we’re not really sure how long it will take us to get to the airport and get checked in. 

We say goodbye to our little apt – it served us well.  I’m a big fan of roomarama.com – if you’re going on a trip I recommend it.  It’s a safe and secure way to negotiate a vacation rental.  We used it all through Europe and it’s the 2nd time I’ve used it in NYC.   It’s much better than a hotel in my opinion (especially in New York where the hotel tax is nearly the price of your room, so even if you think you got a good deal on a room, double that) – and you get your own kitchen so you can buy food and eat cheaply for breakfast or snacks.   And because it’s negotiated through a 3rd party it’s safer and there is a system for handling issues.  You can use it to go almost anywhere, check it out. 

We head down to the lobby to talk to the concierge about calling a cab since we need one that will fit 5 people and bags – but he’s not into that.  He says that we just head outside and hail a cab.   I am not a fan of this plan.  While there are MANY cabs out there, we need a specific cab, and I think that may take a while to randomly drive by where we are, and in the meantime we’re wandering the streets with all our bags (not really concerned about the safety factor as much as we’re tired and these bags are cumbersome).  So in short, I LOVE THIS PLAN.   I get a little dramatic at this point – I’m so grateful for travelling companions who put up with my antics.  The doorman of our building is supposed to help us hail a cab, but he’s a little green – he says that he JUST got to NYC, like *JUST* - we tell him we’re going to Laguardia and he doesn’t know where that is… its in Queens… I don’t know where that is… across the Brooklyn Bridge.. I don’t know where that is…   EAST.  Across the river…  I don’t know where that is…   Ok.  You are so helpful during this time of need.   I’m not sure that he knows where HE is.

We walk a few feet in the direction of 9th Ave because there will be more cabs down that way than on 50th, and as we walk we come to the conclusion that we’re going to have to take two cabs – and it’s probably practical anyway because we’re on two separate flights.  BMc and I booked on Delta and the other 3 are on Southwest.  We decide that in the future we will all book together, and the flight will be non-stop.  None of this all day travel thing with lay-overs.   We’re all leaving at about 3:30, but BMc and I are on a direct flight and will be home by 5:30pm.  The others have a 3 hour layover in Baltimore and won’t be home until 9:30.   The Southwest flight has already been delayed, but because of the layover it won’t effect them really. 

As soon as we decide that we’ll probably need to take two cabs, Dana is on it!   She hails a cab like a pro – the speed of it really surprises the rest of us.  It was like it was barely out of our mouths… and BAM, cab!    BMc and I load up because our flight is leaving first because of their delay – and we part way pretty abruptly.   The others continue walking down toward 9th Ave and we wave goodbye – See you in St. Louis!   (They’re parked at my house, so I’ll be going back to the airport to pick them up).  Becki texts and says that at the time she didn’t realize that this was goodbye – we wouldn’t be seeing each other until we landed since we were at different terminals…

BMc and I have a nice cabby – he feels the need to justify all of his traffic decisions.  He’s taking the tunnel if that’s ok… we have no idea – he could totally be taking us for a ride (ha!).   We’re flying out on Delta and there are two terminals for Delta:  Delta and Delta Shuttle.. but he takes us to terminal D (for Delta).  There is quite a line to check in, and then once you do the check in you have to wait in another line to drop off your checked bags.   BMc and I have developed system of sharing a checked bag so that we’re not both paying and it’s worked well for us.  By the time we’ve dropped off the bag we get a text from the others that they’re through security.   WHAT?   How did we leave first and they’re already through?   We don’t even have security in sight – turns out that we are Delta Shuttle, so we have to go to C terminal.   Just before we head out the door to find the bus I spot the sign that I posted on Facebook that make for fun conversation.  I turn to Britt and ask her what she sees… I wish I had a picture of her face!    Just picture wide eyes and wide mouth…
Seen at the airport - "vagina" in an energy ad


