Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere...

Smells of bacon wafted through the air on Saturday morning as we awoke early to have a great homemade breakfast and get ready for our pottery lessons...

Although I normally have a ‘no feet on the floor before 10’ rule on Saturday mornings, my feet were on the floor and I was ready to have breakfast well before 8 a.m. We headed to the dining room for a lovely breakfast of pancakes made from scratch, (side note...while I like things ‘made from scratch,’ I have to say ‘made from scratch’ does not have a particularly appealing sound to it... ;) homemade syrup, link sausages and fresh fruit. It was all very yummy. After eating I was very anxious to get our pottery lessons started...BUT...we needed to head to the local grocery and get Kaeley some medicine to get her through the day.

After taking care of getting some meds, we headed to the Ft. Davis High School Ceramics studio. We were having our lessons at the high school studio because our innkeeper and ceramics teacher, Bill Davis, is the art teacher at Ft. Davis high school as well as being an Art Education professor at Sul Ross University in Alpine.

The opportunity to learn something...especially something completely new to me like ceramics... was one of the biggest reasons I chose to stay at the Davis Mountains Inn. Really, how many places offer you excellent accommodations, wonderful food AND an opportunity to learn something new? ...AND I LOVE LEARNING.

Our lesson started off as many good lessons do by introducing us to the language of pottery. All disciplines, art forms and areas of study have their own vocabulary and understanding that is key to being successful in new ventures. Once we learned about the kiln, and the difference between thrown pottery (which is pottery created on the wheel and is something I really am interested in doing at some point...BUT... is also something that does not produce many pieces -- or even one -- in the first day of working with it because it’s a skill that takes more practice and time to perfect) and hand built pottery, as well as glazing and firing of pieces, we were ready to ‘play in the dirt,’ which is what our instructor explained to us that creating things from clay essentially is. We began by watching Bill use the tools of the trade to cut pieces of clay off of large blocks for us to mold. We simply started then to make our first project, a pinch pot. This was done by forming a ball from the clay and then using our thumbs to make an indention that would eventually form the center of the ‘bowl.’ We learned to make a good, flat, strong rim that wouldn’t break easily and learned to think of our pieces as they would be when they became glass. The lesson didn’t produce a magnificent work of art by any means, but it did teach us a lot about the basics of handling clay and forming edges and how to view the clay as what it would become as a finished product. AND I am actually having mine glazed and fired to use as a small bowl to place my jewelry in on my dresser.

The next thing we started on was a bowl that depending on the pressure you applied when putting it together would either turn out looking like a tortoise shell type bowl (which Kaeley’s did) or like a bowl that simply had an interesting texture to it. We made these bowls by making small balls of clay and pressing them in to a bowl (mold) lined with a plastic bag. We also had to be careful to make a good rim on these pieces and to consistently even out the clay to approximately a quarter inch thickness all over.

While we were creating our ‘masterpieces,’ Bill used the wheel to show us some techniques used in throwing pottery. The use of the wheel is fascinating. It is not only an art, but also a science. The amount of pressure and speed of the wheel make such a difference in what is created. I suppose it would have been fun to spend the day attempting to learn to do thrown pottery, but I do feel like I’d have been disappointed with only making what would have basically amounted to a very small cup with no handle, or lid, or any real artistic form.

We also had the treat of being joined by Bill’s wife, the other innkeeper, Judy, while we were learning as well as the couple’s sweet Border Collie, Ebony. Judy actually joined in on the lessons ( although her husband has done pottery for years, she’d never learned how) and made a tortoise shell bowl of her own.

After working for a little over three hours, we decided to break for two hours for lunch. Kaeley and I decided since Murphy’s had been so good the day before that we would go there for another meal. We shared the Caesar salad again (yes, it’s that good...they make their own Caesar dressing) and we each had a sandwich as well. While I certainly couldn’t complain about the sandwich, it wasn’t quite as yummy as the calzone (I might have mentioned, the calzone IS phenomenal ;) ... And the chocolate caramel pecan cookie I had for dessert was pretty great, too.

We had a little time after our delicious lunch to do a bit more looking around in Ft. Davis before we headed back to our afternoon lesson. We decided to hit the few other shops that we’d missed the day before. We went to the Brass Boot (which had some great belts, buckles and jewelry,) and the Limpia Hotel Gift Shop. The gift shop had a nice variety of crosses, western art, clothing and even a bookstore, all of which I enjoyed browsing through. Other than the stores we did visit, the only thing that I would have liked to have had more time to view was the Broom Shop. This store makes brooms and apparently does demonstrations throughout the day on how brooms are made as well as showcasing walking sticks and demonstrating how they are made as well. While I regret not having the time to see these things because I believe both would have been interesting learning opportunities, I do like that it gives me a reason to go back and see/learn something new.

We had just a few more minutes before we needed to head back to our lessons so we strolled down the street past the Limpia Hotel toward the Courthouse. Outside the Limpia there were some trees dressed in full fall color that were truly beautiful and had the biggest leaves. Kaeley really wanted to climb up on the stone wall and snag a leaf from the tree, but being that I was responsible for her well-being and I knew I’d already be returning her to her mom sick, I thought it best not to let her do that (see I CAN be responsible...I didn’t say I AM...just I CAN ;). She headed across the street to spend a few more minutes looking at Hollyhocks & Javelinas and I took the opportunity to take some pics of the fall color, the bank, and the courthouse. AND, of course, to snag one of the huge leaves off that tree myself...Maybe I had to climb up on the wall I wouldn’t let Kaeley get on to get it, and maybe I didn’t...BUT I’m the only one who will ever know...AND, we both survived the incident unscathed.

We headed back to the studio to continue our afternoon lessons and I took the leaf with us, which was great as it would later become a part of both mine and Kaeley’s last piece of pottery for the day.

When we returned, we learned about putting a foot on a pot and took care of placing them on our creations from the morning. Bill also showed us how he could use the wheel to make a foot for pieces of pottery. After those pieces were complete, we began our last creation of the day. We learned about the slump or hump method (insert your own joke here ;) of using pottery molds to make pieces. We also learned about flattening out clay to make large uniform pieces that could be draped in or over a bowl to create a new piece (basically the slump or hump method.) We both tried our hand at kneading the clay so that all the air bubbles were removed. This is extremely important because a piece placed in the kiln that has air bubbles will break. We then used the press to flatten out our pieces of clay. Both of us chose bowls to drape our clay in to and create a bowl of our own. Kaeley went first and decided to press the leaf we had brought from downtown into her bowl and have that imprint in the bottom. She also decided that instead of forming a rim on her bowl that she would basically form it into the shape of a leaf and create more of a free form piece. After seeing her leaf-shaped bowl, I decided to do something similar. When the clay for my bowl slumped down into the mold it left some very interesting edges that I formed into curves. I didn’t trim any of the clay off so my bowl is a larger piece and I was able to press the leaf into the bottom of it. Bill asked if I wanted to just leave the leaf in the bowl and let it dry so that it would form a deeper impression. I decided that sounded like a great idea and asked him if there was any chance that when the bowl was placed in the kiln that some residue of the leaf would burn into the glass. He explained that because of the extremely high heat used to fire our pottery (somewhere between 1800 and 2300 degrees) the leaf would just burn away, but that allowing the leaf to dry into the piece should deepen the impression and show more of the veining and texture of the leaf in the finished product.

