Last day in NYC!!!

Today we went to Radio City Music Hall and took the backstage tour. It's a HUGE stage that looks like a sunset when the lights are right.

























Mom got her picture taken with a real Rockette! She was surprised to learn that the Rockette (real name "Scarlette"...hmmmmmm) was 29 years old and "still pretty"!

They weren't named after the Rockefellers. They were originally called the Rockets and then a guy named Mr. Roxy bought them and renamed them Roxyettes. Once he was out of the picture, they went back to Rockets, but no one liked that name...so they added a "t" and now they're the Rockettes...heights average between 5'10 1/2" and 5'6". To create the illusion on uniformity, the tallest is in the middle and then they get shorter as they go out to the ends. They need to know tap, jazz, ballet, and sing well.

Here's the mechanics of the grand (HUGE!) stage. It's the largest stage in the U.S. operated by hydrolics. In fact, the U.S. Navy came in the 1940s and used the same system on their Naval aircraft carriers in order to lift the planes from below to on the decks of the carriers before take-off in the sea.

Here's a wierd picture from the restaurant/brewery (Heartland Brewery) where they make their own sodas and beer! The hand dryers in the bathroom was so powerful that it made your skin move like the astronauts when they experience G-Force.

























Here is Sharon at the NBC Experience store declaring her "Monkishness".


































Tomorrow, we'll be blogging from DC! So, we better start seeing some comments to this blog! We're beginning to feel like no one's reading them! grrrrrrrrr!


Later!
Sharon, Betty, & Mom

We did it! The Daily Show with Jon Stewart!!!

So after waiting for about 2 hours in line, we attended a taping of the Daily Show. It was fun and good thing they gave a chair for Mom to sit in while we were in line. We did feed her around 2pm at a Japanese fast food and that appeased her until our Red Lobster dinner later. We had planned on taking her to a Steakhouse a block away from the studio, but when we arrived at the address in the tour book, NO RESTAURANT!!!
So, we took a taxi to another Japanese Sushi place that ended up only serving Sushi and Mom likes the other dishes, so we ended at Red Lobster.
So, today is our last official day in NYC, we leave tomorrow on Amtrak to Washington DC at noon and arrive around 3 just in time to check in to our hotel.
We are going to try and hit Radio City Music Hall and maybe the NBC tour since we missed out last time.
Then, a nice dinner and a relaxing evening.
That's it for now,
Sharon, Betty and Mom

Day 4 in NYC!!!

So, we decided to take it easy on Mom and I think she appreciated it.
We woke up a little later and had breakfast in the hotel. We get 2 "All American" Breakfasts with our stay and pay for a third meal. Sometimes the staff has an extra credit and we don't have to pay, but today we did. No big deal, but I am sure getting tired of eggs and bacon, hash browns and toast.





So, we walked to Grand Central Station and took the train to the NY Botanical Gardens. Here we are on the train. It was only about 20 minutes away and the tickets were about $6 each, a little cheaper for the senior in our group of course. The train stop dropped us right off at the entrance to the gardens and we took the tram and got the quick tour of the gardens and Mom kept saying she was sure glad she wasn't walking.

The artist Henry Moore's sculptures were all over the gardens and Betty got a chance to see them up close when we got down from the tram. They also had some Japanese Chrysanthemum displays too. We then had a little snack at the cafe, with what we bought yesterday at Chinatown. Dried Cuttle fish, sweet buns ( Bao lo baos) and mom made some ginger tea with some hot water that Betty got from the cafe. Some ladies behind her in line were amazed at how "honest" she was by offering to pay for the hot water even though the cashier said that it was no charge.
There was this turkey wandering around the grounds and it kept gazing at it's reflection in the window and wouldn't stop. A lot of people were taking its picture. It was a funny site to see.










Here are some of the neat plant sculptures they had.




