We head outside (heat) with our bags and wait for what seems like forever in the line for the bus to the other terminal.   We get a text that the others are at their gate.  Dude.  A bus pulls up and only 5 people can get on.  The bus is like a small school bus, the system seems flawed.  At the stop the driver has to get out and get out the bags of the people getting off the bus, load the bags of the people getting on the bus, and then move on to the next terminal.  It’s a much slower system than when BMc arrived and headed over to the Southwest terminal to meet the others.  There was this huge bus like a city bus, you got on with your bags and put them in a luggage rack if you felt you needed to; but it was very efficient.  I’m wondering where that bus is, and I ask the Delta lady that is helping keep the people in line in check (not very well, there are a lot of crabby people who have been waiting for a bus for a long time and then told there wasn’t enough room)…  I ask about the big bus and she cocks her head and looks at me like I’m speaking another language.   I go into further detail, it’s a large bus, big, white, you get on with your bags, it stops at each terminal…   We don’t have that.   What??  I say, “Well, that’s not true because we used that bus when we arrived – you can’t tell me that it doesn’t exist – we used it”…   Oh, do you mean the A-C terminal bus?   Well… does it fit the description that I have been giving you?   Yes?  Well then I think that must be the bus…  I don’t really get any further answers from her because another short bus arrives.   Some people are so cranky that they’re defying the rules and want to just get on the bus with their luggage – that is nipped in the bud.  You MUST load your bag at the back and then get on the bus, or you don’t get on the bus.   The bus has stopped further back than the other bus, so now the people at the back of the line are of the mind that they’re at the front of the line and that doesn’t set well with those of us that have seen more than one bus come and go… but its an empty bus and we all get on and get going eventually.    As we’re get going we spot the other kind of bus on the inside track of the terminals – while our bus has to go through regular traffic and takes a long time to get from terminal to terminal.  We figure that maybe the other bus is owned by the airport, and may be for arriving flights, not departing – but it sure beats this Delta bus.   

We eventually get to our terminal and it’s vacant.   If we would have gone there first there would have been no lines – but we still have plenty of time.  We are pretty happy that we left for the airport when we did, we would have been nervous if we had left later with all the time it has taken us to get to this point.   Security is a breeze – although I do get stopped because I have a foot bandage.  I wrapped a little of self-sticking bandage around the bottom of my foot to keep the blister from rubbing.  They swab it and do their bomb chemical test on it;  but it’s the nicest group of TSA people I’ve ever seen.   We get to the gate and find food – BMc wanted one last slice of New York pizza, but that’s not an option.  We do have a sit down place with interesting sandwiches (very good) – Britt has a pastrami and I have a Cuban.   The service is just awful though – they know that they’re the only game in the terminal and if you don’t like their service you can just go hungry.   I consider that at some point while standing at the bar doing by best impersonation of “the invisible man”… at some point my disguise defies be and they actually see me, only to tell me that it will be just a minute…   anyway, we eventually eat and hang out waiting for the flight.    In the bathroom I overhear a sweet little girl and her mother – I didn’t get to see her, but she sounds to be about 3 or 4… she’s saying “Come on honeybun, let’s go honeybun” in a cute little sing song voice.  Her mother asks, “Honeybun?” and she says, “That’s what I call myself!”   Awww… it was so great.   I love seeing glimpses of that kind of power and confidence in little girls (before it’s crushed and jaded) ….

Our plane is FULL – there are kids all around us and we are so interesting to them; like we’re the monkeys in the zoo.   There is a little girl about 1 or 2 years old in the seat in front of BMC and she’s just STARING at Britt through the crack in the seat.   Britt stares back and even startles the girl by saying “HEY!” (when Britt is startled by looking up to eyeballs peering at her through the crack) – it doesn’t make her any less interesting.   The girl’s brother is sitting in the row in front of us but across the aisle.  He takes no shame in just constantly staring.  He lays on his arm rest, head on folded hands, and is looking at me like I’m tv.  His father tries to get him to turn around, his mother even pushes his face (lovingly), trying to get him to turn around, but he is not to be swayed.   I feel a little like Snoop Dogg at a Yankee’s game…
Gotcha!

