Originally written 1/12/07

For her 60th birthday, I took my mom to New York City. We attempted to keep a travel log. Below is our account of our first day in NYC.

Mom
And we are off- alls good but the poor camera that is getting cold sitting in my car back in Rockford. I'm hoping it will take pictures of anyone trying to break into the car. Unfortunately Becky and I had prepared for a mega photo shoot, but that has now been reduced to an instant camera.

And here's Becky before the battery wears.

Becky
Luckily we're seated next to an ex-flight attendant. She's been walking me through the bumps and noises, and assuring me that we will land safely. She taught me a little tip, too, about the dings. One ding is someone calling an attendant. Two dings means sit down and buckle up. There is not a 3 ding signal. Four dings means that the attendants or pilot are signaling an emergency. She's never heard 4 dings, and she hopes none of us ever does! It's sort of nice having this computer on board, but the battery is dying quickly so not much will get done. Plus, it's taking up my tray space which should be saved for more important things like snacks.

Mom
Time to sign off, if no more blog notes are found, you will know we didn't make it to New York, so much the worse for New York City , as that city never got to see how we can party and tour.

Becky
I'm hoping for a crash landing on a desert island where I will be stranded with Evangeline Lily and Matthew Fox. Don't send a rescue squad. I'd much rather be there than at work . No but seriously… send help.

Becky
We've arrived safely at the hotel. Whether we leave this hotel safely or not, is the question. The reviews were right. It's a decent location, but the rooms are small and the staff is unfriendly. They wouldn't even give an upgrade to an old woman who is an AARP member….my mom. My mom says the bathroom in the room is "quaint". Well, anyone who has ever scoured The Reader and Craigslist hunting for an apartment in Chicago knows what "quaint" means. It has a sink spout that looks like a woman peeing. I've christened it "the vag spout." The room does have a lovely view of the Hudson River…or what we think is the Hudson River. That is to be confirmed once we venture out which is happening any minute now. More later.

Mom
Ok I have now made it my goal to see how many ways I can embarrass Becky before we leave this city of the not so big shoulders. I saw on CNN that there was a gas leak in New York City. Therefore I maintain that it was alright to ask the cab driver if they had ridded the city of the smell. Just because the cabbie and Becky didn't keep up on local news doesn't make any less legitimate to ask. The hotel has provided us with two free postcards and you can bet we are taking them.

Becky
Eat 3 cheese blintzes at Junior's. Check. Watch mom cheer for an unknown Latin band outside of a taping of MTV's TRL. Check. Walk through Times Squares and loudly complain about its energy inefficiency and its drain on the environment. Check.

Mom
Becky seems to be enjoying my money belt and does not appear that she is embarrassed. Although she did comment while I was woofing down the epitomy of New York cuisine, the biggest corned beef sandwich and deli pickle we could "mustard" up that it looked like I was playing with my colostomy bag when I was simply trying to pay the slowest, but nicest waitress in New York. Off to Mary Poppins and I am hopeful Becky resists singing along.

Becky
Large musical productions never fail to amaze me. The Mary Poppins set was probably the best set I’ve ever seen in a show. Unreal what they can do on those stages! Mary Poppins flew across the stage, and then out over the entire audience. My jaw dropped along with every child in the theater. Not quite as amazing, though, as the first time I saw an actress fly during a production of Peter Pan when I was young. I always say it was Mary Martin playing Peter, but I think I’m always corrected by my mom who says it was Sandi Duncan. Anyway, back to the show. Some songs were swapped for newer songs. A few of them were a bit more modern and weird (like Willy Wonka weird), which was great. I was sad to see the song about different sneezes cut, as I still get a kick out of that when watching the movie. I was downright appalled that the “Sister Suffragette” number was cut. If you’ll remember, in the film the whole reason that a nanny was needed was because Mr. Banks was busy at the bank, and Mrs. Banks was busy stumping for the vote for women. In this production, she held no job or activities, and sang an entire song about “Being Mrs. Banks”. I really felt the show lost something by taking her activist role from her. Hmmph… still need to write that angry letter to the producers!