On one of the paths, Mom noticed a rock that looked a lot like a white crystal, so here she is trying to uproot it and take it home. haha
We are both on the internet today so I can blog and Betty can work her magic and find some good nearby restaurants to feed Mom some good food. She's napping right now before dinner. I don't think she is up to any "American" food tonight. Yesterday at Planet Hollywood, when I said burgers and sandwiches, she made a face and ordered the Salmon Teriyaki which came with rice, of course.
So, it'll be a steak house tonight and we'll try to hit a Japanese restaurant tomorrow after the "Daily Show" We are going to need to appease her with a late lunch since we have to wait in line from 4 until the show that tapes from 5:15 to 7:15pm.
Wish us luck and maybe you'll see us on the next "Daily Show" The show will air on 11pm or 1am or 8pm the next day on Comedy Central, so you can TiVo it.



















I forgot to say yesterday, Betty chummed up with her favorite presidential candidate at the Museum of the City of New York.

And Mom was so in LOVE with the winding marble staircase that led us to the second floor at the same museum. She says it reminds her of her bed in China, how cool she would be in the hot summer months just laying on marble. She also said if she were younger, this is how she would build her "dream house" with marble furniture and stairs and all.














And, at the dim sum place that the Chinese tour guy recommended to us, "The Golden Unicorn", we saw this magnificent display of a recent wedding.














Hey Carol, you can photo shop Brian's name and have it forever as a symbol of your marriage.
Blog ya later,
Sharon, Betty and Mom

Day 3 in NYC!!!

Well, we certainly took advantage of our CityTours 3 day ticket and all that came with it. For the past three days we have been on a bus to many places. Yesterday we went to: Museum of Natural History

• Conservatory of Flowers in Central Park


• Museum of the City of New York


• Metropolitan Museum of Art


• And the rest of the Uptown NYC route

I think we over did it with Mom, she seemed tired by the time we hit the third museum and kept saying, "everything is old and broken" and she just didn't get all that "Modern Art" "It just looks like a bunch of scribbles or squares in different colors."

We even saw the Koons sculptures on the roof top garden of the museum. She did like the flowers in the park and I think it helped that we packed snacks and had a mini picnic at the park in between trips to the museums. She also liked the show at the planetarium that was narrated by Robert Redford at the Museum of Natural History, where they filmed the movie, "Night at the Museum" with Ben Stiller.

She really liked the "Asia Garden" display and we had to take multiple pictures because she wouldn't smile, but then when we told her to smile, she would fake laugh and say, "Ha-Ha-Ha" instead of smiling. This made us laugh so hard!

We arrived at the museum before it opened so we had time to play "King of the Hill" across the street at Central Park.

We also had our share of "wild animals" there were lots of squirrels and every time I took a picture, the squirrel looked RIGHT AT ME(!!!) and it had those "Scary Eyes" that glowed.

Today, we went downtown and went to:

• Empire State Building


• St. Paul's Chapel


• Ground Zero





• Chinatown (dim sum...yum)


• Rockefeller Center


• NBC Studios

We were in line to attend the NBC studio tour, but they informed us that the rest of the day's tours were cancelled and we found out later that it was because Sarah Palin was in the SNL studio to rehearse her bit for tonight's show. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

The Observatories at both the Empire State Building and the "Top of the Rock" (Rockefeller) we went to today involved security checks, LONG lines and lots of WIND!!!

We found more pressed penny machines, but the Empire State Building one had a twist. You inserted one dollar and it spit out a dollar coin and a penny and that is what you got to insert into the machine and press. What a rip-off! But we did do all 4 images!!!

So, here we are "breaking the law" again...the sign says..."Tourists are not permitted beyond this point"

Then, since we had a coupon to Planet Hollywood, we brought mom to it for dinner, but I think it was a little too loud with it's Pop music and video screens. Definitely for the younger crowd and with a "birthday" happening every few minutes, it became a little irritating even to me and Betty. I think we satisfied her with dim sum earlier and that helped soften the blow. Oh, and seeing her favorite Dancing with the Stars dancer, Mario Lopez, was the cherry on top!

She is now back at the hotel, resting while we blog. I think we'll take it easier on her tomorrow and just hang out.

Blog ya later,

Sharon, Betty and Mom

We're in NYC!!!

Well, we arrived in new York City yesterday and promptly found the most expensive place to have steak to treat mom to her first meal in the city at "Del Francisco"...I can't seem to get away from SF!