I overhear our stewardess talking to the girls behind us, they’re about 10 years old, two of them travelling with what looks like an older sister about 18 years old.  She asks them, “Hey, are you the rollercoaster girl?”  They say yes, and talk about how they got to be on the Today Show and they met Kathie Lee and Hoda – and Channing Tatum was on that day so they chatted with him in the green room.   I’m trying to place “roller coaster girl” and keep listening – they talk about how funny her dad was screaming – and I know who they are!  We had seen their video on the Today Show – the youtube video is called “Never Again Grace”.   She and her father were on a ride and he’s screaming like a little girl, and she’s just laughing and having a great time.   (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeBUCvxlPEk) – it’s really funny, you should check it out. We hear all the back story.  They were at a park and the ride had video camera in the seats; instead of looking at pictures of you after the ride, you can watch and purchase your video.   Grace really wanted to ride it, but because of her age she had to have an adult with her.  Her mother usually goes on the rides with her, but she wasn’t there, so her dad who hates these rides, went.   They start the ride and his reaction is immediate – his face looks like a 3-month  old crying baby stuck on a adult’s body, that’s what makes it so funny.  They actually stop the ride before it’s supposed to be over because he’s screaming so much – so you see the ride stop and then him say, “oh we’re going again?”… he doesn’t want Grace to have to get off, so he continues.   They get off the ride and they head down to where you can watch the videos and there is a HUGE crowd gathered around laughing hysterically… he gets up there to see what it’s all about it, and “Hey, that’s ME!”…  Great story!  You have to see it!   But the Today show played it on the show Tuesday, and then after it had such a great response they invited them to come on the show.  So they were contacted Tuesday and told they had two hours to pack and be at the airport!   The older sister was supposed to be going on a school trip and they had to intercept the bus she was on and get her to the airport so that she could travel with them (not sure why the parents couldn’t go).  And Grace’s friend was with them – apparently it was actually her dad who posted the video to Youtube so she gets some credit.  They had a great trip, Today Show sponsored their stay from Tuesday to Saturday and they were able to go to the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Central Park…   But she’s our celebrity of the day; Grace, the roller coaster girl. 

All of these people peed
 The entire plane is peeing.  We are in the second to last row, so maybe that's it but I have never noticed any group of people having to use the restroom more than these.   Even the stewardess just came back to check on it to make sure everything was ok because "it's been used a lot".  The people sitting next to us agree, they said they had just made the same observations.  We don’t think that it's just because we're in these seats, although it does make it a little more annoying because we’re in the “exchange” position, where the people coming and going must share the aisle to get by one another, so every person that has used the bathroom has also invaded our space, and there has not been a time when there hasn’t been someone waiting, so we’ve constantly had people standing right over us.   We agree that everyone single person on this plane has peed, and it’s a small plane (only two seats on each side of the aisle) - I think some had to have peed twice.  I want to poll the plane by a show of hands and get a count of how many people have used this restroom.  We’re about to make our descent and the pilot comes on to say that this is the time to use the restrooms before we land.  I don’t follow that logic, I think that now is the time to sit tight and wait to pee when we land.. in just a few moments.    We have this discussion with a very nice Indian woman in a beautiful sari (who is waiting for the restroom), she has also noticed how busy it’s been and is concerned that it will be clean.  

We land without incident, and despite leaving about 30 minutes late, we’re 30 minutes early… doesn’t make sense. It’s a balmy 105 degrees in St. Louis.  The stewardess asks us if we’re from here as we get our bags together, and after we say yes she says that she figured that, almost didn’t ask because she figured that no one would be vacationing here, it had to be your home city.   I know that she’s saying that because of the heat wave, but still…   Patti picks us up and BMc heads home to spend time with her hubby…

MEANWHILE...............


In the meantime – I asked Becki to blog what was going on with the Southwest peeps.  This is their blog – I make a few parenthetical comments, can’t help myself:

We grabbed a taxi about 5 min after Susen and Bmc- he was very polite and very quiet. I had to cover my eyes several times and there were many sharp intakes of breath as we navigated NYC traffic.  We really did expect to hit a car once or twice. Scariness.  We got to Laguardia- no lines anywhere and flew through check in and security.  Again- BP is a second class citizen. She is in the B boarding section while Dana and I are both A.  (And they had all checked in the night before, on the way out BP had never heard of checking in 24 hours before the flight and ended up in C group, and almost missed the plan altogether when the steward closed the door without boarding the entire C group).

Downside- no sit-down restaurant, so we've been piece-mealing things together from the various shops and fast food restaurants. Our flight was originally set to leave at 3:35. Then I got a text it was delayed to 4:10. Then I got another text that says the delay is changed to 3:45. The board currently says 3:55 takeoff but no info has been announced/texted to that effect. It's a crap shoot at this point.

My dad called and said there was a big storm in Washington DC and thousands are w/o power. Guessing that may be why the delay since we’re flying through Baltimore.  Dana and I are marveling at people traveling alone who are sound asleep at the gate. What if they sleep through boarding? What about their stuff? No one’s watching it. The cutest little guy is sitting near us. He's definitely a card. He reminds us of Amy's Jason. He is excited about *everything* and wants to see planes, planes, planes!