After we finished up these pieces, we got to glaze some other samples that Bill had created for his classes. It was impossible for us to glaze our own pieces because they have to be fired first -- a process that with time for cooling takes at very least 72 hours -- and then glazed and fired again. So, we glazed the pieces that he’d already created as samples and discussed the glazes we wanted him to apply to our pieces once they were fired. We found out that it would probably be a few weeks (actually Bill and Judy will be in Lubbock in a few weeks for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which made me happy because I won’t have to pay shipping costs AND I won’t have to worry about the pieces getting broken) before the entire process is complete and that our pieces would be delivered to us. We finished up the day by making some samples with new glazes that Bill had gotten so that he would have them to show his students what glazes would look like once they had been applied and fired on pieces. The glazes that are applied to the pottery look much different than the finished pieces. For example, in order to create a piece that had gold, hunter green and maroon, I painted on what looked like white, grey and pink. We learned more about why this is the case when Bill taught us about how it is the chemical reactions in the extreme heat of the kiln that causes the glazes to turn to certain colors and further explained how unpredictable the results were when doing firings of glazes. Making matching pieces of pottery isn’t an exact science and the bit of mystery or uncertainty that goes in to each piece made me not only more in awe of pieces I’ve seen created, but also very anxious and excited to see just how our pieces turn out.

After thanking Bill for such a wonderful day full of new knowledge and the opportunity not only to learn but to create (and yes, that’s just about the perfect day for me... learning and creating...laughing and spending the day making new friends while also sharing the experience with my sweet niece who I love)... learning, laughing, loving and living --it was indeed an excellent experience.

And an experience that despite her sickness Kaeley had been a real trooper about making every effort to enjoy. The rest of our evening was not as eventful, but we did enjoy a nice enough dinner out at the Davis Mountains State Park Lodge at the Black Bear Restaurant...AND, the best part of that excursion --at least for me -- is that we saw actual wildlife... (NO, not a party ;) ...We saw several javelina crossing the road as we made our way back to Ft. Davis from the state park. We had been warned many times to be careful when driving because the javelinas and the deer were often in the roads, but I didn’t really expect to see them because as I’ve mentioned before no matter where I go that they promise they have wildlife, I always seem to manage to miss them...But not this time. And no, javelina aren’t incredibly attractive or exotic, but they were wildlife, so I was happy.

Back at the Inn Kaeley took her meds, and I took advantage of the huge whirlpool tub in our bathroom. I won’t go in to details, but suffice it to say that even a little bit of bubble bath in a 10-jet tub is more than enough to make enough bubbles to get lost in.

Poor sweet Kaeley finished up her evening applying Vicks vapor rub and trying everything we could think of to help her breathe easier while I finished up mine watching a disappointing Texas Tech football game.

And normally, a bad game might diminish my mood and put a damper on my day...BUT...I had a day full of so many of the things that make me happiest that the only thing I wasn’t happy about was that I knew I’d get little sleep listening to Kaeley struggle to breathe all night and worrying about whether or not she’d be ok...When I turned in and checked on her about midnight, she wasn’t exactly breathing easy (in fact, I’ve never heard some of the noises she was making come out of a human being) but she was sleeping soundly and I turned in for the night concerned for her, but mostly content that I had shared an experience of laughing, learning and living with her that I hope she’d enjoyed at least half as much as I had and that I hoped she’d remember as long as I am sure I will...

Sunday morning...

We got up fairly early again -- although I’m not sure that Kaeley or I had gotten much sleep at all -- and again smelled a wonderful breakfast awaiting us.

We had our breakfast served to us in the breakfast nook that faced the east windows this morning instead of the dining room. Our breakfast included French Toast, bacon and fresh fruit. Our hosts were obviously dressed for church, but still had time to chat with us a bit before they went off to worship and we headed on our way home.

Although I knew Kaeley wasn’t feeling well, I also knew that I really really wanted to see a bit more of the Davis Mountains and get some pictures of the beautiful fall colors and amazing mountains before we headed home. And since Kaeley was going to be sitting in the car most of the day anyway, I didn’t figure sitting in the car amidst beautiful surroundings while I got out and snapped some pics would make her feel any worse...We headed up the road 14 miles to the McDonald Observatory to get a look in the broad daylight at what we’d observed in total darkness on Friday night. I took pics from this amazing vantage point and Kaeley actually felt well enough to drop a few quarters in a small telescope and entertain herself looking around.

From the observatory we headed back down the mountains and into the Davis Mountains State Park. We stopped at the Ranger station and I went in to pay. I have to say that the lovely woman who worked behind the desk may have been the happiest, most helpful state employee I have ever dealt with. She not only took out a map to show me where to find the trail to the Skyline drive, but also informed me that the entry fee I had just paid would also get me into the state park at Balmorhea and the one at Monahans as long as I visited both within 24 hours. Both were on my way home, but since Kaeley wasn’t feeling well, I wanted to get home before dark, and I’d already been to Balmorhea I knew I wouldn’t take advantage of what was basically a three-for-one deal, but I thought it was very nice of her to suggest it. She gave that suggestion as well as all the other additional information about the park with such a big smile on her face and such enthusiasm that I was glad I’d actually had to get out of my car on what was a fairly cool and pretty windy morning to go inside and pay my entrance fee.

I can not adequately describe the rustic beauty of the Davis Mountains ( I did however take almost 300 pictures, which are uploaded to my share site at http://queenstraveltourpics.shutterfly.com/ ) and I will say that the views from Skyline Drive are absolutely breathtaking. It was a special treat to see all of Ft. Davis from above and to be able to look off in any direction and see another amazing vista. I would love to come back to this park in different seasons since I am certain the beauty transforms depending on the vegetation and weather. I know I found it amazingly beautiful to see the rugged faces of rocks surrounded by the glorious golds, incredible oranges and radiant reds of the fall color. I would also love to come back and hike some of the trails. I ventured out to the edge of the mountain in a few places, but since I was wearing flip flops (of course, with my new mismatched flip-flop socks -- it was really chilly up on the mountain) and since the wind was blowing a bit much for comfort when I didn’t have on shoes that gave me any kind of stability, I opted to see a whole lot less than what I’d really like to of the mountain tops and trails. After probably two hours or more of snapping photos, then getting in the car and promising Kaeley we were leaving only to turn the corner and find another completely irresistible view to photograph and repeating that process over and over, we did finally leave the park and head back toward Ft. Davis.

Since Murphy’s was closed on Sundays we decided to head on down the road to Balmorhea to have lunch, which we did at a wonderful Mexican restaurant (and honestly probably the only currently operating restaurant in Balmorhea) called Cueva de Oso (or the Bear’s Den) that had great (although Kaeley thought it was a bit too hot) hot sauce and queso and wonderful chile rellenos that Kaeley enjoyed and a grilled chicken breast with roasted green chiles that certainly filled me up and made me ready to face the rest of our journey home.

Our ride home was pretty uneventful. We talked and compared music on our phones. And shared our favorite songs. And just enjoyed the open road (and, yes, I enjoyed driving a shade over 8o pretty much legally as much if not more coming home as I did going) and each other’s company.

