Saturday, August 8, 2009

CROWDS!

Saturday in Manhattan was a ZOO... WAY more people than yesterday. You probably saw a news report about a small plane and a helicopter crash into the Hudson today. We went by the waterfront there with at least 20 firetrucks and a dozen ambulances there... we had no idea what had happened at that time, but we knew it wasn't good.

We saw a Broadway show today: Hair. Yeah, we were around for the original production (saw it on the road, not in NYC). It was outstanding, but the kids in it weren't even born yet when the original was produced. Standing ovation and they brought a lot of the audience up on stage for the finale ("Let the sun shine... let the sun shine in..."). I'm still singing the songs in my head.

We haven't made it to Rockefeller Center, yet, but it's on the agenda. Maybe Monday you'll see us on the Today Show set.



We did the Gray Line Loop Tour starting today. We did the 72 hour, hop-on hop-off... that suits our style. It's also the first time we've ever been tossed off a tour bus! The traffic was SO bad today, and there were so many streets closed (some bicycling event, a major busted water main, etc, etc) that the tour buses were getting bunched up. It took several hours to get from Times Square to the SeaPort. Once at the SeaPort, the guide said, "Last stop, everybody off... you can get on the next bus!" No explanation. Before that bus pulled away, we found out that with the huge crowds, they were trying to bring every available bus to Times Square. So, since our bus was not packed by that point, they were dumping the folks onto the next bus. We needed to get back in time for the show anyway, so I asked if we could just ride back direct with them. "Uhhh, sure." It was us and two little ladies. The guide sat across from us and gave us a private tour enroute back to Times Square. We just had time for some Italian and then the show. We got to our seats just before they dimmed the lights.

We hopped on another bus to get back to the water taxi later. I don't know how much longer we can keep up this pace.

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