And so we continue...

OK...where were we? Ah yes, fighting our way through the festival to get back to Broadway. The sights you see in NYC! It was great though...I love that kind of thing.

Once we caught our breath on Broadway we started hoofing it south. We weren't 100% sure as to how many blocks it was to Macy's, but we figured we could always cab it back if needed. We stopped to grab a cold drink and some lunch at another cute place on one of the side streets. There our 12-year-old looking bartender spoke with a Scottish accent. We came to realize that no one we asked is from New York. Everyone is a transplant from somewhere else. The true melting pot!

Macy's was a zoo! You see, they have what's called "tax free week" around Labor Day weekend every year. It's supposed to be an aid for the back-to-school shoppers. The massive size of the store, aside, there are all these nooks and crannies and levels within the same floor, etc. The bank of elevators were packed non-stop. I kept thinking of a Jerry Lewis movie where there's a mad rush onto and off of the elevators. Everyone is of the belief that you can always fit 'one more' person. The store itself was, in my opinion, run down and old. Escalators weren't working, it smelled musty, and was in serious need of updating. I, honestly, was not impressed. Except for the very nice salesman who helped me with my boot purchase. He was great! Very accomodating and patient and happy. KB was successful in finding things that fit her petite size so it was a worthwhile spree for her.

With an early show time at the comedy club, we started our walk back to the hotel. We actually walked a block or two out of our way to avoid some of the festival crowd. We went to our room and managed to sit down for only five or ten minutes before we had to get ready to go out again. We, fortunately, took the outside crowd into account when planning how long it would take to get back over to Broadway. Our 8-minute walk took us closer to 20 minutes instead.

Caroline's Comedy Club was not exactly what I expected. It's smaller than I envisioned...and it's located completely underground! But what a riot!! We laughed so hard at the host, the two amateurs, and then the headliner. We definitely enjoyed our time there! If only I could remember the jokes --- I'm so bad at that. I just remember laughing A LOT!

Call us crazy, but our post-show dinner was at the Olive Garden, one block down. We just craved their salad and breadsticks so badly! It did not disappoint. And, of course, this being New York City, we HAD to have some cheesecake before we left town. We found a great deli and sat and indulged ourselves. When we walked out the door, satisfied, we came the closest to experiencing any violence on our trip. Policemen were hustling all around and took off running in one direction. Even in NYC everyone stops to look and see if they can find out what's going on. Two of New York's finest came running back and headed down into the Subway. That was it. No idea what the commotion was all about. No idea where they all headed. It was back to "calm" after those few moments.

Walking a different way back to the hotel we happened across Radio City Music Hall, I almost got run down by a speeding cab, and the festival folks were gone...but their nasty mess remained. For whatever reason, there were no extra garbage cans put out for this huge gathering. So all the trash and half-eaten food and cups and wrappers, etc, were just piled up alongside the buildings. Blech! The street sweeper was moving through though, and you could see that progress was being made.

We got up to our room and felt "complete." We had done it! We had survived the city. We had seen all we wanted to see and done all we wanted to do, with the exception of playing cribbage in Central Park. Next time...

Monday morning we woke plenty early, showered, packed up, ate our bagel with cream cheese, and jumped in the cab that happened to be waiting right out front for us. We caught our last glimpses of the city on the way to the airport. Love that skyline!

One more laugh in the city...our cab driver appeared to be from a far eastern country. He said he lives 6 months in NYC and 6 months "over there." We were, obviously, in the back seat, chatting about our adventures and now the trip home. The driver had seemed friendly and was somewhat conversational at the beginning of the ride. We were nearing the airport when he looked in the rearview mirror and asked, in his heavy accent, if KB was my "friend" or my "lady." I laughed!! I said she was my friend and I was going home to my husband. He laughed too. I should have told him he could find himself in a world of hurt if he asked the wrong people that question! LOL It was funny to me because before we ever left I had commented that I wondered if people would think we were a lesbian couple!

Two minutes before we were to board our plane they announced a delay and we ended up on a plane that went to Minneapolis first, and then to Milwaukee. We were fearful our luggage wouldn't follow us. Much to our dismay, it turned out that our original flight left an hour and a half late with some of the original passengers on it. They beat us to Milw, but we had their luggage on OUR flight. Inconvenient for all, but we still got home at a reasonable hour...and I was still able to have supper with my family.

I heart NY! I thought I would, but I heart it even more than I imagined.
BUT...I believe it's a city to which you must travel with the right person. KB and I were incredibly compatable and had the same agenda. It worked out sooo very well for us!

There were a lot of other places that were pointed out to us...homes of stars, TV and movie locations, etc. But I can't give you all the details (even though it would seem like it from the length of this thing).

I decided that this account is as much for me as it is for those of you who are reading it. It's my diary of the memories we made, me and my dear friend, in New York City. I hope it gives you some sense of our experiences. I'm happy to have it all written down to be able to come back to time and time again.

And now, my fatigued body will hopefully do some catching up.

It's good to be home.
It's good to be back where I belong.
It's all good...