All in all, other than the fact that poor Kaeley got bronchitis, I feel like the trip to the Davis Mountains was a tremendous success. I was most impressed by the countless incredible breathtaking views that change with every twist and turn in the road and with the excellent learning experience of pottery classes, as well as the hospitality of our hosts and everyone we encountered on our weekend getaway.

I left Lubbock feeling restless, eager to learn, and anxious to see new things and I returned content, calmed and quieted and mostly incredibly happy to have had and shared another experience that was an emotionally impacting, intellectually stimulating, and curiosity piquing adventure...

On the road again...

Goin' places that I've never been.

Seein' things that I may never see again...

I couldn’t wait to get on the road again...SO, I decided on a trip to the Davis Mountains...I was going to go some place I’d never been, but after going I sure hope it’s something I do have the chance to see again...

I was feeling restless last week and a little disappointed that I’d decided not to go to Costa Rica this month for the volunteer teaching trip. So, I figured a road trip was in order. I originally planned to go it alone, but as it turned out my sweet niece Kaeley could go with me. (I’m sorry to say that I don’t think she had as good of a time as I did due to the fact that she got bronchitis while we were gone and didn’t feel great...BUT...I am glad she went along with me... and I hope she is feeling better soon)...

We headed out from Lubbock on Friday morning after the requisite trip to Sonic and drove toward our destination of Ft. Davis, Texas. The drive was enjoyable. We talked a lot and I was very happy to realize that my travel partner was appreciating the simple beauty of the differing landscapes and natural wonders we passed on our way. Even the extremely flat and open land that stretches out in every direction around Lamesa and Midland gave us opportunities to see beautiful fields of white cotton bolls that stood out against the brown dirt rows and stretched for miles just waiting to be harvested. I have to admit I personally enjoyed both the beauty of the area and the opportunity to legally drive 80 miles an hour in some areas as we headed to our destination.

Our first stop after several hours in the car was Balmorhea. Those of you who have followed my travels know I was in Balmorhea earlier this year, and although it could have been a disappointing weekend for me, I really loved the simple beauty of this place. Seeing it with someone who hadn’t been there and seeing it dressed in the glorious golds and oranges of fall color was a special treat.

We stopped in Balmorhea to get gas as well as take some pics of the beautiful trees standing along and stretching across the waters from the spring that run through town. While we were taking pics and taking in the beauty we were joined by the cutest little puppy with the sweetest little Pekinese underbite and a wagging tail that made us feel welcomed to his hometown.

After stretching our legs we headed toward the beautiful mountains on the horizon and enjoyed taking in the gorgeous views that greeted us around every turn as we headed further and further in to the mountains. The road began to curve and rise slightly as we saw the incredible exposed rock faces of mountains. The land in this area is a sight to behold. It reminded me of the rugged Old West you see in movies and while it’s incredibly different from the mountains I’ve probably seen the most in the Ruidoso area, it is definitely just as breathtaking in it’s own way.

As we headed in to Ft. Davis, I noticed the quaint old buildings such as the courthouse and bank, which again both looked like something out of a scene from a Western where one can easily imagine bank patrons (or maybe even bandits in black hats) riding up on their horses and moseying inside.

After a quick call to the Davis Mountains Inn (the bed & breakfast where we’d be staying) to get directions, we headed the short distance on down the road and pulled in at the dirt road beside Pops’ Diner (the place isn’t open, but we both noticed it -- most likely because all my daddy’s grandkids call him Pops.) We unloaded our bags at the Inn, which is a lovely home in an open pasture that sits in the valley between Blue Mountain and the Sleeping Lion Mountain that surround Ft. Davis. We were greeted by one of our hosts for the weekend and decided that since we hadn’t eaten since we left Lubbock that we’d head out for an early dinner. Before leaving for Murphy’s ( a great pizza and sandwich shop in Ft. Davis) we put our things away in our spacious and very nice suite. The room had a big king-sized bed and an even bigger, beautiful bathroom complete with a whirlpool tub surrounded by bay windows, double sinks and a separate huge shower. Kaeley had never stayed in a bed & breakfast, but I have and this one definitely met my somewhat ‘fancy’ standards ;) and exceeded my expectations.

Another thing that exceeded my expectations was the food at Murphy’s. When we walked through the door, took our menus, and headed to the enclosed patio area (with a tree that grows up through the roof and occasionally drops big ‘horse apples’ on the tin roof that are a bit alarming til you get used to the noise they create) the smell of pizza and garlic and other scrumptious scents filled the air. We decided to share a Caesar salad and a calzone. And it was indeed a great decision. We had several good meals throughout the weekend and I’ve had really good calzones (one of the best is at Cafe Rio in Ruidoso) but the calzone at Murphy’s was too yum, yum, yummy to be missed. In fact, I think I’d be tempted to drive all the way to Ft. Davis just to have another one of them ;)... We finished our dinner and decided to do a little shopping before we headed back to the Inn to change for our trip to the McDonald Observatory. There really aren’t a great number of stores in Ft. Davis and even fewer that are open after 5, but we found a great little store called Hollyhocks and Javelinas...I didn’t see a Ft. Davis lapel pin to add to my collection, but I did find and purchase a great set of flip flop socks...And, that’s right, I said set...The socks come in sets of three and all three socks are different...So, you don’t actually get pairs, but you do get three socks that are coordinated in color AND were a great deal for someone like me who loves to wear flip flops even when the weather outside dictates that socks should be worn. There were beautiful crosses, interesting lamps and glass pieces, and a few cute hats as well as lots of interesting jewelry and other items to look at in what was definitely my favorite store in Ft. Davis.

I was very excited about going to the ‘Star Party,’ an event offered every Friday, Saturday and Tuesday night at the observatory. When planning the weekend, I’d focused very much on not only the idea of seeing new things, but also of learning new things. When we arrived at the observatory, it was dark...very, very dark...and in fact, we were told later in our stay that the area where we were is the darkest place in the Northern Hemisphere. We stumbled through the extreme darkness in the parking area and toward the visitors center where we bought our tickets for the Star Party that started just a few moments after we arrived. The night air was cool and crisp, but not too cold to enjoy standing out and looking at the stars. I am not sure if Kaeley was most impressed with seeing Jupiter with its orbiting moons and debris field or the Seven Sisters constellations or the Andromeda galaxy OR the really cool extremely high-powered laser pointers that the guides at the observatory use to point out constellations and other heavenly attractions when visitors aren’t looking through the telescopes. All of the things, including the powerful laser pointers, were very interesting and impressive to me. After viewing all the different star clusters and constellations that were visible through the telescopes set up behind the visitors center we headed back inside. We unfortunately missed the film offered to visitors which shows other sights not visible on the night we were at the observatory, but we did enjoy the gift shop. I was, of course, going to buy a lapel pin to hang with the others I’ve collected from places I’d visited, but I also found other things I really wanted to buy. And while, I doubt that anyone really NEEDS an Einstein finger puppet/refrigerator magnet, I felt I had to have one...what can I say, I love intelligence and felt like having an Einstein finger puppet along with a book on the basics of Einstein’s theories was a good choice of souvenir from a weekend that was all about seeing and learning new things. We finished our evening at the observatory by walking through the self-guided interactive portion of the observatory and learning a good deal about the color of stars and other things I had no idea about. The experience overall did what I feel new experiences should do, which was make me realize how very little I know and make me want to know and learn much more ... Hence the purchase of the Einstein book and my new quest to have at least some very basic grasp on scientific theories and information that I never really took the time to learn or explore when I was in high school or any other level of my education.

