The Tourist that Never Sleeps

It is once again 6:00 a.m. or at least it was when I started to try to connect to the internet (I HATE the wireless network at this place - and it's not even free). I am awake because it's 8 a.m. at home - that is despite having been up past 11:00 p.m., despite having a bed all to myself because Hockey Girl and Swedish girl (our newest exchange student you haven't even met since she's only been with us a month and wasn't with us on day one of Vegas), and despite walking miles yesterday. The good news is that it leaves me with plenty of time to blog about the trip.

We spent the morning on Tuesday by the pool. It was a lovely warm day - ended up being about 84 degrees for the high. HG and her friend had secured nice front row chairs for us. We all went down and mostly sunned ourselves for the first hour or so. Then we started playing in the water, ordering snack and beverages, reading and of course chatting. We were there until we had to go get Swedish Girl (who had been in San Fransisco visiting her aunt) from the airport. Her plane arrived about 1:30 p.m.. We picked her up without much problem - I did have to go into the airport and direct her to the right door - causing me to ponder once again what we did before cell phones. I wonder how much their existence will impact my children's generation's ability to make a plan (and a plan B) in advance.

When SG arrived she and HG and AOSB wanted to go back down to the pool. Curling Man and I had had enough sun (I was a little sunburnt despite sunscreen) so we took advantage of having an 18 y.o. chaperone for the kids and went to the casino. We played some craps and I was promptly up $125 (and much of that was made on my roll). I left the table and went and played some slots. I was up another $50 and Kevin texted me and told me he was playing Let it Ride, so I went to join him. After playing awhile and hitting trip aces, I was up another $35 - finishing out my day up $215. Kevin was even Tuesday - having been down in the morning, but making it up in his afternoon session.

That evening we had dinner at Battista's Hole in the Wall. It is an Italian restaurant a little off the Strip. They have an old guy who roams around playing the accordian, since we were from Minnesota he played the Beer Barrel Polka. He was very funny. He has been playing there for many years. We all had yummy Italian food (except our friend Gracie who is picky and ate chicken strips AGAIN). The meal included wine (which I didn't drink) and some wonderfully delicious cappucino (which I did drink eventhough I don't normally like coffee and man, was it delish)! CM and the kids headed back to the hotel while Swedish Girl and I and our friends walked back to the hotel. SG was in awe of the sights and lights of the Strip. On the way back we stopped at Excalibur to pick up some Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast for the kids on Wednesday.

Yesterday was predicted to be cool and windy so we skipped the pool. The kids and I hit the Strip and Kevin entered a poker tournament. He had a little bit of time to kill before it started so we went to the craps table, where he made $200 in 15 minutes. He didn't get very far in the poker tourney as his trip 10s with an Ace kicker were beat by a full boat with 10s over 5s . Meanwhile we went to the Luxor to get HG her favorite breakfast meal (a Sausage McMuffin with Egg without Cheese). I got my favorite breakfast - a non-fat chai latte from Starbucks. We shopped our way over to Excalibur where CM met us at the booth where you can win a prize if the man fails to guess your weight within 3 pounds or age within 2 years. Kids win no matter what - so HG did it and while he was within 3 pounds of her weight, she still got a pretty cool Las Vegas puzzle that she is working on putting together as I type. After that we made our way over to NY NY where the CM and SG went on the roller coatser and the kids and I played games in the Arcade. Kids purchased prizes (rings, bracelets and a wallet) with their many tickets and we went to find lunch. CM, HG and I ate in a Jewish Deli. HG and I had matzoh ball soup and talked about how sad we were to be missing seder with our friends. We really bemoaned not having any charoset this year - maybe I'll have to make some when we get home. AOSB had a great meatball hoagie and SG had a turkey wrap. After lunch we went to M&M World and shopped and saw the 3-D movie. It was cute but it took a LONG time. Afterwards HG and CM went back to the hotel to rest and SG, AOSB continued down the Strip shopping. We went to Coke World (where AOSB got Coca-Cola shirt in Hebrew) and to Planet Hollywood to wander the Miracle Mile Shops. We found the beloved H&M (Swedish store that made SG feel very at home) and AOSB found a sweatshirt he liked. While we were there our friends called us and told us that they had tickets for the Titanic Exhibit that night. We made plans to meet them for dinner and go see the exhibit. We shopped a little more and started our walk back. We stopped at the Tix4tonite booth and bought our discounted Titanic tickets and got back to the hotel and got our 2nd room for SG and HG to share, since one room was a little small for 5 people.

