Our Final Night of "Stoop Sitting" at Paewny's Home - Picture Taken by Proud Ohio Mom on June 23, 2008

Word of the Day

Ignorimagrant - A foreigner who doesn't know how to drive according to the local laws; a really bad driver.

Woodtick Count - 25 (I didn't see any woodticks in New York...even in Central Park)

I'm


Home!


HTP picked me up at the airport in The Big City yesterday and we got back here at The Lake at around 6:30 PM last night. My feet and ankles are swollen and shiny. I had the best time ever in THE BIGGEST CITY...at least the biggest city I've ever been to...and I've got the swollen ankles and blisters to prove it. We did so much while we were there it would be almost impossible to catch you up on it all....but I'll try. I KNOW that I won't remember all of it.

Thursday: Tom and I hopped into the car with my two suitcases and headed off to the airport in The Big City at 1:30 AM. After an unremarkable flight, I was greeted at the airport in New York by my friends in the red shirts. My fellow Marine Moms. And then I added myself to the crowd of red shirts to greet our later arrivals. This is when we found out that Gunny T. was going to be a Grandma. She was ready to hop on the next flight out to join her daughter in Pueblo, Colorado where her daughter had gone into labor...far from home. However, after weighing all the options, she decided she'd stay put in New York. Grandma Gunny T. What a concept! Thanks to our New York connection (Marine Mom Paewny) who brought her sister along to help in the transportation from the airport to the hotel, we made it to the hotel in plenty of time to do some shopping for supper. A special thanks to Paewny's Sis for all her help in getting us from the airport and the special tour guide service that she provided from the airport to the hotel. After checking in at the hotel, we all walked the couple blocks to Paewny's house. We went shopping at The Pork Store for some further supplies to make supper. We stopped at the liquor store for some adult beverages and the bakery for desserts. I made some my spaghetti sauce. Paewny fried up the Italian sausages that we got at The Port Store. Ohio Mom made the salad. We sat down to a wonderful Italian meal. And afterwards we sat out on Paewny's stoop. Stoop sitting became a wonderful ending to all of our evenings.

Friday: Some of our Marine Moms actually decided to visit a gym that was located near our hotel. Every morning. That first morning, some of the other Moms took a nice walk near the water. Me? I'd planned to join them for the walk by the water but ended up walking around near the hotel instead...sizing up the neighborhood. We had real New York bagels for breakfast at Paewny's house after our early morning activities and then hit the subway to Lower Manhattan. The train (subway) was an experience in and of itself. Paewny's Hubby and Paewny were right there to guide us virgin subway riders through the experience which wasn't anything like I was expecting from all the horror stories I've heard through my many years on this Earth. We visited Ground Zero and St. Paul's Chapel. We walked around the harbor. We sampled some street food. Real New York hot dogs from a sidewalk vendor and Real New York pretzels from the same vendor. I need to figure out how to make that sauce that the vendor put on my hot dog. Wonderful! We took the Staten Island Ferry (up and back)and got to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from the ferry. Tugboats. Barges. A military boat that Gunny pointed out that must have been docked for repairs. We walked the entire length of the Brooklyn Bridge. We took "the train" back to Paewny's house and then walked over to Vesuvio's (a real Italian restaurant)for a wonderful dinner. I had Zuppe di Pesce...which was the same as Frutti di Mare which I've ordered elsewhere but...to those who don't understand either...I had a wonderful seafood pasta with red sauce on angel hair pasta (clams, shrimp, calamari, mussels, and lobster)...yummy. After dinner, we walked back to Paewny's house for another stoop sitting session.

