NYC Saga...Continued (Act III)

Another big shot out to Deniece (who has been reading the comments but making none herself and is humbly pleased by the praise for her writing) for doing this guest blogger thing for me. And I got the final word...she WILL take questions and provide answers at the conclusion of the tale. Enjoy!

PS...this is my FAVORITE part of the whole trip!!!

Steffany actually stayed awake to make our sign for the next morning, and I fell asleep early. I actually went to bed very early and wound up waking up a little before 4am.
As soon as I woke up, I called downstairs to see if there was a transit strike. Unfortunately there was. (Later, you’ll see that this wasn’t as unfortunate as I thought) Great, how are we going to get all the way back to 57th St., the location of The General Motors Building? (Our hotel was between 95th and 96th streets.) This morning Steffany wanted to try to get on CBS’s The Early Show.

I watch the Today Show so I wasn’t quite as amped; but it was really important to Steff that we meet Dave Price and it wasn’t that big a deal to me, so we did the Early Show. Well, we get up and get dressed. Our plan is to walk as far downtown as we could before trying to find a cab. The cab would cost $10 per person (the rate because of the strike), so that would be $20 for us. We had walked just a few blocks when a man and a woman in a white van slowed down beside us and asked us where we were headed. Without thinking, I told them that we were headed to 57th St. They said they would take us there for $5 each. There wasn’t a cab in sight, and $10 definitely beats $20, so we hopped in their van and headed toward downtown.

Pause
I know what y’all are thinking, because I thought the same thing later that day. Oh my God! I got into a van with total strangers in the middle of New York City! However, I have to say, that the reputation that New Yorkers are rude and mean, is a total fallacy. There was never a time that I felt uncomfortable or the need to clutch my purse. Yes, everyone really keeps to himself or herself, and they don’t tip their hat and say “how do” like they do here in Podunk, Texas (which I’ve come to the conclusion is totally fake), but they are totally cool people.

> Play >
Along the way, we picked up a few other people who were also headed downtown. One guy had his business suit in a clothes bag. You could tell he was prepared to walk the long way down to 14th St. He was also pretty cute. We picked up another lady who used to teach at SMU in Dallas, so she knew all about Abilene, Wichita Falls, and MSU.

Pause
When people would ask us where we were from, which they did a lot, we would just say Texas. Then they would ask where in Texas, and when I said Wichita Falls, I always got blank looks. Steffany would say that she was from Abilene, and they would always say, “I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know where it is.” My guess is that they heard of Abilene because of country music.

> Play >
Anywho, we got down to 57th St. and figured out where we were supposed to meet for the Early Show, then we went to grab a little something to eat. We found a little deli/ supermarket. It was kind of unusual, so we just got a little something, and decided to eat later. We went back to the Early Show, and saw that there were people there now setting up things. The immediately asked us, “Are you guys here for the Early Show? When we told them that we were, they were so excited. They said that they didn’t know how many people would actually show up because of the strike. They invited us up for hot chocolate and apple cider. We immediately accepted, because it was so COLD.

Pause
Standing out in this cold for hours, was the coldest I have EVER been. It felt like the wind was blowing right past my clothes in through my skin. I was chilled to the bone. I love really cold weather and snow, but that’s only If I get to sit inside and look at it.

> Play >
We met the producer. He was really grateful that we were there, and he was really nice. He really liked our sign too. Actually everyone liked our sign. It made me feel really good, and kind of proud. Yes, Steffany actually made the sign (I fell asleep, remember). BUT we both brainstormed and came up with the idea.