We headed back through the dark twisting roads of the mountains (a long 14 miles, which Kaeley and I both decided we’d enjoy much more in the daylight and decided we’d definitely visit before we headed home) and arrived safely at the Inn. After having a fresh baked brownie (one of the many perks of staying at a bed & breakfast is the yummy food made available by our friendly hosts) and slipping in to our pjs, we headed outside the back fence to sit on the patio and pet the innkeepers dogs and just take in some more of the dark beautiful sky dusted with more stars than I’d ever seen stretched above us before we headed in to bed. We slipped in to our big bed and nodded off to sleep. My mind was filled with gratitude for the great niece and travel partner who was sharing my adventure with me AND was also filled with great anticipation of our Saturday activities, which would include pottery lessons taught by the innkeeper. This trip was definitely turning out to be a wonderful experience inspired by wonderful company, comfy accommodations, natural beauty and great opportunities to learn...

Final Fun day in FABULOUS NYC...

The last full day in NYC began a bit late...BUT... Saturday night had also ended well into Sunday morning...SO...we slept in a little, got up and got dressed in time to grab a cab to Tavern on the Green for our noon brunch reservation...

The reports I’d gotten about Tavern on the Green weren’t all positive, but I am so happy we decided to go there. First, because rumor has it that Tavern on the Green may be on its way out of business due to some lease issues with the city of New York and bankruptcy of the parent company. AND Secondly, It was FABULOUS!!! Not only is the restaurant absolutely beautiful with incredible crystal chandeliers, mirrored hallways leading to the Crystal Room and Buffet area and Tiffany lighting fixtures, but the great ambience was also combined with a huge and delicious buffet. The buffet included made-to-order omelets, a carving station, French toast, Eggs Benedict, breakfast potatoes, shrimp, roasted salmon, bacon, sausage, seafood salad, green salad, cheese tray, fruit tray, couscous salad, grilled vegetables, potato salad, bagels and lox, assorted pastries including delicious croissants, plus a separate dessert buffet that included pecan sandies, several types of brownies, and incredibly delicious bread pudding. And, yes sadly, I ate at least a bite of almost all of this along with enjoying a really yummy Mimosa. Jessie, Jeremy, Chris Ann and I all paced ourselves and all had several plates of the tasty treats.

The food was so yummy, I ate so much, and needless to say, the rest of the day, I felt so sick...BUT...A little tummy trouble couldn’t stand in the way of enjoying the beautiful surroundings of Tavern on the Green OR the rest of the day in NYC.

After we left the restaurant, we strolled past the Central Park Sheep Meadow and headed toward Strawberry Fields. It was a lovely walk. Central Park is truly a beautiful refuge of natural beauty amidst all the pavement and buildings of NYC. We paused for a brief time at the Imagine mosaic in the park that is a tribute to John Lennon and then headed to the Bethesda Terrace to see The Angel of The Waters Fountain. The fountain and the surrounding stairways and such are very beautiful.

After we decided to forego the hansom cab ride around Central Park because there was still so much to see of NYC, we headed out into the Upper West Side to do some shopping.

The entire vacation was made more wonderful by staying with and having locals to show us around, especially Saturday night (good times in Brooklyn) and a day of wandering around to just see and experience a Sunday in the city. I realized from our time doing this wandering and shopping that left to my own devices in NYC I could literally probably just wander about for days on end. There is so much to see -- coffee shops, bakeries, a vast variety of stores, and amazingly beautiful architectural details on unique building after building. Thankfully, I wasn’t left to my own devices and we did a lot of looking around and a little shopping. We went to the North Face store, Urban Outfitter, the Croc store, among others. About half way through the afternoon we stopped for cokes, cocoa and for Jeremy a huge root beer float.

After wandering through the Upper West Side -- and my almost getting hit by a car ((Ooops...Apparently actual New Yorkers can cross against the light and get away with it, but when you are busy looking at architectural details and store windows and just the variety of people and places on the streets of the city, it is not a good idea to follow even a knowledgeable New Yorker into the street against the light...especially when that particular resident walks in what can best be described as an incredibly brisk manner and I walk slightly slower than a tourist-y turtle ;)) We caught the bus to Midtown Manhattan and headed to Madison Avenue. A surprisingly large number of stores were closed on Sunday, but we did shop at Jimmy Choo -- and although these shoes are no doubt beautiful, I certainly can’t imagine paying what a pair cost for heels that are at least 4 inches and would no doubt put me in severe need of a trip to the podiatrist -- I found one pair made of black lace that I really loved, but 1) I’ve already mentioned the trip to the podiatrist that would be necessary and 2) I just don’t think I could ever pay $1,450 for a single pair of shoes. After we left Jimmy Choo we headed in to Barney’s. The store of course had lots of amazing and expensive items and I enjoyed looking at the handbags, the watches, and, of course, the neckties.

After leaving Barney’s we walked down Park Avenue and continued to take in the many incredibly interesting and wonderful views the city has to offer. The time for our spa appointments was drawing near so we parted company with Jeremy and Chris Ann (they went to watch a football game at a local pub) and we headed down Lexington to the Homme Spa.

Jessie and I went our separate ways as she headed of to have a Swedish massage and I took a load off my exhausted and slightly swollen feet and slipped into a comfy chair to have my mani/pedi and a reflexology foot and leg massage. The manicurist was a friendly Chinese girl who commented on the jewels I had on my toes and told me about some of the interesting artistic things she’d seen manicurist doing on their clients toenails when she recently visited China. She talked to me a bit about China and suggested that I should definitely visit there some day (hmmmm...another place to add to my list of places I want to see some day) and after a few minutes she settled in to working on my pedicure while I enjoyed some bottled water and fresh strawberries. The mani/pedi itself wasn’t much different or much better frankly than the one I have done every couple of weeks in Lubbock...BUT...the 30 minute reflexology foot and leg massage was phenomenal!!! Jessie finished her massage before I was done and she told me on her way out that she’d head out to get some coffee while she waited for me. (Unfortunately, as it turns out, her massage wasn’t enjoyable and I felt really bad about the fact that I’d had such a great experience at the spa when hers was mostly painful.)

By the time I finished my mani/pedi and massage it was a bit after 8. Chris Ann, Jeremy and Jessie were all waiting for me next door to the spa and we grabbed a cab and headed for Brooklyn to cross one last thing off our things to do list. On our way back to Brooklyn, Chris Ann called Brooklyn Pizza and ordered two pies. The drive across the Brooklyn Bridge at night was truly beautiful. And while we had packing to do, we didn’t want to leave NYC without having New York pizza. I was really still stuffed from eating brunch, but did have one piece of Brooklyn style pizza, which I folded in half and ate from the point end toward the crust -- which is apparently the way New Yorkers do it...

