New York City

Well, I'm finally getting a chance to post about our trip to New York City in November. John had to be there for a conference and a few weeks before his trip it dawned on me where he was going and for how long and I REALLY wanted to go with him. So, I was able to arrange for some time off at work and found a reasonably priced plane ticket and it was settled that I was going too. I am so glad I did. NYC is AWESOME! John arrived a day before I did. My flight got in pretty late and I took a shuttle from the airport to the hotel ~ that was an adventure in itself. First of all there were traffic jams at midnight! This city really doesn't sleep. Secondly, the driver pretty much zig zagged in and out of traffic. I really did have to hang onto my seat. When I had arranged for the shuttle it didn't dawn on me that there would be 8 - 10 other people wanting to be taken to their hotels too. Silly me, thought we'd all be going to the same hotel. So what would have been a 15-20 minute ride turned into over an hour. But I did make it safely there. The hotel was only a few blocks down from Time Square and it was still going strong when I arrived. The next morning I was tempted to sleep in after getting in so late, but I didn't want to miss anything. I was there to see the city and that's exactly what I planned to do. I walked a mile or two (not sure how far it was now) to the Rachel Ray show in hopes of getting in on stand-by. No luck unfortunately, but I did get to see a lot of the city in the process. I went back that afternoon to try again, but still not luck. Oh well, maybe on another trip to the Big Apple. On the way there I came across the Grand Central Station and enjoyed checking it out. It actually took me awhile to find Rachal Ray's studio in the morning because of a few wrong turns, but it was just more that I got to see.
When I went back to the hotel the first order of business was to ditch my cool looking boots for my tennis shoes. I've never had a problem with them before but the streets of NYC require shoes that have cushion. I found Rockefeller Center with the ice rink and the Christmas tree which was in the process of being lit.
After John got out of his meetings that evening we decided to go to a restaurant at Grand Central Station and then check out the Empire State Building. I don't think I've mentioned yet how cold it was while we were there. IT WAS FREEZING! At least compared to what we are used to here in Memphis. It was made worse by the wind that just whips throughout the city. Thankfully I was able to convince John to get a hat for his head (I had already purchased one earlier that day) because I knew it would make a huge difference. Well, once we got to the top of the Empire State Building the wind and the cold went up a few notches. Thankfully there was a little room you could warm yourself up in but then you couldn't really see the city. So, we walked around it a couple of times and got our pictures and decided we were good to go. It really is breath taking, though to be able to see so far in every direction.
The next day I was hoping to get up early and go to The Today Show and see if I catch of glimpse of the crew there. I didn't quite make it out as early as I had hoped. The thought of being so cold again detered me a little. I did see Al Roker out on the plaza and had a close up view into the studio but that was about it. So, from there I headed across the street to a book signing that was about to start. It was Richard Belzar who plays Munch on Law & Order SVU. I got to meet him and his dog and get a free book that he signed for me. Later that afternoon I came back to the NBC studio and took a tour of the place. They wouldn't let us take pictures which was a big disappointment for me, but that's the way it goes. It was really cool to see behind the scenes. We were actually able to see the set of Saturday Night Live while they were rehearsing. It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be. On my way back to the hotel I took a little detour to FAO Schwarz to find a teddy bear for Thomas. That is another amazing place. I don't think I'd want to take a child in there for fear that they'd never want to leave. I know I didn't see the whole place but I almost got lost in the part that I did see. Leave it to NYC to have a toy store that is so grand.
That night there was a reception for the conference attendees at the Rainbow Room (sponsored by one of the device companies) at the top of Rockefeller Center. We had to listen to some presentation (don't ask me what they talked about) by the company and then there was a buffet to enjoy. Most of the time when I go to something like this I know a few more people than I did that night. Despite not knowing many people before hand the ones that I met that night were very friendly (even a current new yorker) and were good conversationalists on topics other than surgery. It was a lot of fun and we ended up staying until there was no one else left.
Unfortunately, the next day I had to fly home. It was such a fast trip but full of fun. If you've made it this far you are quite the trooper. I have rambled on long enough, but I certainly want to go back some day.