 And our latest update is takeoff at 4pm... Someday we'll get home Boarding finally at 3:45.  (With the Delta delay, they actually end up taking off before us).  The world’s most annoying flight attendant is on our flight; repetitive and overly happy. We may use seat cushion/flotation device to knock her off the plane. The flight attendant reminds us of the mother leaving answering machine message in Rent. Very sing-songy And high pitched, “Don't forget to buckle uu---up”;  Make sure your tray tables are in the UPright poSIIItionnnn..”;  There's plenty of seating back in the rear of the plaaa-ane…”.   She starts to sing something else, and her fellow steward stops her, “Don’t do that.”   Whew!

We touchdown in Baltimore 10 min early but have to sit on the runway until our gate is cleared. There's only 3 hrs til our connection. We may not make it.  (Sarcasm noted).

We finally get to our gate and run for those cushy chairs with the outlets so we can charge our phones. And we find out- lovely- they're not working. Turns out the airport is running on minimal power. Yay.   BP notices an outlet by the window and as soon as someone gets up, I zoom over to use that one. It works! So I charge and try to pass the time til our 8:05 flight.  (With the time difference, the others have already been home for an hour and an half before we board).  Looking for refreshment at BWI, BP notices a Jamba Juice, but got upset because they don’t serve juice, just smoothies. False advertising!

On the plane, BP finds a kid pack and crayons in the seat pocket – it keeps her quiet for about 20 minutes. 
J She starts practicing her Spanish via the kid pack, and she’s wearing her Southwest wings… 
Nice wings


 BP and Dana are seated next to each other and BP starts reading Dana's kindle over her shoulder (even after I offered her a magazine) and asking Dana questions about the characters in the book.  Dana was little puzzled by this joint reading effort, BP doesn’t see anything wrong with it.   She’s so cute.  We get cheese nips on the plane for a snack which really excites BP… "I love me some cheese nips".

 We land about 9:20, get bags and meet Patti and Susen for pick up… heading home after a long day of travelling.


LOOSE ENDS AND OTHER STUFF................

We all had what we called our “welcome to New York” moments – some noteworthy ones that may not have been mentioned….   BP says that hers was when we first went to Rockefeller Center we were crossing the street and we heard this cat meowing…  we’re looking around for a cat – and we soon realize that it’s a homeless man in a wheelchair who is heading our way.  He’s just meowing away.   You’re welcome. 
 
McKay says hers is when we were at the Today Show for the Kenny Chesney concert and a guy drove by and squeezed a rubber chicken at her for no reason.   And of course we’ve had several interesting encounters with people on the subway.   My favorite is still the man with the hand gestures.  I still do his little dance. 

 Random quotes that I just couldn’t leave out but that for some reason didn’t find their place in the blog:

Dana: “Can you burp me?” (she had some pain in her shoulder blade and felt that “burping” her may help – I’m still not sure what happened there, or how shoulder blade pain is related to being burped, much less why you would need to BE burped, versus just burping…)

BM:  I share much better than I did when I was 6.” – Becki gives her an cock-eyed look because she just had a sharing issue with cheesecake where she told us all to back off and not touch her… BM defends herself, “Well, I just didn't want to share cheesecake.   That might have been a small piece...”

BM:  She’s ready for her after dinner meal and we point out that we have snacks at the apt, like hummus… “Hummus is for when I get back to the apt and my dinner has worn off because I walked 12 miles to get back to the apt.”   (Ahhh… I was wondering what hummus was for)

I think my favorite one that got left out was when we were on the double-decker tour bus and Brittany was sitting next to a couple that got up and moved, but left something on their seat.  BP was very nice and ran up to them with the thing that they had left – but they were not grateful at all.  They just look at her like she’s bothering them, “We didn’t need that”… no thank you for the effort or anything.  Just total blow off.   They make the observation that New Yorkers really ARE rude.   I laugh and tell them, “There are no New Yorkers on this bus”… oh yah. 

And I’ll end with a BP classic… “Everyone in new York has been on jail.”  (What??)  “Well half the people in my town have been in jail. And New York is a lot bigger.”   Oh well, yah, when you say it like that, it makes perfect sense.  We love BP. 

Believe it or not, BMc has convinced me and Patti to go back to NYc in August, a little more than a month from now, so we’ll have some addendums.  This will be a short weekend trip so that Patti can see Tribes and Brittany can try to hang out with Russell (even though she has yet to be approved as a friend on Facebook, unlike myself – smile)..   We found cheap flights and an even cheaper place to stay, so it’s totally doable.   I know people that make annual trips to Vegas, and I think that I could be that person that makes annual trips to NYC to check out a show and restaurant.  