At 6:30 we met our friends for dinner at the House of Blues. HG and I split the ribs - yum! CM and SG had shrimp creole and AOSB had a big burger. After dinner everyone except CM went to the Titanic Exhibit. it was very well-done. They gave each guest a card with the name and information about one passenger, including what class they were in and who they were. We got to see a lot of actual artifacts and to learn a lot about the ship itself as well as many of the passengers and crew. There was even a large piece of the ship itself. The kids were really impressed by it. They all said that it was very interesting and very sad. Everyone's person except mine died.

We came back to the hotel. The kids went to bed and I went to the casino to meet CM who had been hanging out in the sports book watching some games. We met at the craps table (SG came to watch and made it about 20 minutes before they asked for her ID). The table (along with all of the others in the casino) was HOT! Betting conservtively I left up $150. CM bet much more aggressively and he made nearly $500. It was a good night! We were back in the room by 10:30 p.m..

Today will be another lazy day - mostly by the pool as our friends leave tomorrow.

Vegas Trip Report

There is nothing like being in the Pacific Time Zone (when you live in the CST) to allow extra morning hours in which to Blog. We were all awake by 6:00 a.m. and although it is Vegas and we adults could always find something to do, it's a little more difficult with kids. We are waiting for 8:15 when we can go line up to get beach chairs at the pool.

We're at Mandaly Bay Resort and Casino. We've never stayed here before. We decided to stay here primarily because Hockey Girl's friend and her family stay here and her Mom called me a few months ago and told me they'd made their reservations for Spring reak and invivted us to join them. The girls had mentioned wanting to come here at the same time some time. They always stay here, so they had access to some really good room rates.

We were able to get really great rates on Allegiant Air directly out of Duluth - love that option!! We left yesterday a little after 1 p.m. (CST) and we were in Vegas by 2:15 p.m. (Pacific). Everything went as smoothly as it could go. Our luggage was on the carousel when we got there. There was no wait for the shuttle to the rental car center. We had rented a car via Hotwire from Avis (also a really good rate) and there was only a short wait to get that. We requested a mid-sized car and we ended up with a Kia Rondo (SUV crossover) which had more than enough room for our luggage (our only concern about a smaller car). We drove directly to Mandalay Bay and check-in was also a breeze. We decided it was good to arrive on a Monday.

We are on the 31st floor with a lovely view of the pool area. Manadaly Bay has a large and impressive pool area that includes a sandy beach, a huge wave pool and a lazy river as well as 5 other pools. Our hotel room is spacious and comfortable. It has a large flat screen TV in the main room and a little one in the bathroom. Only complaint that we could have is a lack of dresser drawer space for 4 people.

After we got our room, we unpacked and at about 4 p.m. the kids and I made it down to the pool. Curling Man went to the sports book to place a bet for himself and a friend on the Michigan State/UNC basketball game for the National Championship. Both of them took Michigan (UNC were 7 1/2 point favorites). Curling Man then joined us for a bit at the pool. He and AOSB then went back to the room to relax and watch some sports on that nice TV. HG and I stayed at the "beach" and even I went into the wave pool. The pool area closes at 6:00 p.m., so when it closed we went back to the room, changed and went to dinner at the Border Grill. It is a Mexcian Restaurant that prides itself on serving sustainable, healthy food. It made me feel so much better that my margarita was made with organic agave juice, and therefore good for me! I'm sure the chips and salsa were also good for me. I had kobe beef tacos with pineapple salsa and a fresh cucmber and asparagus salad that were out of this world! Kids also enjoyed their chicken burritos and Kevin had some Chicken Pableno enchiladas which were also excellent. By the time we finished dinner kids were really tired. We went back to the room and watched the basketball game for a bit. Curling man decided to go down to the casino. He had been pleasantly suprised to find $5 craps. He played some craps and left about $84 up. Then he played some slots and was up about $22 when he quit. Unfortunately Michigan did not manage to cover the spread, so he lost that $20, but he was up for the day. Today I will get to play!

While I was writing this Curling Man went to get breakfast at Starbucks with the kids. Now, HG just left with her friend to go stand in line for the best chairs at the beach. I better go get my suit on and get some breakfast myself so I can get to the pool and start relaxing!

Guess I'm a Stage Mom Too!