Mom had salmon, I had a ribeye and Betty had seared Tuna which didn't quite agree with her later on unfortunately. Luckily we packed plenty of Po Chi Pills!

Afterwards, we went through Times Square and the M&M store...the Hershey store is right across the street (can't wait for tomorrow!)

Then we bought tickets with the bus line that allows you to hop on and hop off the bus to whatever sites you want to.

So, today we went to the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island. The ferry was really rocking! Very rough waves! Nobody got sick thanks to Dramamine and mom's writst bands. So far we have four smashed pennies for Carol. A few of the places don't have the machines any more and the Statue of Liberty was charging $3 to make a coin!!!

Mom got her fill of Chinese food today in Chinatown...just like home. Lots of people and stores with signs we couldn't read.

Mom doesn' t like the NY smells, congestion and stinky cigarettes. A little light rain ended our bus tour. So we'll save the Rockefeller Center and Empire State building for later. The bus ride is good for 3 days.

Just to let you know, on the double decker bus they tell you NOT to stand up EVER! Here's why...the street signs and lights and especially the walkways are literally inches away from your head! Here's Sharon, the lawbreaker...NO STANDING, can't you read???

There were some "just in New York" street signs we saw that said "No Honking Unless Danger". I felt like saying "Danger! Danger!" Another one said "No Unecessary Noise".

We're on the 27th Floor at the Westin in Times Square, but we didn't get the "good" view. We went to a Duane Reade (think Walgreen's but with a wierd name), which is open 24 hours and is 2 stories tall for snacks, water, etc. Tomorrow it's Uptown...Central Park, museums and the Botanical Gardens.

It's wierd to be typing this at a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop ($7/45 min.). They also recommended ANY Starbucks and Burger King for internet access.

- Betty, Sharon & Mom

I'm BACK!!!

After a late night at the airport, my Air New Zealand flight left at 11:59pm on Saturday. With "Papa Jake" serenading us with his ukelele, as he does with all arrivals and departures, we boarded the plane and after about an hour, they served dinner. Choice of lamb or lasagna, funny, huh? then Hancock was showing on the screen and then I attemped to get some shut eye. Luckily the seat next to me was empty so I could kind of lay down, two seats are kind of tight. Then, breakfast an hour before we landed, omelet or pancakes?
Then, had to claim my big backpack on the carousel before checking into United. The baggage check in guy claimed that my flight was listed as October 11 and not the 12th. I explained that my flight left at 11:59pm on the 11th, we crossed the international date line and I just arrived and the flight was today. So, since he couldn't check my big backpack, I had to endure the LONG line inside( 1 hour), had some difficulty in electronically checking myself in, and found out that the people behind the counter were not even United people, but just the baggage people. So, off to lane 6, which takes care of issues with real United staff. That was another hour and a half in this line, when I find out that I am taking a later flight that was scheduled to leave at 3:35pm, not the original 3:00pm, so I had to call Carol and Brian to let them know.
I then realized that my phone was low in power after not being used in 3 weeks, I promptly sat by an outlet and plugged my phone in as I snacked on some McDonald's as I waited and charged up. Another hour+ flight and I arrived in SFO and my sister Carol and her husband Brian came and picked me up. Since the 49er game just let out, we decided to take another route to not hit traffic.
Then, I finally arrived home and was greeted by the Melendez clan, but since we took longer than usual driving home and my nephew Jose had homework, they were already loaded in the car ready to drive back home. So, onto a home cooked meal thanks to my mom(Mmmmm!) and after few episodes of Survivor and ER, I crawled in to MY BED and slept like a baby.
Ahhh, nothing like your own bed after 3 weeks away from home.

Just finishing up some laundry and will be packing for the New York City and Washington D.C. tomorrow.

My sister Carol just dropped off some shiny new pennies and a roll of quarters to press for her while we are out and about. She has a great collection and loves to get more from all over. She showed me http://www.pennycollector.com/ and it actually shows all the locations of the penny press machines. You just punch in the city and it'll list them all. If you click on the location and click on the photo icon, you can actually see the images of the pressed pennies. Cool, huh?

Good to be home, but looking forward to new adventures in another city...