We checked in at our hotel..life was great! The girls were happy as ever, and that only made me even happier. Immediately we hit the town for some good NYC pizza. Six slices and 3 Cokes later, we decided to walk around to take in all the beauty that is NY. Several hours later, we got back to the room and called it a day. Wednesday was busy...Cindy who had never been to New York, wanted to do all the touristy stuff. The weather was GREAT! 70 for a high and sunny! We went to the Empire State Building, Times Square, China Town, (stopped to eat) walked some more....(ate some more)...then went to Central Park, played around, ate some more, took really silly pictures and video that we will NEVER share with the outside world. We then had to hurry back to the hotel. The show at MSG was at 8! The concert was awesome! Incredible! Great! Great! Great! Afterwards, we hung out with crazy folks from Boston, Philadelphia, and of course Mexico. We went and did what we do best...eat!
We got back at about 2:30 a.m.--technically their mom should be upset that I had the girls out that late BUT in my defense, while it was 2:30 a.m. in NYC it was only 11:30 p.m. in Phoenix. Thursday we went to church at St. Patrick's Cathedral, ( I needed to ask for forgiveness for corrupting my nieces into staying up late every night) then we ate, walked around and found a trillion things to do. That's when the trouble began...it quickly went from 70 degrees to 2...OK...maybe it wasn't 2..but it was darn cold! We were supposed to leave Friday afternoon but by Thursday night the rain had turned to sleet and by Friday morning we were snowed in. JFK, La Guardia and Newark airports ALL closed. The airline told us the earliest we would get out would be sometime MONDAY! OK...we suddenly had three more days in NYC. I called Royal Norman and asked for help! Royal called back and basically confirmed what the airline had told us. But could we really complain? After all, we were stuck in NYC! We ventured out into the snow, got soaked making snow angels (even though my niece Gannel kept warning us about the yellow snow hahahhahahahaha) and then went and ate. That night we left the hotel at 11:30 p.m. and braved the cold temperatures just so we could go to a great place called Comedy Village...OK....technically my sister should be mad at me for taking the girls to a comedy club where some of the jokes were a bit on the heavy side if you know what I mean. Oops! They loved it though! They laughed more than me! Afterwards at about 2:30 a.m. we left the club, got coffee and got on the subway...we were laughing so hard that I forgot to pay attention and instead of going back towards our hotel we ended up in Queens...it was now about 3:30 a.m.! Darn it! I hate it when I do that! We made the most of it and just laughed what are you gonna do?!! We got back at 4:30sh...I know, I know, I'm probably every parents worst nightmare BUT in my defense I made sure they were wearing hats, gloves, and double layers of clothes. They looked like little cotton balls all bundled up! hahahahhahhahahhahah!

Saturday we were tired and it was cold! 29 for a high! Yep, I still made them go out. Hey! If the people who live in New York brave the cold, we had to do the same!
We went to the Brooklyn Bridge which is such great exercise and just such a beautiful view. However, the cold was miserable and so we went back to the hotel, ate then went to sleep. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ on a Saturday night in NYC! hahhahahah

Sunday it warmed up...actually it was beautiful! The high was about 36 and sunny. We went to Union Square...ate...took a million pictures and video...went to NYU...played in the snow...shopped at the really cheesy souvenir shops..went to Brooklyn...listened to some music...then returned to the hotel. We had to leave the hotel at 3 a.m. to head back to New Jersey ARRRGH!!! But before we called it a night...we went and ate our last slice of NYC pizza.

Then there we were at 3 a.m. walking to Penn station....we headed to Newark and after going through NYC, New Jersey, Atlanta and Cincinnati, we finally made it back to Phoenix....ONLY TO REALIZE THAT SOMEONE HAD STOLEN MY CAR!!!! How rude! I hope whoever took it really needed it because I am now without a car you cold-hearted scoundrels! But no way was I going to let them rain on my parade! Life is so funny because after getting stranded and getting my car stolen I have to admit I was annoyed BUT then came a phonecall from a long-lost friend who I had not talked to in three long years! I had always wondered where the heck he was and what he was up to...actually I thought he was mad at me or something. He called moments after I realized my car was gone! I told him about the trip and the car and instead of offering some comforting advice he LAUGHED! And it was perfect! It was exactly what I needed! He's got the best laugh! Talking to him again is like a breath of fresh air and even though three years have passed since we last spoke, we talked about everything right away, it was like he wasn't even gone all this time! So after all the chaos, I found several hidden treasures...first, my nieces and I had a blast! We will never, ever forget that trip! Second, my old friend is back! What more could I possibly ask for??? Well, besides a car or a bus pass. :-)...but seriously I am so blessed! Thank You God!
Finally, in case my friend reads this, listen up YOU...please don't ever pull a Houdini disappearing act on me again! It's so, so, so good to hear from you!

Con carino...

Claudia