What an amazing time!

Conditions at 5:15 am: 18' and a bit overcast
Expected later: scattered showers and 23'



Gosh, where do I start. I've always found that the more highly anticipated an event is, the less likely it is to live up to your expectations. This past weekend, that I was very excited about, far exceeded anything I could have imagined. First I must send out a huge THANK YOU to Kristi, for coming up with the idea and invitation and of course, her very warm hospitality. To Jana for following through with it, and last, and certainly not least - Scott and his friend Shane for providing an absolutely amazing concert experience that I will NEVER forget!
Because there is so much to tell, I'm going to split this up over a few days. I have tons of photos and there will most definitely be a scrapbook about the whole experience.

Day 1:Thursday, July 14th
-I was booked on the 5:45 flight out of Charlottetown to go to Toronto, to continue on to New York on Friday morning. It looked good all week long until I checked one last time on Friday morning - empty seats - 0. What to do to do. I looked further and saw that there were three open seats at 12:15 which meant I would have to leave no later than 11:30. I went to my boss at 10:45 and asked if I could leave earlier than planned. He questioned the fact that it was awfully short notice and I totally agreed but when I explained my dilemma - I absolutely HAD to get to NYC by Friday night, he told me to go, and have a great trip! I pack up my stuff, and headed to the airport. After a bit of a panic because I seemed to have lost my phone, all was well and I secured a seat on the flight. I called Lloyd and he was more than happy to pick me up upon my arrival mid afternoon. When we arrived we made our way back to Guelph so I could spend a little bit of time with Patti and the kids, before they were off to a baseball game and she was off to work. As usual things were a little chaotic as everyone wanted to tell me everything and show me everything and all at the same time, but it was wonderful to see them even if it was for only a little while. Before we know it, they will be here. Of course, Patti, being the most logical one in the family questioned when Jana was flying to New York. When I told her it was 4:30 she just looked at me and said "So since you got out early, why didn't you just wait for her at the airport and take the same flight?"  Duh - that would have made too much sense and it just never occurred to me.But then I would have missed an opportunity to see my family and that was better than another night in the city.
Our friend Stephan was due into Guelph on the train at 7:00 so the plan was to pick him up and then we were meeting Jim at the pub for something to eat. I talked to Stephan on the way to Guelph and he was enroute. I haven't seen him in a long time so was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately the meeting didn't happen as the train got delayed and he wasn't going to arrive until almost midnight and I had to be up at 3:15 in the morning. Hopefully he'll come down to see his sister this summer if she comes to the island. But we did have a  lovely time with Jim and another friend from the airport, and our old friend Ron stopped by as did Jim's wife Patty, so a great evening was spent at the pub.

It was late when we got back to Lloyd's apartment so we set the alarm for 3:15 am and went to bed. I suppose it was excitement about the trip because I was awake  earlier so I got up and got showered and before you knew it, I was on my way to New York.
 Day 2 -Friday -  Part one
The sun was bright and very warm when I stepped out of the terminal. I had checked into how to get to the city by bus but it seemed a little confusing and I really didn't know where I was going so I opted for a taxi. Before I knew it I was at Kristi's lovely apartment and being greeted by Jana.
Time to let the weekend begin!

We had lots to see and do, and only two days in which to do it all - but I think we did a pretty good job of it.
We started out on foot and walked to the Seaport. I

can see why it's a popular destination.  It was too early in the day for most things to be open (I did arrive at 8:00 am and we were touring around by 10:00) but it was a lovely morning and we didn't really have time to sit and linger anywhere - things to do and places to go and places to see. From there we made our way to the Brooklyn Bridge. It's a great set up. The Pedestrian walkway is in the middle between the two lanes of traffic so you have cars running on either side of you. You do have to be careful because there's a bike lane and if you veer off the pedestrian path, which is easy to do with so many people- you risk being run down by a high speed bicycle - trust me - it nearly happened to me so "be careful out there" is highly appropriate on the bridge. The view from the bridge gives you an amazing view of the Financial District and on a warm sunny day, it was dazzling.

From the bridge, we headed back uptown on foot and visited many green spaces - Washing ton Square, and Union Square. We were working our way back up to meet up with Kristi at lunch.; We thought we knew where we were going and ended up getting slightly lost but eventually found our way- finally via taxi- to the Hotel London - home of Gordon Ramsay's "Maze"
Tune in tomorrow for details of that experience! - and SO much more! Here's a clue - 30 Rock!