The past week has been so exciting!! A little over a week ago my friend Marcie told me she had gotten an e-mail from her sister that an agent in the Twin Cities was looking for 10-11 year old boy for the lead role in the upcoming movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid. That book happens to be one of Noah's favorite books, so obviously I thought of him. I asked him if he would be okay if I sent in his photo. He was pretty skeptical, but said that was fine. The e-mail just requested the age, date of birth, height and weight and a photo. So I sent an e- mail with Noah's stats to the Laura Balfour agency. The next day I got a phone call from Laura confirming our e-mail because the casting company had called her asking her to do so. I didn't say anything to Noah because I didn't want to get his hopes up, but Monday morning (March 16th - my birthday) after he was already at school, I got the e-mail inviting him to audition the next Monday in Minneapolis. The e-mail said that he should bring a photo/resume if he has them - otherwise she'll take pictures.

Well, being the Stage Mom that I am, I decided that he had to present as a professional so I promptly made an appointment with my friend Mark Fitzgibbons (www.fitzphotostudios.com) to get a head shot done. He was kind enough to fit us in for a shoot on Tuesday morning. I had proofs online by Wednesday afternoon and by Thursday I had to make a selection. Man was that hard! They were all great pictures, but slightly different. Did we want a full smile, a serious pose or something in between? Did we want B & W or Color? Thank goodness for my Facebook friends who helped me narrow it down so I could make my final selection - which I will post when I get the low resolution photo that was part of my package.

The e-mail from the casting company (Lynn Blumenthal Casting www.lbcasting.com) included two scenes that Noah was going to have to perform at the audition. I felt like he could use some help preparing, so I contacted Kate Horvath, Education Director at the Duluth Playhouse (www.duluthplayhouse.org) and asked her for a recommendation of someone he could work with. She volunteered to work with him herself, so I made two appointments, for Wednesday and for Friday. Coincidentally on Wednesday she cast Noah in the Duluth Playhouse Summer Theater Intensive, Guys and Dolls, Jr.. Noah met with Kate on Wednesday, she gave him some suggestions. He practiced and by his meeting on Friday, he had his scenes memorized and they spent an hour together polishing them.

He worked on the scenes a little every day in his room. Monday was the big day. Kevin was coming home from Las Vegas at 12:10 p.m. and we were all (even Marianne our newest AFS daughter from Sweden) planning on heading down to Minneapolis for the audition. At about 11:00 a.m. I called to confirm that I could pick up the photos, which were all ready for me. About 11:30 a.m. I remembered that I had not put together a resume for him. Drat! Here I was spending all the money for professional photos, but he wasn't going to present completely professionally. So I did what all procrastinators do, I sat down at the computer and Googled "acting resume." I clicked on a link that said "Sample Acting Resumes" and found the one for "Child actor" and copied all of the text into a word document, changed it to reflect Noah's stats and his acting experience (all at the Duluth Playhouse) and printed it out. It looked GREAT!!

I printed two copies and started on the route to pick up everyone to head out of town. First I got Hannah and Noah at their school. Noah was bubbling over with excitement. His whole class had been pumping him up all day. He had gotten many good wishes and words of encouragement. Next we picked up Kevin from the airport (despite freezing rain his plane was on time). Kids were so happy to see him (he'd been gone since Friday). Then we stopped at Central High School to get Marianne. Our last stop heading out of town was at Fitz Photo Studio to get the comp cards - which looked so awesome!!

We made good time getting to the Cities. Eventhough our appointment wasn't until 5:00 p.m. and it was only 3:30, we went directly to the building the casting company was in. It was located in the Warehouse District of Minneapolis. We decided to go show Marianne a little of the city. We drove by the new Twins' stadium which is under construction. We drove downtown and showed her the Target Center, First Avenue, Hard Rock Cafe, Nicollet Mall and the IDS Center. She wanted to look at the Hard Rock Cafe shop, so we parked and walked by First Avenue and looked at all the bands on the wall. Hannah noted that Katy Perry was playing there the next day - too bad she's a little young for that venue. We went to the Hard Rock for drinks and apps. Marianne also looked in the gift shop. She ended up going home with the martini glass that came with her drink and lots and lots of photographs!