Saturday: We got back on the subway and headed to Broadway. Time's Square. LOTS of people. We walked about and saw some of the other theatres and where the Today show is filmed. Gunny T and dale13mom checked out The Mermaid Parade at Coney Island while the rest of us went to see The Lion King. My first Broadway play on Broadway! After the play, we visited the biggest Toys R Us that I've ever seen. There is a HUGE ferris wheel inside the building. Lots of toys. Yes...I bought something for Ms. En. Gunny T. and dale13mom met up with us outside of Toys R Us. By this time, we were all REALLY hungry so we stopped for dinner at Bubba Gumps...the New York version. REALLY crowded. LOTS of people. I got HTP a present and a couple of t-shirts. Then...it was back to the subway and a quick stop at the hotel to drop off souvenir purchases before we continued on.... We stopped at a bar near Paewny's house...I can't remember the name and tippled on adult beverages and watched dale13mom and her daughter play pool while snacking on chips and dips. Marine Mom M2CMC shared a card that her Mom had sent us. Her Mom bought us our first round of adult beverages. Thank you very much Mom2Mom2CMC. Mom2CMC called Mom2Mom2CMC to thank her but it was getting late and I'm not sure if Mom2Mom2CMC will remember. We toasted all the Marine Moms,wives,and Grandmas who couldn't join us on our New York Reunion. On the way back to Paewny's house for another stoop sitting session, we stopped at a store where I found my New York Frog. Mom2CMC is going to UPS it to me. He was too heavy for me to bring home in my suitcase.

Sunday: Oh, my aching feet! I dug out my band-aids and decided it was time to wear my most comfortable shoes. The New Balance that I'd purchased for the trip. Thank God I bought those shoes! They were a life-saver! After breakfast we went shopping at Century 21...a discount store. Though tempted, I decided to do my shopping at the local bakery on my walk back to our hotel. I got some Pignoli and some Seeded Regina to bring back to The Lake with me. Wonderful! I found a recipe on the Internet but I'm not sure if I'll be able to replicate the true yumminess of these confections. Then...we all gathered and it was off to the subway...again. We were getting pretty good at riding the subway by this time. We headed off to Canal Street where we walked to China Town in search of knock-off handbags. Part of the whole experience. On our walk we stopped at a cute little store where I found the perfect birthday present for Ms. En and some cute birthday cards to add to my collection of cards that never get sent. Paewny found a "tour guide" who we followed in our search for knock-off bags. En route we got a tour of a Chinese food market. I recognized many of the foods but we didn't stop to ask what the rest of the odd dried food stuffs were. Nor did we stop to take a closer look at the fish and squid which were proudly displayed in boxes of ice at the edge of the sidewalk. After arriving at our knock-off purse (handbag) destination, it was decided that we really didn't like the location of the shop or the attitude of the vendors...or the location so we headed off to visit Little Italy....a few short blocks away. We sampled real Italian New York Pizza from a sidewalk vendor. Yummy. Paewny taught us all how to fold the pizza (New York-style). It took me a while to get the concept down but I think I've got it now. It's so the grease doesn't drip down your clothes. Loved it. Best pizza ever. More souvenir shopping in Little Italy. I got a couple of new fishing hats. Then it was back to China Town. I got a gold medallion at one of the jewelry shops. And then...just as we were ready to give up on the knock-off purse project...we found our knock-off purse store. What an experience! "Pssst! You looking for Coach purse?" A secret door leading to secret room where there was yet another secret door led to yet another secret room...with the good stuff. What fun! Then...we decided to visit The Empire State Building where we had to have all our bags X-rayed ala security at the airport and walk through metal detectors. Despite my fear of elevators, there is no way that I'd walk up more than 80 floors. I think I did pretty good...I didn't even scream once. Afterwards it was back to the subway, dinner, stoop-sitting and then time to crash. Did we go to a bar that night? I can't remember.

