New York City!!!!

I can hardly believe it has been a month since we packed up and headed to NYC. I was there nine days and it was a wild time. We met some great people and some not so great people, we did some fun stuff and some not so fun stuff, but I think we both learned a lot. There are some really nice people in NYC and they were very helpful but every now and then you find someone who just wants to mess with you. Kira could not walk down the street without someone trying to stop her and talk with her or something. She finally started walking so fast that people could only get a glimpse of her and then she was gone. I could hardly keep up with her most of the time but I could always call her on her cell phone and tell her to wait for me.

We went to Times Square several times but that is mostly where the tourist hang out and we were trying not to feel like tourists. I was able to meet with four of my business clients while I were there and I spent most of my mornings working so I would have the rest of the day to check things out. The two hour time difference was tough and it took a tool on me out there and when I got back.

I put Kira in charge and I would tell her where we were going and she would figure out how to get there on the subway. We took Amtrak to Philadelphia to visit my brother and Lee and we took the Septa (local train) back to NYC. Both the subways and the trains were pretty clean and mostly a good experience. We got off at the wrong stop on our way back to NYC but 45 minutes later another train was there to take us on our way. At one point we were on a beautiful new train and it was very cool. However, the creeps are definitely around and come out at night. When you stay in the areas where the tourists are it is pretty safe until late into the night but just ridding the subway late at night to other locations is something I would try to avoid. The town is definitely hopping at all hours of the night. Most of the bars do not close until 4:00 - 4:30 in the morning. Just in time for people to get home take a shower and head to work. It is a crazy and fast pace life it you want it to be.

The last time Kira and I were in NYC it was also during the 4th of July. We went to Pier 17 for a huge 4th of July celebration. It was a beautiful night, the weather was great and we had so much fun We met some really nice people and spent most of the time with them. The Pier has all kinds of cool shops and restaurants and is a huge tourist area. One day when we were there we saw them getting ready for a scene in a movie and another day we were walking around we saw them shooting Law and Order. This 4th of July it was raining and we went to the same pier but it was packed it was hard to find a place out of the rain and Kira and I got soaked. We finally decided to head back to our hotel, it finally stopped raining and we walked to another pier that was only about 3 New York blocks away from our hotel and watched the fireworks. There are beautiful parks and I love being so close to the ocean. We did not get to do a lot of the tourist stuff, for instance our hotel was right next to the Empire State Building and we did not check it out. I want to waiting for the rest of the family to visit.

My brother lives in a great little place but it out in the middle of nowhere. I think his drive way in about 3/4 of a mile long but he has dear walking in his back yard and he has ponds with fish in them and the area is beautiful and green. We spent the night there and it was fun to see Bob and Lee. It was a short visit but then we headed back to NYC.

We were off the beat and path quite a bit in NYC and Kira has ventured back several times since I left but she is very comfortable with getting around, riding the train and the subway and knows what to do and where to go when she gets there. She is finally settled in a place in Philadelphia and has started looking for an evening job so she can do auditions during the day. She is about 45 minutes from Bob and about one in a half hours away from NYC. Ironically she is going to be back here in a week to do some re-shooting of her last film (they are paying her way back and paying her while she is here) and then back to the East coast.

We met some really nice guys in New York City the first night we were there that were from Sweden. We hung out with them and played foosball and pool. The next night Kira went to a comedy show with Christer. Christer and his fiend left the next day back to Sweden. Christer is an artist and does some great stuff. Here is a link to his website. Check it out. http://www.christerchytraeus.com/

I think that is about it for now. I admire Kira for know what she wants, taking the initiative to step out of her comfort zone and make a huge leap. Congratulations Kira! This is your first step to being a Supper Starrrrrrr!