By the time dinner was over, it was getting really late and I still had all my packing to do. Getting the souvenirs, the new coat, and all my clothes back in my bag was a bit challenging, but we got it all done and just relaxed a little, said our goodbyes to our wonderful, wonderful hosts ((and no, I can’t say enough about how absolutely wonderful it was to stay in Brooklyn with Chris Ann and Jeremy and how fun and funny and friendly and just fantastic they were -- and, believe it or not, they said I’m welcome to come back and stay any time -- boy, they may not realize what they’ve gotten themselves in to ;)) We said our goodbyes Sunday night because we would be leaving very, very early Monday morning.

As we headed to bed, I thought about just how incredible my time in NYC had been. It’s completely impossible to say what my favorite thing about NYC was because everything about it was wonderful. Yes, it was incredible to shop at Tiffany’s, but it was also equally important to me that we had an experience with helping a homeless man. It was amazing to experience a Saturday night out with Brooklyn-ites and absolutely incredible to enjoy what might be seen as a tourist-y trip to Tavern on the Green and every other tourist-y things we did. The city lights, the architectural details of the buildings as well as the gleaming glass of the skyscrapers were equally as appealing as the beautiful moss-splattered trees and fountains, grassy areas and changing leaves of Central Park. And although I feel like I saw a million magnificent things I’ll never forget, I still feel like I want to go back to NYC to shop in SoHo and really visit Harlem and Chinatown and Little Italy, do the Ellis Island tour, and see another Broadway play or 10, and shop in some of the other incredible upscale places and just wander and wander and wander through the endless attractions and experiences this city has to offer.

It’s hard to judge and especially hard to explain how I know it’s been a successful vacation to a splendid destination, but I’ve given the following criteria before (which I really do believe also apply to books and possibly to relationships as well) 1) it should have a positive emotional impact on you... 2) you should be enlightened and educated by the experience and 3) it should leave you wanting more...And a 4th new criteria....the experience should change you, or maybe change isn’t the right word, it should enhance, expand, extend your view of the world around you and more importantly of the world within you...NYC was definitely that kind of experience for me...

Thanks again for traveling with me...and thanks again and a million times more to Jeremy, Chris Ann and to Jessie...This trip would not have been the incredible experience it was without you!!!

Begin with Bagels...End with Pim's...An outstanding and authentic NYC experience...

Saturday Morning started a bit later than our mornings up til this point, but it started off very nicely. Jeremy and Chris Ann had gone down to the corner bakery and bought us ‘everything’ bagels for breakfast. We ate our bagels and headed out with umbrellas in hand to walk the Brooklyn Bridge and eat at Grimaldi’s. Unfortunately when we got about 3 blocks from the apartment it started to rain, so we decided to head back to the apartment to avoid being drenched throughout the day and re-evaluate our plans.

Instead of walking the Brooklyn Bridge (which I definitely want to do when I return to the city some day) we decided to catch a bus to Jay Street -- the subway was down at Carroll Street and to avoid a shuttle going to the Jay Street station was the best way to get in to the city.

We caught the bus and the subway and got off at the stop beneath Rockefeller Center. We started to wander about and saw an area where you could sit at the level of the ice skating rink and watch skaters. We did this for a few minutes before we moved on to explore the stores. The first store we went into was the Swarovski store. There were lots of beautiful things in this store, but probably my favorite was the settee covered with crystals and encircled by a crystal curtain. Jessie and I took some time to have some pics made here and then moved through the rest of the store to look at the beautiful jewelry.

We eventually tore ourselves away from the sparkling treasures of Swarovski and headed to the NBC Experience store. This store sells everything imaginable that has anything to do with NBC TV. There were lots of great souvenirs and fun things to look at here. Some of my favorite things were the SNL skit t-shirts -- Schweddy Balls, Matt Foley, etc. -- and the Office and Law & Order paraphernalia. After looking around for a while, I grabbed a couple of souvenirs and we headed back out toward the ice skating rink.

We walked around the rink and took pictures of the beautiful area. And although we didn’t go to the Met, there is a Metropolitan Museum Store in this area. We went in the store and saw some prints of art pieces, interesting knick knacks, and a great selection of books. I was especially interested in the children’s books that hardly seemed like books for children. Not that the material was inappropriate, but they were beautiful books with pop-ups and projects and lots of other things that could have kept me busy reading for hours. But we didn’t really have hours to spend there, so we moved on.

Our next stop was St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which is beautiful. The architecture and stained glass in this cathedral are breathtaking. It truly was gorgeous, and I know it’s famous, but honestly I thought St. John’s was a bit more beautiful and offered more to see -- I realize in hindsight that this might be a result of the fact that we were escaping the bus and the elements when we went to St. John’s OR that St. John’s had the Poet’s Corner and anything that honors literary geniuses does my heart good. -- Anyway, we toured St. Patrick’s and saw all the lovely things it has to offer.

Upon leaving the cathedral we headed to Saks Fifth Avenue. Several things struck me about Saks, not the least of which, is that people bring their dogs to shop at Saks. Apparently people bring their dogs to shop lots of places in the city, but I was shocked to see pets amongst the Prada and other high end finery. (As a side note, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels -- which is what my dog King is -- must be very fancy and city friendly dogs because I saw several of them out shopping with their owners in the couple of days that we watched pets and people shop together.) Before we ever entered Saks, Jessie had decided that she was going to try on formal gowns at Saks. I wasn’t so sure about trying on fancy dresses -- I know, shocking, especially since I’d been accused of being “fancy” on a pretty regular basis -- but after looking around through coats and some of the designer collections we headed to the floor with formals. Jessie was enthusiastic about finding gowns to try on and after a bit of time she convinced me to do the same. We each gathered up a few and went to wait in the dressing room area for a room to open up. Jessie tried on her dresses first and she looked great in them. I took pics of her in her gowns, of course, and I especially loved the way she looked in a beautiful chocolate brown gown that was beaded at the top above the empire waist and had a gorgeous box pleated skirt that fell to the floor. When Jessie finished trying on her dresses, I took her room and tried on that same chocolate brown gown -- which looked so much better on her -- and a couple of black dresses. I did have my picture made in one despite the fact that I had on a hat and looked ridiculous in a formal dress with a hat -- but I just couldn’t make myself take the hat off in front of other people after it had flattened my horrendous hair all day (apparently this is a Southern girl thing and again makes me ‘fancy’(( -- and yes, I admit, I am fancy OR at very least like fancy things)) or maybe just genteel, which may be a word I like even better than fancy...) BUT I also didn’t want to miss having a picture of a gown that if I’d have had anywhere at all to wear it, I’d probably have been tempted to purchase.

After we had a chance to be fancy and frilly in our gowns from Saks, we decided it was time to move on. The next thing we did was search for a place that Nikki insisted we go to and that I was anxious to enjoy -- Magnolia Bakery. We had seen Magnolia when we were out walking around other days and while on the tour bus, but it took us a few minutes of wandering here and there to finally find it. It was totally worth the wandering...It was scrumptious...I had the chocolate cupcake with white icing and Jessie had a wonderful Whoopie Cookie...Oh so good!!! But as that was the only thing we’d eaten since breakfast and we both felt we might be slipping into sugar-induced comas, we headed back down below Rockefeller Center and grabbed flatbread sandwiches at Dunkin Donuts.

