This month my 14 year old daughter Bailey and I travelled to New York City with six other ladies for a "girls week out". The cost of the trip was fairly inexpensive with our roundtrip air flight less than $200/pp and a great rate at our downtown Manhattan hotel because of a friend of a friend who knew a friend with a connection at the hotel.
I thought this trip would be very enlightening for Bailey who like other teenagers think, she wants to move to a big city when she graduates from high school. Shortly after arriving, Bailey said, "This place is to stressful. I could never live here." I just smiled and thought, "Thank you Jesus."
The other ladies we went with were from south Georgia. Debbie my cousin has such a southern drawl and a use of words that distinctly sets her apart from New Yorkers. "Ya'llll! Look over yonder! Ya'll see thaaat?" And her adult daughter Crystal with her sweet southern charm doesn't meet a stranger even in New York. She befriended a homeless man, a taxi cab driver, a waiter and the shuttle bus driver to name just a few. Prior to our trip, I didn't know the other ladies Kathy, Kayleigh and Babs but within five minutes of meeting them they felt like family. Then there was Jan. She kept us entertained and busy with her absentmindedness.
We packed a lot in to our trip. Our hotel was within a short walking distance of Times Square. We met the famous Time's Square icon, "The Naked Cowboy" who just recently threw his hat in to the NYC mayoral race. He can't afford to throw any more articles of clothing in since he's now down to only two. We also saw President Obama's parade of cars as he was leaving from his Manhattan visit.
We took a ride on the double-decker site seeing bus and saw the Empire State Building as well as Greenwich Village and all of downtown Manhattan's beautiful historic buildings. We shopped and bargained with the people in China Town and ate at the famous Carmine's in Manhattan. We watched the most magnificent show, "The Lion King" on Broadway. We rode a ferry over to Staten Island passing by the Statue of Liberty. We were chauffeured through Central Park's 843 lush acres in a bicycle cart. We rode the subway and risked our lives riding in the yellow taxis. The drivers only know two speeds; stop and go. I did ask how often they change their brake pads and the response was, "Every two weeks". I was alarmed to hear they wait so long in between changes.
Every one added their own memories to this trip that will not soon be forgotten by most of us. My favorite one was when Bailey tried on a pair of nerdy sunglasses from an outside vendor and I told her, "You look so intellectual" and she said, "I don't know about that but they sure make me look smart!".
Donna Hunter Glenn is a weekly columnist for the Houston Home Journal and Warner Robins Times Newspapers and is the principal decorator and owner of Addressing Rooms Interior Decorating and Home Staging in Warner Robins, GA.
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