Here’s a list of what we did during our time there… 
·         Time Square
·         Peter and the Starcather – Broadway Show
·         Had NYC hotdogs from street vendors
·         Today Show
·         Rockefeller Center
·         Double-decker bus tour – Uptown, Downtown, Night tour
·         Soho
·         Greenwich Village
·         The Mac Store
·         FAO Schwartz
·         Dylan’s Candy
·         Bloomingdales
·         RENT – off broadway
·         Harbor cruise around the island
·         Statue of Liberty
·         Dash (The Kardashian’s store)
·         Lombardi’s in Little Italy
·         Bryant Park – Tropfest
·         Mani-pedi
·         Bought shoes at Foot Locker
·         Toys-R-Us Time Square
·         Street Fair
·         NBC Studio Tour
·         The Daily Show Live Taping
·         Washington Square Park (chess and the Arc)
·         Grimaldi’s Pizza in Brooklyn
·         Junior’s Cheesecake in Brooklyn
·         The Way Station (Bar with a TARDIS!)
·         Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan
·        Cake Boss in Hoboken
·         “One Man, Two Guvnors” (Broadway show with Tony award winning actor)
·         “Tribes” – Broadway
·         Central Park – Carousel, Literary Walk, Strawberry Fields, Bow Bridge, Bethesda Fountain, Friends fountain, many rocks..
·         9/11 Memorial
·         Katz’S Deli
·         Trump Tower
·         Breakfast at Tiffany’s
·         Wooster Street Social Club
·         John’s Pizzeria on Bleeker Street
·         David’s Tea
·         Yankee’s Game
·         Empire State Building

Who we saw…
·         Christian Borle (Smash, and Tony Award winning actor)
·         Naked Cowboy
·         Kenny Chesney (from afar)
·         Lester Holt
·         Doctor Who (look-a-like)
·         Hugh Jackman and Rose Byrne at Tropfest
·         Naked Indian
·         Hoda and Kathie Lee
·         Jon Stewart
·         Russell Harvard
·         Mare Winningham
·         Judith Light
·         Jeff Perry (Grey’s Anatomy and Prison Break)
·         Al Roker
·         Ann Curry
·         Matt Lauer
·         Matthew McConaughay
·         Jennifer Aniston
·         Snoop Dogg
·         Roller Coaster Girl



OH – and last thing – our Facebook challenge:

1.    DON’T POST: Every single piece of food you ate – I think it’s easy to say that we definitely did this one proud… I personally like to see pics of people’s food at interesting places.   Maybe I’m in the minority. 

2.    DON’T POST: Comments about how much better this trip is than your real life…     I think that we covered that.  Although toward the end we were all ready for our “real life” beds, if not our real lives. 

3.    DON’T POST: You, and absolutely nothing else – Here’s a quote from the article about what they hate about this… “please resist the urge to stand in the foreground of every single picture you take. We’ve all seen that pose, the arms by your side, sort of an awkward half-smile. “Well, here I am, in front of this thing,””…   I don’t see an issue with that.  I’ve always heard that you should have subject in the photo… we have lots of those… look here’s a few now:

BP with "THE" rock

Becki blocking the box






 











4.    DON’T POST: You looking like an idiot.    Hmmm… It’s hard not to do this with this group (see above).  They count things like pointing at things or anything with your tongue out.   Using that as criteria, we definitely have this one covered.   I won’t show you the most apt example – of me sprawled out on the chariot in the carousel in Central Park.  You’re welcome. 

5.    DON’T POST: Anyone that is less than 75% clothed ....  Well, it wasn’t us – but we saw those models scantily clothed and posted that…

6.    DON’T POST: Feet -   We saw this as a personal mission… there were lots of feet.   Feet in NYC, feet with new shoes, and feet in “first class” of the Southwest flight…



7.    DON’T POST: Beers in a dimly lit bar. Beers on a dimly lit street. Beer OMG beers!Technically no beers… but we do have a couple of nice shots of alcohol and the souvenir cups that they came in.   It was one of our favorite parts of the Broadway experience, drinks brought to you in your seats.  
Becki's "liquid love letter"


8.     DON’T POST: Pictures out of a plane - I did this one just to complete the list…   So I think we did it!!  Yay!