With our blood sugar a little more stable, we headed out once again to do some shopping and we went to Macy’s. Jessie was most excited about showing me the wooden escalators at Macy’s so we rode the escalators all the way up to the top floor where we sat for a few minutes to relax. We also looked at the floor which housed dishes, crystal and Christmas decorations. I haven’t decorated for Christmas in a few years, but seeing all the great decorations at Macy’s -- and I’m sure the fact that it hadn’t been above 45 degrees since we arrived in NYC -- made me seriously re-think the idea of decorating for the season. I was also entertained and quite tickled to find Macy’s selling crystal replicas of Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s famous #8 NASCAR. After shopping for a while, we headed back down the wooden escalators and to the subway station to catch the train back to Brooklyn. In the station we saw a couple of groups of street performers. We saw twin brothers playing flamenco music and then saw a group of break dancing boys. I was really pleased to see these as I felt part of the complete NYC experience was enjoying the street/subway performers.

We took the subway back to Brooklyn and ended up getting off at a different stop than the one we’d gotten on at. We ended up at the Fulton St. ‘mall’...which unless we were interested in a cell phone or some sneakers was not an incredibly fun place to be. Luckily for us Chris Ann and Jeremy happened to be out shopping in another part of Brooklyn as well, and had their cab swing by and pick us up.

After a bit of time talking and relaxing back at our hosts’ apartment, we decided on an evening out in Brooklyn. And what a night it was...We first walked to JOYA, a wonderful Thai restaurant in Brooklyn. We sat at the bar enjoying fabulous lychee martinis and great conversation while we waited for our table. After we were seated, we had some incredibly yummy and surprisingly amazingly affordable dinners. I had Jumbo Shrimp and Baby Scallops with Sweet Red Pepper and Curry Sauce over noodles. It was fantastic and more than I could eat...Chris Ann and I got our ‘ta-goes’ and after Jessie left her mark on JOYA (funny funny story -- enough said) we headed to the Clover Club.

Clover Club is cocktail club reminiscent of Prohibition Era speakeasies. The decor and music harken back to that era and instead of bartenders they employee ‘mixologists.’ We decided on the Pim’s Punch which is served in a milk glass punch bowl and served with a ladle to each person at the table. The punch was great and the company, conversation and laughter was even better. Having an authentic night out experience with locals (well, transplanted locals I guess...Chris Ann is from Long Island and Jeremy is actually from Texarkana originally) is an absolutely wonderful experience. After we had our punch, we went with our hosts to a Brooklyn birthday party in a beautiful apartment. The apartment was in new construction and was split level. It had a very open living, kitchen, dining area, a media room, a bathroom and a laundry room (apparently a huge luxury in Brooklyn) and a bedroom and bathroom upstairs. The apartment belonged to a decorator and her husband and was not only beautiful, but a very interesting look at real life in Brooklyn. I suppose I spent most of my time in the media room -- The Yankees game was on and when surrounded by New Yorkers it’s hard to not become a big Yankees fan -- and also spent time with another little host of the party. His name was Benny. He was wearing a tux. And he loved to give kisses. It was the human occupants of the apartment Yorkshire Terrier puppy and he was quite the friendly host and fun distraction from feeling odd about being at a party where the majority of people there were people I didn’t and would never know.

After staying the ‘proper’ amount of time for an appearance and the apartment tour, we caught a cab back to the apartment to catch the extra innings of the Yankees game. We watched the Yankees win and fell into bed after a long and fun and splendid day and evening in the city.

No Bull, Whispering Wall, and other fun Friday NYC experiences...

Our second full day in NYC started with another new experience -- and as I think of NYC, I feel quite certain that if one desired to they could indeed have a new experience there every single day -- This experience was perhaps not all that exciting, but we rode the bus through Brooklyn to our subway station. The bus we rode was mostly filled with moms (or nannies) with strollers carrying young New Yorkers to school or day care. It wasn’t terribly eventful, but one thing Jessie reflected on that is certainly true is that the kids in Brooklyn were as fashionable as the families they belonged to...

We rode the subway, which was this time not terribly crowded, past numerous stops all the way to the Wall Street...

Our first stop after emerging from the subway to the light of another New York day was Starbuck’s...This Starbuck’s is only worth mentioning because despite my normal experience with Starbucks’ employees, these people were genuinely nice and seemed very happy to help and to be working where they were. After a brief stay with coffee and a breakfast sandwich for Jessie and a Vanilla Double Shot Energy + Coffee and a low fat very berry muffin for me, we headed out to see the Charging Bull. This Bull is pretty famous and you’ve no doubt seen it’s face. The thing you may not know is that NYC lore dictates that for good financial luck a visitor should rub the statue in the area that separates the bull from the steers...I can’t tell you how many times Jessie has tried to convince me to do things that sound as crazy as this might sound, but after she posed with her head seemingly up the bull’s behind and received a hearty WOOT WOOT from an NYC worker on the street, I relented and rubbed the symbols of virility for luck.

Feeling somewhat silly, but also certain that I’d participated in an important Wall Street ritual, we headed to Battery Park where we stopped to take photos of the Sphere -- a statue removed from the site of the WTC bombings and positioned here with its holes and damages unrepaired. We then moved on toward the area where we would catch our ferry to the Statue of Liberty. After passing through security much like that at airports -- which of course meant for me the complimentary massage/pat down and the added humiliation of having to take off my hat and expose my horrendously flat and ugly hair we headed to the ferry. The ferry had three levels and we headed up top to get the best view. It was a chilly morning, but thankfully the rain had subsided. We rode out toward Lady Liberty and enjoyed the beautiful views of the city. On the way out we of course passed Ellis Island as we headed to Liberty Island. The Statue of Liberty is beautiful and was everything I’d hoped it would be and it was an awesome site to see. Because we had much planned for this day (as with every other day) in NYC, we opted not to get off the ferry at either Liberty Island or Ellis Island. At some point when I return to the city, I’d love to do the Ellis Island tour, but it takes several hours I’m told and we weren’t anxious to give up several hours of seeing other things to partake of that particular attraction. We rode the ferry -- and boy, are there a lot of ferries in NYC ;) -- back to Battery Park and enjoyed an almost empty second deck seat on the outside of the ferry.

When we departed the ferry, we saw what was an odd site for the middle of a city...we spotted a turkey in the park. Well, I thought it was a turkey and Jessie thought it might be a vulture. Since we didn’t know for sure what it was, two girls who are both terribly afraid of and disgusted by birds, for some reason decided that stalking this strange bird to get a pic was a good idea. I’m not sure how many minutes we stalked our prey, but at some point we did get within about fifteen feet of it and get pretty good pics (as it turns out after seeing our pics Jeremy did indeed confirm that it was a lone turkey in the middle of the big city.)

After we left Battery Park, we walked up toward Ground Zero. Ground Zero itself offers little more than a fence with some large banners explaining the construction of the memorial, but as we walked toward the site, I had an overwhelmingly odd and somber feeling. I had vivid recall of clips of video and photos of the same buildings I was walking past being shown with people frantically fleeing the site in front of a huge dark cloud of debris on September 11. I cannot even begin to imagine how panicked and devastated the people must have been that day. Walking the opposite way down a street that was a site of such severe devastation on a day that changed the country we live in so much was a moving experience.