>> Fast Forward >> Sub Zero Wind Chill >> Nice Old Black Man from Killeen, TX >> Funny Camera Crew >> Crazy Lady with the instructions >> Little Shits from Connecticut >>

> Play >
We did meet Dave Price (he looks like the dad on Alvin and the Chipmunks) and we were on national television. It was a really cool experience to be on TV. After everything wrapped up, I was totally over CBS and the General Motors Building (along with their tightly wound employees).
We then waited about 5 minutes to go into FAO Schwartz, because we both wanted to get warm, use the bathroom, and see the $15,000 stuffed elephant. That’s right! This is an upscale toy store that also housed a $15,000 child size Porsche. After the doors were unlocked, there was a red carpet ceremony before we could get in. I was impressed by the pageantry, but annoyed at the pretension. I didn’t purchase anything, because cash flow was running low. Steffany purchased a gift for a baby shower, and then we left in search of breakfast.
We found a dinner on Madison Ave.

Pause
How cool are we that we ate on Madison Ave in Manhattan?

> Play >
We ordered our food, and Steff called her mom to ask about seeing us on television. I don’t remember exactly what I ordered, but I do remember that I got sausage. The breakfast sausage in NYC is so different from ours, it’s more like a cased link… sort of like a hot link. I’m being so descriptive, because this was the BEST sausage I have ever eaten. I can still taste it in my mind. Yes, I’m fully aware of how sad that is. No, I don’t care.

After breakfast and the world’s greatest sausage, Steffany and I went to Rockefeller Center. We saw all kinds of landmarks and stuff you see on TV. We also saw the giant Christmas tree. It looks bigger on TV. We also went and bought the most expensive chocolate at this Swiss chocolate boutique. Their bulk chocolate was $62 per pound. I found some chocolate bars and would up spending about $10 on 3 pieces of chocolate. I must say, it was very good chocolate, as I am a connoisseur. However, it was just a tourist thing; because in real life I’m just as happy with good old Hershey.

We took some more pictures, and we went into Saks 5th Ave. It was so pretentious, uppity, and reeked of snobbery. I LOVED IT! We went into Louis Vitton, and they didn’t even talk to us. It was so funny! We passed a man who was handing out red ribbons with a new fragrance on it. Steffany and I both got ribbons, because we knew that was the only thing we would be taking with us out of Saks 5th Ave. I saw a scarf for $595. Yes, a scarf-the-- little piece of fabric that goes around your neck when it’s cold. After Saks, we wandered around a little while, but I was so cold and very tired. Remember I got up a little before 4am, I had been walking everywhere, and it was now some time after noon. I was exhausted. Steffany asked me what I wanted to do, and I was completely honest. I told her that I wanted to go back to the hotel, and take a nap. I could tell she was annoyed, but I was so tired and I knew she wouldn’t hate me, so we went back to the hotel anyway. When we got my to the hotel, I put on my PJs, hoped in bed, and I was OUT. I had set my alarm for about 2:30pm, because I didn’t want to sleep the day away. After all, I was in NEW YORK CITY!!!!

When I woke up, Steffany and I talked about what we wanted to do, and we decided to go to the Time Warner Center and Central Park. We took a cab down to Columbus Circle. Along the way, our cab picked up another passenger. She was so cool. She was a songwriter. I asked her if she wrote anything we may have heard, and she said sure. She wrote Pieces of Me by Ashlee Simpson, Escape by Enrique Inglesias, and another one that I can’t remember. It was so cool to meet her.
We got to Columbus Circle and took a few pictures, because we had a really great view of the CNN tower. We went inside the Time Warner Center and went into William Sonoma. It was so pretty in there, and they had samples of the best mulled apple cider. Also, Steffany found some sort of cooking thermometer that she had been looking for to get her dad for Christmas.

<<> Play >
We left Time Warner and went across the street to Central Park. They were having a Christmas market with all sorts of different items. It was so cool. They had all kinds of jewelry, clothes, and iPod accessories.

Pause
I want an iPod. That’s it.

We walked around there for a while, and then we went into the park to take pictures. We also wanted to take pictures at Lincoln Center, because they had the most beautiful Christmas Tree. We headed across the street, and I decided that I wanted to take a picture in front of the Trump Tower.

Pause
The story I am now about to tell was the highlight of my trip. Read very carefully!

Ah ha...a cliff hanger!!! I promise that the next entry will be one you'll want to read. It involves a celebrity and a picture (that with D's permission I'll post too!).