NY City - Day One

By now you have realized that I did not have internet access while in NY City, but I am home now and can blog till my heart's content. Before I tell you all about my adventures in NY, let me give you an update on Toby. He is doing fine in Scotland. He has not been impressed with the food, but a good friend/coworker from Scotland showed up and took him to eat Italian food - so I know he is not starving. He sent the following email which I got a kick out of - you will too:

Funny story, I was telling the ladies that the food was less than superior at the hotel and that I might have to buy a pair of suspenders to hold my pants up. They hooted, the ladies cackled. It seems that Scottish folks use the term suspenders to describe the thingys that hold up ladies hose and pants are underwear. They said it gave them a new impression of me.

My last post was from Long Island where we spent our first night after arriving in NY. The next morning as we were catching the train to Penn Station, it began to snow - big fat snowflakes - it was beautiful. By the time we got into the city, the snow had stopped and the sun was shining somewhat, but it was cold and windy. We missed the really serious wind. Susan met us at the station and walked us to our hotel. I need to explain who was on this trip before I continue this story:
Ruth - my mom’s longtime friend whom she taught school with at the vo-tech. Ruth’s husband died not long after my dad died - so she and Mom are big buddies.
Susan - Ruth’s daughter (only child) who is an airline stewardess for Southwest and our travel guide. She is ten years my junior - I used to babysit her. She is married, no children and a type A personality.
Fay - Ruth’s sister, ex-librarian/school teacher, and a real trooper.
Jean - Mom’s running buddy - very much like Mom in personality - lots of fun.
Mom - a dingy blonde on this trip
Me - the border collie and photographer.

The Wolcott Hotel was old and funky. Buddy Holly always stayed there on his trips to NY. The rooms were simple and clean. The bathrooms had obviously been updated, but had old the old-fashioned small black and white tile. Hotwater was iffy. Here is a photo of the lobby while we were checking in. It is located on 31st St. near Broadway. Most of the time, we caught the subway, but I did get to hail a cab once. The hotel was full of Europeans spending their money since the dollar is down. We met several people from the UK. At one point I got on the elevator with an older man with a Russian-type accent, heavy brows, huge nose, and very talkative. At the front of the elevator was an older oriental woman with her back to the old man. I was standing between them and to the side with a good view of both people. The elevator was having problems and stopping at every floor for no reason. The old man in a disgusted voice said, “Made in China!” The older oriental woman, who had a poker-face to die for, turned and looked at him, and then turned back never saying a word, but it was obvious she was Chinese. It was hard for me to keep a straight face.

The ladies and I hit the town after checking in. We went to Maxie’s for a huge sandwich before heading to Toys R Us, and the M&M store for some shopping and site seeing. I kept my camera around my neck (like a good tourist) but my position as border collie made me take lots of pictures of the backside of the ladies - the herd in front of me. Here is Times Square with Mom standing on the sidewalk. We walked around Rockefeller Plaza looking at the tree and ice-skaters. I did get to go into the gift shop of the Met. Museum of Mod. Art. Keep in mind that I was doing what the herd wanted and that was to shop and site-see, and shop some more. We moved on to the Rockette’s 75th Anniversary Christmas Spectacular which was spectacular. After the show we went to the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center), saw the windows at Saks, and then grabbed a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel.

So ended our first day in NY City. I was much impressed with the city - and very excited to be there and see the sites. Just being on the street with all the people and excitement was enough for me. More tomorrow.