On our way to Ground Zero directly across from the American Stock Exchange we took a detour. We saw steps leading up off the sidewalk into a beautiful cemetery. We went up the steps and walked around the cemetery which was full of eroding and interesting tombstones dating back into the 1700s. We later found out (on the Gray Line bus tour as we passed this way again) that the cemetery we were wandering through was the cemetery at Trinity Church and that Alexander Hamilton was buried there.

After leaving the cemetery and walking past the Ground Zero site we headed to Century 21 to do some shopping. I’d actually never heard of Century 21... and as their shopping bags say it’s “Fashion worth fighting for” or as other bags state “Shopping’s Best Kept Secret.”... And both are true. Jessie had her heart set on getting a new coat, and although I had nothing in particular in mind to buy, I rarely pass up a great opportunity to get a good deal or at least do some fun looking around.

Century 21 was similar to those scenes you see on tv where the aisles and shopping areas are all very crowded with people grabbing things off racks and crowding around sales displays. We headed into the first area we saw where there were jackets and coats. Most of the jackets in this area were ski jackets...brands like Spyder and others with really good prices. Jessie didn’t however find a coat in this area that was what she was looking for. We moved up another floor to an area full of more coats. Jessie tried on several and I started looking at coats too and actually came across one I really adored. I really had no intention of buying a coat. I had packed my bag pretty tightly and I knew I’d have to be fitting in souvenirs for the fam, but this coat was winter white ultra suede with a faux fur lining. The entire jacket inside and out is so incredibly soft AND it’s a Jones New York jacket at an incredibly good price...SO...Yes, I bought the coat. And yes, I do love it. Jessie also found a dark suede jacket that is fur-lined as well that she felt would be warm enough for Ohio winters and she decided to buy that coat as well. I also grabbed a pair of gloves -- the kind that are like mittens but fold back and expose the ends of your fingers so you can fasten your coat or dial your phone or whatever else you need to do. We continued to look around Century 21 and they truly do have some great prices on some great brand names. We spent a few minutes shopping in the men’s area. I can’t exactly explain why, but I have this strange obsession with men’s neckties. I LOVE ties, love looking at them, and while I never actually buy them I suppose they appeal to me as a symbol of a dreamy well-dressed man -- or maybe it’s something else completely twisted, idk, but I do know I love them.

When we finished our shopping, we decided to walk to another Gray Line Bus Tour stop to give the bus another try AND get from point A to point B without putting any more stress on our feet. There were several things we still wanted to get a glimpse of without spending a lot of time on so we climbed aboard the bus and headed on our way.

This time our bus ride was surprising. We actually had a really good tour guide. His name was Andrew and he was not only informative, but also witty and friendly and made riding atop a double decker bus in the cold a little more pleasurable. On this particular ride we went through downtown NYC. We went through Chinatown -- again an area that on some future trip I’d probably like to see more in depth -- but my only real impression that it was pretty dirty and not something worth missing other big attractions to see. We saw Little Italy -- another stop I’d like to explore some more -- and also saw fabulous buildings where incredibly pricey apartments owned by the likes of Madonna and Derek Jeter and others.

We rode the bus to a stop near Grand Central Station where we headed down Lexington in the direction of the impressive Chrysler building and Grand Central Station. On our way there we noticed the spa where we would be having our treatments done on Sunday. We went inside for just a minute to check the place out and it looked pretty nice and we felt less unsure about our appointments awaiting us there on Sunday evening. We also stopped on our way to Grand Central for me to buy more Pashminas...I’d already bought a couple that I’d been wearing the last couple of cold days in NYC and I thought they’d make fashionable and great gifts for the girls in my family.

We soon arrived at Grand Central Station and I was in awe. It is a truly beautiful station and it has so much to offer. It has a huge variety of people from many walks of life. We saw a musician playing the stand up bass and a good number of kiosks with interesting items to buy. As we headed into the main area of the station we saw a world of hustle and bustle as well as a beautiful and well-guarded brand new Maserati. Both Jessie and I were hungry since it was late afternoon and we decided to head to the food concourse and have a meal while we warmed up. We found a great place called Hale & Hearty that sells soup. And it was super soup. I ordered a big cup of sweet crab chowder and Jessie ordered the sweet corn chowder. We found a place to sit and started enjoying our dinner. As Jessie and I sat there and discussed our last stop for the day, the Empire State Building, Jessie noticed a homeless man going through the garbage cans looking for food. I didn’t even see him, but we needed to finish eating quickly so we could catch the last bus to take us back across town to the Empire State Building and although I was pretty full I still had quite a bit of soup in my large cup. Jessie asked me if I wanted to give my leftover soup to the homeless man. And I did, but I didn’t know how to approach him ((--you know, that whole stranger danger thing...and not just because he was homeless...Jessie had bailed me out throughout our trip when numerous people would approach me to take pics of them while they posed -- I wasn’t opposed to taking the soup to the man nor was I ever opposed to taking the pics of people I didn’t know, but I did ALWAYS hesitate. Somehow I must have an open and accepting ‘yes’ face, but still just haven’t managed to not look a bit shocked when approached by a stranger for anything.)) Anyway, Jessie took my moment of hesitation as an opportunity to just do it for me and took the man the soup. She came back with tears in her eyes and told me that he simply said Thank You as a tear rolled down his cheek...Ok, so maybe it’s a good thing that I didn’t take him the soup because it’s quite possible if he’d cried when I handed it to him that I’d have emptied my pockets of every cent I had and given it to him...

After we had this encounter there was one more thing in Grand Central Station Jessie wanted me to see. She took me to the Whispering Wall. The Whispering Wall is where the arched design of the walls of a corridor enables two people, standing at opposite corners and facing the wall (like you're being punished,) to talk to each other and be heard! I was skeptical, but I figured if I was willing to touch a bull’s balls I might as well go along with this tradition too and it is amazing and surprising, but it really works.

As we left Grand Central Station, we headed back to the where we’d hopped off the tour bus and rode across town to the Empire State Building. On the way across town we passed numerous landmarks, including Rockefeller Center and lots of other sites. We actually had to get off the tour bus for some unexplained reason and walk a few blocks to get on another bus that would carry us to the Empire State Building.

We went through security and began our ascent to the observation deck. There are a couple of different elevators and places where one must wait on the way up, but the lines weren’t terribly long and we got to the top pretty quickly. It was dark and cold by the time we reached the observation deck, but it was also breathtaking. I would highly recommend going to the top of the Empire State Building at night. While it was indeed snowing lightly at this distance above the city, the views of the city were remarkable. Times Square was a glowing spot amidst a scattering of other lights on every side of the observation deck. It was a beautiful view of the city and we spent a good deal of time walking around and taking pics before we headed back inside and went through the gift shop. I picked up a couple of souvenirs here for friends and family and we headed back down to the street to catch a cab back to Brooklyn.

