Top 10 Things we did in NYC but didn't have a picture of:

1. We saw Glenn Close! I know I already told you that, but I think this celebrity sighting warrants an extra spot on my blog.

2. We were there for the duration of the Eliot Spitzer scandall. The whole city was a-buzz with the jaw-dropping news. We thought about going in person to watch the jerk resign, but decided not to waste our time. You should have seen all the cameras outside his apartment!! The guys walked past it near the Met Museum.

3. When we went to the play, Cat on a H.T.R., with an all-black cast, the audience was about 85% black. Our audience took on a character of its own, with all the shouting out and "talking back to the screen" as they call it. Anyway, at one point in the play, when Maggie is trying to get her husband in bed with her, she calls out "Brii-iick" and a fellow from the back yelled out "Yeah?"

4. Churrascaria: A Brazilian Restaurant, famed in our family from the last time we were there, May 2004. John Morley had just finished 3 weeks of finals at Yale, and had forgotten to eat most of that time. When presented with an opportunity of an inexhaustible amout of food at Churrascaria, he went ape-wild and ate and ate and ATE!! We had all finished long before him, and he was still getting more and more meat and food, and none of us have ever seen the likes of it before or since. It was legendary, and we figured that it's probably taken the restaurant these four years to recover their financial losses from the last time John Morley ate there. We tried to recreate the moment when we went there again on Thursday, but without starving ourselves for 3 weeks prior, we paled in comparison to the first time. The legend lives on...

5. Mom and I got to sit in on Erin's voice lesson at her teacher's amazing apartment (previously owned by Michael J. Fox) overlooking the lake at Central Park. As in, a 20 ft. long wall of windows in which to look over the lake. It was gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Amazing. Loved it.

6. On Day 3, we walked around SoHo before going to Chinatown, famous for its unique boutiques, supermodels, and wannabe supermodels. Erin and I started counting, and within 20 minutes we'd spotted 13 such species. They are easily recognizable when you look for these traits: Firstly, by the sound of their heels clicking on the sidewalk, long before you see them. 2nd, by their blue steel stare straight ahead. 3rd, the kitchy clothes. 4th, you can't see them if they turn sideways. And finally, 5th, the best giveaway, is by their treatment of a walk down the street as an opportunity to practice their runway strut.

7. Adam and I were hungry at 2 am one night, so we went around the corner to Ray's Pizza, which luckily was open till 3 and got some pizza. And we weren't the only ones there. And Ray's Pizza wasn't our only option.

8. We prepared all the food for the party in E & J's apartment (a feat in and of itself), and then put it all in bags, and carried it all to J & D's apartment. We were each carrying 2 grocery bags full of plates with the food wrapped up on it - crazy! Manhattan sure does make it difficult to do the most simple things!

9. President Bush was coming to NYC the morning we were leaving for the airport, which made it difficult to get a cab, since they'd closed off the street in front of our hotel.

10. As we were waiting for said cab, whom should I see crossing the street, but my friend from the Phoenix Symphony Chorus, of course! It was so bizarro!! She was there on a business trip, and we happened to be on the same street corner in Manhattan at the same time. And I just saw her at choir again in Phoenix tonight. Wow.

Bonus: Did I mention that Erin was Awesome in Peter Grimes? Well, she was. I was so proud of her making this huge dream a reality after so many years of hard work. She sounded incredible, and her acting was stellar. It was so cool to be able to see it in person, and I'm so glad I was there.

Watch out, opera world, this girl's comin' on the scene and she's about to steal the show!

Day 3 on NY Trip: Chinatown, Debut Party at Janet & David's

Day 2 on NY Trip: MoMA, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dizzy's Jazz Club

Day 1 on NY Trip: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Opera

Celebrity Sighting!!

Ohmygosh!! We just walked past Glenn Close!!

We saw her walking her dogs on 81st and Central Park West, and Dad was the first to notice! She looks great in person, she was just wearing jeans and had her cute blonde hair cut short.


Other excitements of the day:

We rode in a taxi in traffic. The driver was getting honked at by the van behind us, and our driver was weaving around all kinds of obstacles like a pro. None of this is unusual. But then, we got hit by the van behind us. Yes, we got in a crash in Midtown Manhattan in a taxi. It wasn't too serious. We got out and started walking to find another taxi. And we didn't pay for that ride!

Today

Whitney sang in the talent show at her middle school this morning! What a girl! She sang Taylor Swift's "Our Song" and it was awesome. Look what a cutie she is.

Then we hopped on a flight, and now we're in Manhattan! Here's the view from our hotel window:


And now I lay me down to sleep...