At about 4:30 we headed back to the casting company. When we got there a boy and his mother were leaving. Another boy and his mother were waiting to go in. We signed in and took our seat to wait. One of the staff (Matthew) came out and talked to us a little bit. Noah was very outgoing and chatted with him. Noah told him that he had memorized both scenes and Matthew told Noah that they hadn't usually been having people read the 2nd scene. The other boy went in and was there for about 10 minutes. When he left, they took Noah's sign in sheet, his photo and his resume and he went in to audition. We could clearly him reading the scene for the first time (we hadn't been able to hear the other boy at all). We heard the casting agent give him direction, including not to be so dramatic (ha-ha) and he did it again, and again, and again, and again. She was really working with him. Then we heard him starting the 2nd scene! We knew that meant she wanted to show more of him. They worked that scene a few times and he was done. He came out on top of the world. He had had so much fun!! Both Matthew and the casting agent, Lynn, came out and talked to us. She had so many good things to say. She told us he was clearly talented. She recommended that he take a class that would train him to perform on film versus on stage because she could tell he had stage skills, but he didn't really understand the difference. She said he was very smart (which we know) and that he was absolutely beautiful on camera. They had only had one other boy read the 2nd scene. They told us it had been a very long day with a lot of boys who did not have "it." She felt like she was searching through her haystack to find a needle, and Noah had been it. She said it was refreshing. It was so exciting for him and really for all of us. After we left Matthew came downstairs to watch for the last appointment of the day and we had a nice conversation with him before we left.

We went from there to dinner with Kevin's parents at Khan's Mongolian BBQ in Roseville, driving through the U of M campus to show Marianne. We had a great dinner and hit the road back to Duluth.

Who knows what, if anything will come out of this, but we had Noah's school conference today and even his teacher mentioned that his confidence-level is clearly up. He is standing up straighter. This was such a good thing for him. He had a goal, he worked towards it. He was prepared, he did his best and he felt good at the end. While I know he would be tickled pink to get a call-back, and of course any kind of role, even if we hear nothing more, it was all worth it to have this week!

Happy New Year!

So much for that resolution to Blog just a little bit every day. It's Jan. 2nd and I'm already a day behind. I didn't even do that much yesterday - watched The Queen, took a nap, watched some TV, watched Curling Man do the Wii Fit (his age of 53 made me feel better as mine was 35 yesterday - although his BMI being better than mine and my gain of 1.8 lbs. did not - eventhough I know the gain had more to do with tequila and chips bloating than actual weight gain), did the Wii fit (when he was done I had to do it and make sure that I did eveyrthing he did to see if I could beat his score - he rocks at the soccer ball balance game, and he's a very fast skiier, but otherwise I was able to top him), took a shower, went to watch Hockey Girl's team play Grand Rapids - they won 6-1 and HG scored a goal. While I was at the rink I suddenly got a headache, body aches and the chills. It was odd. The kids' daycare provider, her husband and their grandkids came to watch the game which was very nice of them. My Mom and her husband also came. I had been looking forward to going to dinner after the game, but I felt like I had to go home, get some chicken soup and go to bed - which is what I did. I took my Nyquil and hit the sack. I didn't get up until almot 9:30 this morning and I feel better - not quite right, but better.

Now, I am starting my New Year's organizing. I always destroy before I reassemble better than before. I have taken many of my clothes out of my closet and I am working on putting them back in a much ore organized fashion. I plan to weed out clothes as I go also. Once my closet is done we have to do the kids' closets and drawers, the craft room and the basement (which will be a HUGE job). Curling Man should do his too - but I am not going to hold my breath.

Other goals for the long weekend include getting all holiday gifts put away and grocery shopping. Diets don't start until Mondays - but we have to have healthy food in the house in order for that to work. So much to do, so little time and now I need a nap.

Took First in Canada, Eh?

Last year the Icebreakers went to Thunder Bay for the 1st time. We were invited for an exhibition weekend, and they didn't win a game. Although they had a good showing in Brainard - they were worried that the Canadian competition would be stiffer, and our girls were less than optimistic about their abilities to fare well as the only American team in this tournament.

First games were on Friday so the team planned to meet to caravan up to Canada at 7:30 a.m.. AOSB was planning on staying in Duluth with Grandma and Grandpa because he had his first series of basketball games also scheduled in Proctor this weekend. When push came to shove, though he wasn't ready for his family to leave without him - and we weren't ready to do so, either. So after a quick trip to the St. Louis County Courthouse to get his birth certificate, we hit the road about 1/2 an hour behind the rest of HG's teammates. We caught up to them at the border where they were all stopped as the Canadian border patrol was searching the coach's vehicle. Coach is from Canada and we don't know if they kicked him out and didn't want him back, or if they're just mad at him for deserting them, but they decided to make him pay. Worked out well for us to be able to travel the rest of the way with the team.

