Home again, home again...jiggidy jig!

What an exciting time it was to be in New York! My Aunt Dorothy and her friend, Jack, were great hosts and the Rockettes rocked! My brain is on overload with all the wonderful sights of the city...epecially at Christmas. You'd think with all the walking we did I would have lost at least 10 pounds...but we also ate wonderfully delicious food...Gi Gi's Cafe is awsome! And Jack's kosher veal meatballs were incredible! Did you know there are 72 steps up from the street (72nd Street) to Aunt Dororthy's apartment door on the 4th floor? She climbs them everyday! No wonder she is in such great shape and has enjoyed such a long life!

Flying was another experience...let's just say there were a few challenges. Shortly after Bob took me to the airport in Omaha, the snow began to fall...and fall...and fall. There was a lot of activity around the check in counter and finally the announcement telling us that our flight was not taking off because the pilot refunsed to fly unless there was a break in the storm. I knew this would mean that I wouldn't make my connection in Detroit, so I called the airline to see what could be done. Within minutes my connecting flight was rescheduled...problem solved...I thought. Well, there was no break in the storm and the plane was still on the ground waiting to be boarded. I realized I wouldn't make the new connecting flight so I called again to reschedule. This time I was too late to get the soonest connection and had to take the next available flight which would get me into New York around 10:15...I took it. I felt so bad that my aunt and Jack would have to drive so late to the airport and offered to just take a cab...but they wouldn't hear of it and would be there for me. I was so glad to see them when I arrived at LGA. I thought for sure the flight home would be better because the weather in New York was fine. I boarded the plane on time, but it didn't take off for 45 minutes...which meant I would once again miss my connecting flight in Detroit. When we landed in Detroit I called the airline and they confirmed that I would probably miss the connection as I only had about 7 minutes to get to the gate which was a whole other terminal area, but they assured me I would be on the next flight...IN THE MORNING!!!! AUGH!!! I got off the flight and ran to the other terminal. (It's a good thing I did as much walking in New York as I did so I could run my marathon at DTW!) When I arrived at the departing gate, the plane was still there and people were de-boarding. Apparently, the plane only had one pilot and couldn't take off. They realized this AFTER everyone had boarded so they had everyone exit the plane while they located another pilot...lucky for me...but the other passengers weren't as happy. I was thrilled! Maybe I wouldn't have to spend the night at the Detroit airport after all! I had called Bob and he told me there was a storm supposed to hit Omaha later that night. If I ended up staying overnight I might have been stuck even longer! Anyway, they found a pilot, we took off and got to Omaha and I made it home...YAY! While on the flight, I had an enjoyable conversation with a sweet young woman...Ashley, my prayers are with you.

I am still trying to grasp the emotional impact this little trip to New York has had. I feel as if part of me is still there and I am still trying to reconnect. The time I had with my aunt was priceless. She has a smile that can light up the darkest subway coach and her energy amazes me. She made me feel young, but created an excitement about growing old...I could barely keep up with her. Our time together was like a big slumber party...including sharing make-up and the talk about "boys"! I took many notes!

I will write more about New York again soon.