Monday: We all met at Paewny's house where we gathered our gifts for the firemen from the Fire Station that was closest to Ground Zero. Each of us had brought food gifts from our home states. For example, I brought cheese and venison sausage from Wisconsin and Salsa from Arizona. We ended up with a HUGE basket of yummy foods for the firemen. Unfortunately, they weren't there so...we went over and met Father J. at St. Francis of Assisi church which was right across the firehouse. It was decided that he'd deliver our basket to the firemen but not before he wanted us to wait for a while to just make sure that they wouldn't be right back. Father J. was rather intimidating....so we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally...we escaped after we promised to return when Father J. called to let us know that the firemen had returned. We headed off to Times Square where we visited the M&M store. Wonderful! The perfect souvenir haven....and chocolate M&Ms. At this point Father J. called but...we decided that we'd first visit Rockefeller Center and then St Patrick's Cathedral. At this point, Paewny and the rest of us decided we'd done enough walking. We decided to signal on of the millions of NYC yellow cabs. Paewny did the signaling. We took a cab back to the Fire Station. Whoohoo! I took my first cab ride in New York City! They have a TV monitor in the cab (that's how I learned that George Carlin had died) and they have this little thing where you can swipe your credit card to pay for the cab ride...and even add a tip. And it wasn't nearly expensive as I thought it would be. Actually, I think it was cheaper than the subway. However, we could only get four of us in each cab and that was with one person sitting up front with the cab driver but...it worked. We met with the firefighters and chatted and took pictures. We didn't get to see Father J. again but... And then we took a cabs to Central Park where we met up with dale13mom and her daughter. They'd been off visiting New York on their own. We walked through Central Park...not the entire park, the entire park is HUGE! Beautiful. We stopped for a carousel ride and sampled ice cream. We watched a newlywed couple rowing a boat on the lake. There were a couple of jazz saxophone players standing in various locations playing "the blues". We saw the Dakota where John Lennon lived before he was killed. And then...more walking but this time to Tiffany's!!!!! Yes! I got a little blue box tied up with a pretty white ribbon and placed in a small blue bag with the Tiffany logo on it. Actually...to be honest...I got two of them. ARGH! But...I didn't spend all that much. Actually, you can buy many affordable items from Tiffany's...and they will wrap them up in a box and tie them up with a pretty white ribbon for you. Gotta love it! I bought something at Tiffany's! A once in a lifetime experience. Then...it was back to the subway and back to Brooklyn during rush hour...to Paewny's house....after stopping and dropping our purchases at the hotel. We had dinner at The Salty Dog. Great food and better atmosphere. I ordered a Reuben sandwich which...I couldn't finish. I figured that I HAD to have a Reuben sandwich in New York City....just to compare it with my own. Sorry guys. Yours was good but mine is better. I make a wonderful Reuben sandwich. Afterwards, on our way back to Paewny's home, we were lured into this wonderful cafe which was displaying the most wonderful confections where we each got a chance for a last bite of The Big Apple. I bought some cannoli and some chocolate confections to bring home with me on the plane...which Paewny had to store in her fridge overnight. *sigh* I didn't think over the refrigeration factor when I made my purchases but...they did make it to The Lake so.... Then...one last chance for some more stoop sitting before we all hobbled off back to the hotel to pack.

Tuesday: We enjoyed a last chance at New York City bagels at Paewny's house before we headed back to the hotel to grab all our suitcases and bags. Paewny drove us to the airport. Gunny T.'s packing skills came in handy. I stand in awe. How she managed to get all the suitcases into Paewny's van along with the five of us that were heading off to the airport early on Tuesday morning...I have no idea. Hugs all around for those who weren't leaving until later. Then...it was one final look at New York City as we traveled through lots of traffic en route to the airport. One last look at the Brooklyn Bridge. One last look at the "Lady in the Harbor". One last look at the graffitied buildings that looked like something straight out of a Hollywood movie set. Curb-side check-in. Thank you American Airlines. My poor aching feet and ankles. No problems going through security. Thank you again. And then onto the plane heading to Chicago with my connecting flight to Minneapolis. Too bad my connecting flight in Chicago forced me to trudge across the entire airport...which...normally wouldn't have been all that big a deal but by this time my ankles and feet were protesting and I was starting to look like I had the beginnings of elephantitis. Ouch! And then when I finally got to the gate...there was no place to sit down. ARGH!

Anyway...I'm home. I made it. My ankles are still a bit swollen but that didn't keep me from my morning hike with Gypsy. At least I was able to get my shoes on this morning with only a little discomfort. I'm home at The Lake. The mosquitoes are vicious (none in New York...at least none that I could see, but they do have HUGE waterbugs...at least that's what Paewny called the one that crawled across my hand one night while stoop-sitting). I already miss my Marine Mom Sistah's and sneaking bites of bagel to Paewny's dog Peaches. But....it's good to be home.

Murphyism of the Day

Paewny's Law for Touring New York City

An umbrella in hand is a sure fire way to keep the rain at bay.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

There's no present. There's only the immediate future and the recent past.

George Carlin (1937 - 2008)