NYC Part 2

Hi Again,
Well, my Saturday tourist in NYC day didn't go at all as expected, which is just fine.  I took the subway over to Anita and Paul's and dropped of my stuff, got assaulted by Nemo (their cat who coudn't decide if he loved me or hated me) and visited for a while.  I then just decided the heck with it, I was going to see the "Lion King."  I have always wanted to see it so I decided I would just go.  Yikes!  It was expensive!  The ticket was $135 but was totally worth it.  I had a great seat, about 8 rows back in the orchestra level so I had a great view of all the "animals" as they went by in the opening scene.  Spectacular!  I had watched the movie so many times that I knew a lot of the show word for word.  :-)

After the play I walked across the street to the Toys-R-Us store. HOLY CRAP!  It was major sensory overload!  I walked around pretty fast, took a couple photos, got some candy and got the heck out of there. And, walked right into the middle of Times Square on a Saturday.  Again, HOLY CRAP!  What a see of people!  I just can't even imagine what it would be like on New Year's Eve.  I walked up to the Hershey store but again did a quick pass through and had to get out of there before I left in a straight jacket. After living in Alaska for almost 20 years it's pretty hard for me to be packed in with a bunch of people.  (which reminds me, I really need to get my blog up to date and write about my Asia trip!)

After a nice walk back to Anita and Paul's apartment, we got ready to head to their friends sing-along night.  They have a party once a year where everyone gets a song to sing from the year before.  It was pretty darn fun!  I was not put on the spot and did not have to do anything but sit there and enjoy the performances which was really nice. There was some serious talent in that room!

Wow - bed time was about 1am, up at 7am so I could get the 8:15 bus to Newark Airport. Anita was kind enough to walk me over to the bus station so I could avoid the "getting lost" time factor in my calculations.  :-)  The bus ride was fine.  The plane left a little late so I got back home about an hour later than planned.  It sure was nice to be home!  What a quick and hectic trip!  A good one though, customer was very happy, met more of Rachel's family, got to see "Lion King", good stuff.

New York City!

Hi Everyone!
Well, I thought I would give this a try since I am actually traveling this week!  :-)

When I woke up Wed. morning and checked my work emails I learned that a customer in NYC really needed my help and wanted me to do an on-site visit Thursday and Friday!  Wow! That is pretty last minute!  I had to wake up Rachel so she could help me pack while I got reservations and did my planning.  She took me to work about 9am so I could work for a few hours before I left.  I flew out of San Francisco at 1:30pm with a direct flight to Newark, NJ.  I landed about 9:40pm and started my next adventure....getting to my hotel in the middle of Manhattan.

Rachel was kind enough to do the research on her end while I was flying so I had pretty exact directions to follow when I got off the plane.  I found the shuttle bus that would take me to Grand Central Station and hopped on. The ride was pretty uneventful which I was thankful for.  I hopped off the bus about 11pm and found that my hotel was only 1/2 mile away so I decided to walk.  I know, sounds crazy walking around Manhattan at 11 o'clock at night with a suitcase that screams TOURIST! but after being on planes and buses for 6 hours I really wanted to move my legs. And, come to find out, there were about 1,000 other people walking around at 11 o'clock at night! This city really doesn't sleep!  So, I made it safely to my hotel and settled in.

Thursday and Friday I had to work in the Mt.Sinai Hospital area which fortunately was only 1 subway line away.  Easy!  Work went well and the customer was happy so that always makes me happy.

Thursday night I got go meet my sister-in-law, Anita, and her husband, Paul, for the first time!  I dropped off my work stuff at the hotel and ventured across Manhattan via the subway to their apartment.  I didn't get LOST but I did end up somewhere I hadn't expected to end up. :-)  Luckily for me it was smack in the middle of Times Square!  :-)  I walked over from there, a little ways but not bad.  And, then I got to have Anita's famous salad! YUM!  It was so nice meeting Anita and Paul and their wacky cat, Nemo.  What a funny cat!  He "follows" you around, in front of you, bumping into you and rubbing on you like he's in love with you but then if you go to pet him he hisses and rears all up like he HATES you!  HAHA!  After dinner and our visit I headed on back to my hotel without getting "lost" which was nice. :-)

I was so torn on what to do Friday night. There are so many things to do! And, I was so TIRED!  I stopped at my hotel after work and quickly found myself in my pjs and ordering room service. I guess that answered that!  :-)  I was able to watch a movie (the final movie in the Girl with a Dragon Tattoo series) before I fell asleep, so overall, it was a perfect night. 

And, now....it's Saturday....my tourist day!  I am going to head out in a few hours (after checking out) over to Anita and Paul's to drop off my luggage and backpack.  I know I want to go to Madame Toussands which is in Times Square. Rachel has asked me to go to the Hershey's store (also in T.S.) so I can get her some treats.  Otherwise, I'm not sure what I'm going to do.  Just walk around I guess.  Tonight Anita and Paul are taking me to their friends house for his birthday party which apparently is going to be a bunch of actors and singers doing songs to help him celebrate his birthday - sounds like fun!

Tomorrow I fly back out of Newark at 11am so I have just today to play.  I better get on it!  LOL

I'll let everyone know how it goes!  :-)