New York City - Day 3

For Christmas I gave Beth Ann a trip to New York. We spent a few days there at the beginning of January. The next few posts will be a journal of our trip.


We braved the subway for the first time today. We took the blue line down to Ground Zero. The forecast was for rain but it was not going to be cold. We dressed for rain and decided to brave it out no matter what the weather brought. When we got to our stop we looked at the memorials for the WTC 9/11 victims. We talked and wondered what it was like on September 11th. We went into a 9/11 memorial. It was sobering. We read quotes from people that were there on 9/11 and from family members. Beth Ann left about half way through. She said she had seen enough. I went to the back where pictures from all the victims made a memorial on the wall. I sat, looked at the pictures and cried. It was very quiet. I am glad we went. It was not easy at all but it was powerful.

We left from there and went to Century 21, a huge store where everything is on sale. We wandered around a bit. I was overwhelmed in just a few minutes and ready to go. Beth Ann looked around a bit and then we left.

We walked to Chinatown. We saw a beautiful old church on the way. Once we got to Chinatown, the stories we had been told to prepare us had helped. We began to be asked every few steps if we were looking for watches or purses. We said no for a while and then someone asked us if we were looking for purses. I said yes and we were instructed to follow this person. We went down about half a block and into a small store with purses, luggage and jewelry. We were told to wait a minute and then we were escorted through a door that was hidden in the back of the store. It was an overgrown closet with hundreds of purses hanging from floor to ceiling. Beth Ann said she felt like a kid in a candy store. She picked out a couple and worked down the price some. She had a blast there. It was an interesting experience shopping for purses in a hidden closet in Chinatown.

We rode the subway from Chinatown up to Herald Square. We walked around a bit and then we went into Macy's. Once again it was completely overwhelming. It took me a while to find the men's clothes in the largest department store in the world. I called Beth Ann and told her I would meet her outside.

We walked back to Times Square and looked around a bit. We then went to a restaurant that had been recommended. We ate at Carmine's and it was just as good as everybody had told us. It is a famous place to eat where the Mafia used to hang out. The atmosphere is cool and the food was awesome.

We went to the TKTS booth and bought tickets for the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. After we rested for a bit we headed to the theater. When we got there we were asked it we were interested in being in the show as a part of the Spelling Bee. We both filled out forms along with about 100 other people. They announced who they were choosing right before the show and Beth Ann was picked. She did an awesome job. The actors involved her in some numbers and she looked great on stage. She did miss her word because it was something we had never heard of before. She is now a star on Broadway. The show was hilarious and we would strongly recommend it. Afterwards we got some pictures with Beth Ann and some of the cast. We then went to the Hard Rock in Times Square and ate before we headed back to the hotel. Another full and fun day.