When we arrived at Chris Ann and Jeremy’s apartment amidst the lovely brownstones of Union Street we were greeted by our wonderful hosts. I had mentioned the night we arrived that I would love to try sushi and Chris Ann informed us that their Friday nights generally included ordering in from a sushi place in Brooklyn. Since I knew I was clueless about good sushi, Chris Ann kindly ordered for me. Within a very short time a delivery guy from Kiku Sushi brought us our dinner. I had shrimp dumplings as an appetizer followed by spicy salmon rolls, shrimp asparagus rolls, and California rolls as well as a salad with a yummy dressing. I was so grateful for the chance to have a wonderful sushi dinner ordered by someone who actually knows about sushi, and I enjoyed it all so very much. I have to say at this point that I am so happy that my parents raised us eating a large variety of foods. I never hesitate to try anything from escargot to sushi or whatever other local delicacy I am offered because somehow my parents instilled in us a willingness to try exotic and interesting foods (hmmmm....now, if they’d only taught me not to have extreme stranger danger, I think traveling the world would be incredibly easy for me.)

After our dinner we sat and talked with our wonderful hosts. I have to also say a huge thank you to Chris Ann and Jeremy. Both were fun and kind and so great to just hang out with.

We tried to formulate a plan for the next day, but just kept getting distracting from the task by all the talking and laughing we were doing. We did decide that IF it weren’t raining the next morning we’d have bagels from a bakery around the corner and walk the Brooklyn bridge as we headed in to the city for another fun-filled day. Some time well after midnight as a fantastic Friday turned in to Saturday we crawled in to our warm bed in our comfortable and welcoming home away from home. I went to bed laughing at one of the million hilarious things Jessie said throughout our trip and dreaming of another exciting day of incredible and virtually endless experiences in a city of contrasts and complexity and cultural experiences.

Mamma Mia, here I go again My my, how can I resist you?...

And here we go again...

After leaving Tiffany’s with my happy silly grin on my face and my Tiffany’s bracelet on my wrist (--yep, I put it on while we were in the women’s lounge, I just couldn’t wait to wear it AND since it says “please return to Tiffany & Co.” on it, I figured if I got lost maybe someone would indeed return me to Tiffany’s ;)... We headed off to do more shopping. We decided to go to the GAP store. Jessie really likes GAP and I like it as well so we went there to shop. I had decided that I’d actually like to find something else, not something nearly as fancy as the black skirt and Snow White collared shirt I’d brought to wear to the Broadway show, but something clean and warm to wear. We shopped for quite a while there. I ended up buying a brown sweater and a cream colored shirt to wear under it, which would go well with the brown pants and brown hat I was already wearing. Jessie bought a cute sweatshirt type jacket and we headed out to find a place to have dinner before we went to see Mamma Mia.

We wandered around and came upon Connolly’s. We were seated upstairs and settled in for a light dinner before we went to the show. Jessie ordered a Classic Cosmopolitan and I decided on the French Kiss Martini...YUM...And while I’ll admit it’s been too long since I’ve had a real French kiss, this drink was definitely aptly named. It was pleasurable and smooth and sweet and warmed me from my tummy to my toes and was really just truly yummy...So yummy in fact that I decided I’d have one more. I also had a tasty salsa shrimp cocktail and a lovely mixed greens salad with balsamic vinegar dressing. While we relaxed and enjoyed our drinks and dinner, we also over-listened to those around us. There was a couple and their friend talking at a table nearby. We heard one of them say they were from Texas, but they were from the rest of their conversation, obviously not travelers, but transplants living in NYC. Jessie said she thought she heard one of them say something about Wolfforth -- I never heard it, but that would have been truly crazy -- and it was enough to get me even more actively interested in over-listening to what they said. By doing so, I learned a term I wouldn’t have otherwise known, DINK...They were apparently DINKs -- Double Income No Kids -- I suppose that term fits quite a few people we came across and it was interesting to learn there was a label amongst New Yorkers for it.

After we finished dinner, we headed back in to the wet streets to go to the ‘will call’ booth at Winter Garden Theater. We picked up or Mezzanine 3rd Row tickets and went to find our seats. We arrived a little early for the show and sat and read through our playbills as we waited for the show to start. The show was really great. I was so pleased with our last minute seat purchases and was so impressed with all of the performers and the entire performance. I really always enjoy live performances so much more than movies or television. I think there’s an energy in knowing there’s no editing or chances to re-shoot or re-do anything that isn’t present otherwise. While I am sure most performances are relatively the same, the idea that each may be a little different is somewhat exciting. The cast of Mamma Mia was wonderful. For any CBS soap fans out there it might be interesting for you to know that the actor that played Edmund for 7 years on Guiding Light is a member of the Broadway cast of Mamma Mia -- and practically everyone in the cast has at one time or another had some part on one of the Law & Order series. Everything about the production was wonderful, well, almost everything. At the end of the show the full cast came back out to sing a few of the songs from the show. Everyone in the lower floor of the theater stood, clapped, and even danced along. Jessie decided to stand as well...And while I wasn’t aware at the time, she soon told me that she’d been poked in the back and given a gesture from the person behind her indicating that she needed to sit down. Jessie handled this much better than I would have. She didn’t immediately sit down, but she avoided making any further eye contact with the woman and decided to sit down after a few moments. (This whole event was probably the most obvious rudeness we encountered while in NYC...The thing is that other than one other New Yorker who made their feelings about tourists known to us when we drove by on the tour bus by giving us a single finger salute and yelling “go home” the vast majority of New Yorkers are very polite and helpful. Even our cab drivers generally made some attempt to make small talk...It seems that the only rude people in NYC are the foreigners...I hate to sound prejudicial and judgemental, but the people who butt in line or poke you in the back or hit you with their umbrellas or push and shove seem to be by and large foreigners -- more specifically Europeans -- I know they have the words please, thank you and excuse me in their languages, but they seem to never use them...Maybe it’s just a difference in training in courtesy and social graces, but it’s a difference that’s annoying and I believe is the reason people come away from New York with the idea that New Yorkers are rude...which in my experience they definitely are not...)

After the encore ended we didn’t push our way in to the crowded aisles to leave. As soon as the aisles did clear a bit we went down to use the restroom before we left...And that was a bit of adventure -- only because we were the last ones in the restroom and apparently the last ones in the theater and were basically shoo-ed out the door by a woman who informed us the Mezzanine was being cleared out and locked up and that we needed to get out of the theater and in to the streets.

We left the theater and headed out in to the heart of Times Square. I think this was the NYC I had in my mind all these years. The street was lit up like daylight and there were people everywhere. Steams of people flowed in every direction and there were things to look at everywhere...Just above us was a sign that said “Where the Wild Things Are” and I do believe that Times Square is the area where the wild hustle and bustle of NYC really comes alive. Apparently attending a Broadway show inspires people to sing in the streets because we passed more than one person belting out show tunes. And Jessie herself was a bit carried away by the excitement of the evening especially when we heard the bumping beat being played in the M&M store. The girl can dance -- enough said. ;) ...The M&M store and the Hershey’s store were both stops we made and enjoyed. We also ventured down the streets in Times Square just taking in more of the sites and sounds before we finally caught a cab and headed back to Brooklyn. The ride out of the city was hectic and harrowing, but we survived, and as the cab headed out across the Brooklyn bridge into the quieter, calmer streets of the Brooklyn neighborhood we were staying in the excitement of the day began to subside as well and I started to feel very ready to climb the steps to Chris Ann and Jeremy’s wonderful apartment and crawl in to bed. Our first full day in NYC was indeed a very FULL 14 hour day...A long, exciting, wonderful day I doubt I will ever forget...