When we got to Canada we tried to check in. All of the rooms were not ready so our family went to grab lunch (a $26 meal at A&Ws if you can believe that - man are prices high there). Then we had our first game against the Dryden Flames. Twenty-seven seconds into game one HG scored the first goal of the tournament. This was the second year she scored the 1st goal of the 1st tournament of the year. The team scored a total f 13 goals that game. The other team did not score. HG's friend Maddy scored 5 goals (which were her 1st goals of the season) and earned MVP of the game!

After the game we went to the hotel to check-in. We stayed at the Victoria Inn - which has a nice pool area with a big water slide. We relaxed a little before the 2nd game against the McDonald's Sharks. Girls played well in game two also. HG scored another goal. The team scored 8 goals in all and won the game 8-0. Another one of the new girls, Daisy, scored her 1st goal of the season and she was honored with MVP for that game. She was so proud and everyone was so excited for her! That evening the girls got to enjoy the swimming pool and we all ate pizza for dinner.

Saturday we had one game for sure, and if we won that game, we would get a bye into the semi-finals. Our game wasn't until noon so we got to sleep in and eat a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. We played the Esso Tigers in game 3, and beat them 7-0. It was the best team we had played and our goalie finally was put to work - so she was named MVP. That meant we had the whole afternoon and evening to play. Many of the girls, some of their Moms and a couple of Dads went to the Mall. It was a pretty big centre with a lot of stores we didn't recognize and a few we did. The food court was interesting with a lot of options we weren't used to. HG and I ate Asian noodles - yum! Girls enjoyed an accessory store called Adrene's and Claires. We went back and it was time for more pool action. We had an early game on Sunday and apparently grown-ups had been up too late the night before because everyone was pretty much in for the night around 10 p.m..

The semi-final game was at 8:15 Sunday morning. We were at the rink by 7:30 and the girls played the Redwings in the semi-final game. We won that game 8-0. Our defense controlled that game and made many of the goals. One of them, Hayley, was awarded MVP. After the game everyone went back to pack up and check out. HG and AOSB were staving so we made a quick stop at McDs. Adults were waiting to eat with the group before the championship game. We went to Joe's Family Restaurant at 11:00 a.m. and ate brunch.

Our final game was at 1:00 p.m.. We played the McDonald's Bears in the championship game. They had also won all of the games they had played, so despite our successes, we couldn't get complacent. The first period was quite competitive and we only scored one goal. Second period the girls took off and scored a few more goals quickly. The Bears did manage to prevent a tournament shut out by scoring one goal in the second period. That was the only goal they scored, though, and the final score was 7-1. Makayla was MVP that game, and the girls took home November Chill Tournament Champion trophies. The ride home was very uneventful.

As much as I have never really liked hockey, and as much as I resisted letting our children play, I have to say, I love this team. The families are great - fun to spend time with and just all around good people. The girls all mostly get along. They are inclusive of each other - even with the new girls. They are supportive and considering how competitive they are on the ice - off the ice they are respectful of each other. This is going to be a fun season!

Are they alike or different?

Almost every time I meet someone knew and they find out I have twins they ask me if they're identical. Then I tell them they are a boy and a girl and they ask me if they're personalities are the same or different. I always say they're complete opposites - and then I rethink it. They're alike in so many ways, but then they're completely different too.

The Same But Different

1. They're both athletic but Hockey Girl has balance and speed and All Other Sports Boy has great eye/hand coordination.

2. They're both pretty smart but AOSB is a great reader, speller and creative writer while HG loves math, science and art.

3. They're both popular among their peers. HG has a lot of friends, but she does not mind being alone, and she does not like to be the center of attention. On the other hand, AOSB is very social, he makes friends easily with anyone, he loves to be the center of attention.

4. They both enjoy picking on the other but HG does not seem to care if her brother is mad at her. She will stand her ground in a disagreement while AOSB likes to irritate his sister, but when push comes to shove, he is a peacekeeper and he will give in.

Exactly the Same

They have been within 1/2 lb of each other in their weights since birth. They have been and still are the same height since before age 1. They have the same eyes and the same hair color and skin tone.

