We left here about 10:15 on the 22nd thinking we’d get to NYC in 3 hours. We arrived about 2:30-3:00 but we had stopped at a Wendy’s and a Big Lots in a small town. Our mistake was relying on Mapquest. I know, they have to generalize their directions, but I-295 was not a good way to go as it veers off to Trenton, NJ and you can easily get lost, which we did. We went through the Lincoln Tunnel (it’s weird knowing you are going under water) and when we were at the other end we weren’t sure where the directions wanted us to go. We should have made an immediate left but went up a street and made another left-the directions were useless until we asked where 42nd St was (thank you officer). So the next problem was the cabs, people walking in front of us and people double parking. I had to call to ask where the garage was as it wasn’t listed on the hotel’s website. Poor Sean had to go to the bathroom for an hour but wouldn’t get off in front of the hotel when we had to go around the block again. When we finally pulled into the garage, they told us to ‘take everything you need’ as you aren’t allowed to go back to your vehicle again. That was a mad scramble!

The hotel was built around 1960 and called ‘The Summit’. Judy Garland was there when it opened. I happen to love her and I thought that was awesome trivia. It’s called The Doubletree Metropolitan now. The room had only two double beds (why not queens?) a desk chair, desk area and one other padded chair, a flat screen tv and internet hookup which Sean utilized a few times and a small bathroom. It also had a fridge where you could chose something and had a few seconds to put it back or you have to pay for it. We had our own snacks.

We ventured out around five to go eat as there were plenty of restaurants in the general area. We chose an Italian restaurant called San Martin’s. It took a while to get dinner. I chose a chicken in a mustard/mushroom sauce. That was good, but the veggies weren’t -corn and peas and some weird looking sliced potatoes (like the kind in a can!). The guys had pasta.

We walked 8 blocks that night-not a wise choice for me at least. That’s when we saw St. Patricks and Rockefeller Plaza/center. When we went in the huge NBC store, I really felt drained and we started walking back. Needless to say, we took cabs a few times.

Cab drivers are careless, unfriendly drivers with short fuses. The first cab we took was to the ship port. I showed the driver the address and he got us there fine, though it was a fast and crazy ride.

We start to walk up to the elevator to the pier and there were Karin and Michael standing there! What a coincidence as we were one of the first to arrive. It was a great moment to meet her and her sweet guy. We followed them up to the check in where we left our driver’s licenses. They we went to the waiting area and waited from like 1o:30 to almost 12! The ceremony was to take place at 12:30 and the couple weren’t even dressed yet! First we had to go through a metal detector and right before we went on board, we had our hands sprayed with alcohol. The three of us went out on the deck and took a few photos. The wind was kicking up a lot and I had forgotten hair spray! I do love those photos though.
The ceremony was about 20 minutes with a Lutheran minister who I think was an assistant to the main minister of NYC. (He didn’t say Karin’s name correctly-more like Kareen during the ceremony). Michael and his dad came in and he looked very handsome in his white tux. Brian also wore white way back in 1984, but he had tails and an ascot where Michael had a suit style jacket and a bow tie. Her niece Emily walked down the aisle (bridesmaid) first and then her sister-in-law Marissa who was the Maid of Honor. They were already dressed. Karin came in a few minutes later (what speedy dressers the two of them were) and she looked so gorgeous in her satin gown with rhinestones on the bodice. She carried a silk flower white and red bouquet. I captured a good shot of her mom looking at her. Speaking of her mom, it was so nice to meet her, her husband Ron, Karin’s dad and his wife Kathy and Michael’s family. I had nice chats with both Michael’s aunt who happen to be an Early Childhood Education instructor in Fort Myers, Fl (I have an AAS in ECE) and a co-worker named Fran who thought of Michael as her ‘adopted son’. Fran, a country girl from North Carolina, didn’t seem to enjoy the gourmet lunch we had. I think we were all stumped as what to chose. Karin is getting her degree in culinary arts in December and chose some different dishes. I enjoyed what I had as did Brian and Sean. They really made sure we had our fill. I regret looking at the chocolate raspberry wedding cake and only tasting it. I was stuffed.

So it was all over way to fast. We had to leave the ship at three. I gave Karin a wedding card with a few Art Trading Cards I made for them and also a birthday card for Michael who is having a birthday tomorrow. We received a CD of their favorite Love Songs as a wedding favor.

When we were walking across the road to the taxi stop, that’s when the van driver was so rude to me.

That night we went to Times Square. It was mobbed! I am not a crowd person and I am not crazy about people who are ranting and raving about God. Not crazy about seeing a half naked girl (no top on, just pasties) getting money for drawing attention to herself.

I was impressed by the 3 story tall Virgin Record store. I have never quite seen a place like it before. Sean enjoyed seeing the outside of the MTV studios too. After seeing this area, we happen to venture back to Rockefeller Center. I was glad as I wanted to buy some kind of souvenir as I hadn’t bought anything yet. I bought a Saturday Night Live est. 1975 shirt as I was in the building where it’s been filmed for the last 32 yrs. I have watched it from the beginning (the best years were in the beginning). I also bought a night shirt with the ‘Today’ show logo all over it. I did take a photo of these but I deleted it by mistake.

We grabbed a cab back to the hotel and ordered a snack and headed for our room. That night I slept like a log as I was told I sawed wood all night. The night before was a joke! The noises outside (and we were 10 floors up) went on all night. I felt my wood cutting adventures in the morning as my throat was so dry. The air conditioning was fine, but it was so dry. We decided to get a nice breakfast and went to the same place where we grabbed our snack the night before. We took a cab to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and attended Mass. We sat about 8 or so rows from the front on the right. Cardinal Egan officiated the televised service. Both Sean and I were feeling a little overwhelmed in there, but settled down. There were police officers in the front of the church and next to the doors. We were glad that we were able to go here. It’s one of the biggest cathedrals in the world.

When we left, people were sitting all over the steps that wind around the building. We noticed the police were there and had put up barricades. I heard a girl say something about a gay parade that was going on soon. We decided to leave for home then to avoid the traffic and crowds.

After we got the car, we pulled out and again the directions failed us. We were told to turn right on 50th and  couldn’t. But the parade hadn’t started yet! We turned down the next street and started looking for 42nd. We had to wind around a road under a building and ended up in the 30s. We were stopped at a light and I saw a cabbie and all I said to him was Lincoln Tunnel. He said to take the next street all the way to 9th and it was right there! What luck! We were high fiving it! I got to see Fashion Ave (would love to shop there sometime). The traffic leaving was a bit heavy going through the tunnel, but we did well and only had stop and go traffic a few times on the NJ turnpike. We stopped and ate lunch and got home before 4 which was fine. The cat was glad to see us, though a little hoarse in voice.

All in all, it was an interesting experience. I want to go back and see the Empire State building, Central Park and do some shopping. Next time I would stay outside of the city and grab a bus in (someone told me she did this). Sounds like a good plan. I was glad to get home to the peace and quiet, but I wasn’t use to it!