Completely Different

HG was a difficult baby who needed a lot of attention. She has always been a worrier. She has a lot of anxiety and hates change. She is extremely responsible. She has long had the ability to look many steps ahead and figure out long range consequences. She doesn't like to make mistakes. She is inherently cautious, yet she is strangely adventurous when it comes to physical tasks like rock climbing. She is very sure of her physical abilities. She is less confident about her other abilities and she likes to be behind the scenes.

AOSB was a very laid back baby and young child. He seldom demanded attention, letting it go to his sister who he knew needed it more. He lives in the moment - seldom worrying about the future. He jumps into everything head first. He doesn't care if he makes a mistake. He is quick to forgive and expects to be forgiven quickly, as well. He has always had an uncanny ability to memorize facts, lyrics and dialog. He has always loved to perform.

It's fun to think about their distinct personalities. It is a great life lesson to have two children who are growing up in the same environment have very distinct strengths and weaknesses. It is fun to watch them grow, change and learn from each other. They balance each other out. I know they look out for each other too, and that makes it less scary to think about the years ahead when they may need to make tough choices.

The Big Apple Day #4

Monday Nov. 3rd was our last full day in NYC. We started the day at our hotel eating breakfast. We were joined by the Buffalo Sabres hockey team. We wished the kids were there. they would have been very excited. We once again planned to meet the Finns at Rockefeller Center. We had decided before we left the hotel that we wanted to stop at M&M World to buy gifts for the Finns' kids. We had 10 minutes if we wanted to be on time. It took us about 1/2 an hour - so of course we were late again. We found some cute t-shirts and of course, M&Ms. We met the Finns outside of the NBC Studio store. The NBC Plaza was hopping and being turned into Election Plaza. The Rockefeller Center Ice Rink has a big map etched into it and they were going to . They were decorating it as Election Plaza. It was very exciting to think about the election the next day. The Finns were making plans to watch it - and I was suddenly very jealous that they were going to be in NYC and we would be back in Minnesota. It would have been SO great to be in Rockefeller Plaza or Times Square when the election was called!

The Finns wanted to do the NBC Studio Tour, and Mom thought it would be fun to join them. Kevin and I had already done the tour, so we decided that we would go shopping instead. We hadn't really gotten anything significant for the kids, so we went to the NHL store and found some cute Rangers lounge pants for Hannah and the NBA store - to try find something for Noah. No success. We did decide that we wanted to get him a duffel bag, but they didn't have anything there we liked. Afterwards we met everyone back at the Studio Store. We decided to grab lunch at the Variety Cafe, which is a great cafeteria-style restaurant we had discovered in December. They have just about any kind of food you can imagine. They have a pasta bar from which Kevin ate, and I had spicy Sweet Chili Noodles with shrimp (of course) cooked on the Hibachi - YUM!

After lunch the Finns planned more shopping. Mom, Kevin and I headed uptown to Columbia University where we were planning to meet my friend Alena who is a graduate student there. We had no problem finding her and she was kind enough to give us a tour of the campus. We had a lot of fun. The school is, of course, beautiful. I just love the feel of old university campuses. The architecture was very interesting and we had a nice time wandering around and catching up on Alena's life. We saw St. John's Cathedral - the largest cathedral in the world. We also saw the diner that Jerry always ate in on Seinfeld (one of Kevin's all-time favorite television shows). We spent some time (and money) in the book store. Kevin added to his law school t-shirt collection. I got a sweatshirt and we found a nice Columbia duffel bag for Noah.

After we left Alena we took the subway back down to Macy's. Mom wanted to find a special outfit for an upcoming award ceremony, so we went shopping. I had forgotten how HUGE that Macy's is - a full LONG block deep and 7 stories high. I also apparently forgot where it was since I old the Finns we'd meet them on the corner of 34th Street and 5th Avenue - outside of Macy's. Unfortunately, Macy's is between 7th Ave. and 6th Ave./Broadway - not 5th Avenue. So, come time to meet, we don't know where they will be. We walked down to 34th and 5th Avenue - which is where the restaurant we planned to eat at (the Heartland Brewery) was. Then when they weren't there, Kevin went back to Macy's and he found them - whew! We had a nice final meal together. The guys had plenty of beer. I had 1/2 of a big, old hamburger (instead of shrimp) and we even had a wonderful brownie sundae for dessert. A very classic American meal.

After dinner we went back up to Times Square. We said our goodbyes to the Finns with promises to meet again soon - in Finland we all hope. We found our bus and had an uneventful trip back to New Jersey. It's always sad to leave New York. Who knows when we'll be back again.