I woke up and read the clock wrong. I thought it said 8:30 so I got out of bed and took a shower since breakfast is served from 8:30 to 9:30. When I got out of the shower I realized I had read the clock wrong. It was really 7:30am. And, I could have slept another hour. Oh well, I had some time to write! Breakfast was delicious! French Toast with Cooked Apples, Quiche, Fresh Berries…yummy! After breakfast, Patricia showed us the Main Suite they just opened this year. The room is named after her aunt, Auntie Kate, and is a gorgeous suite with a claw foot tub. I love the colors Patricia uses in the entire house. Truly classy! We’re off to visit some wineries, cheese shops and whatever else comes our way!

After a series of crazy events, we finally got Gentry off to Philadelphia to meet Grandma.  She’ll spend the rest of her senior trip with my mom.  My mom takes each granddaughter to Pennsylvania after they graduate.

It was quite interesting getting her off as our plans changed frequently.  The rental car place did not have any cars in Manhattan so we took a cab to La Guardia because they were suppose to have cars at the airport.  Wrong!  But we only waited about 15 minutes and received an upgrade to a Jeep Cherokee.  (Note to self:  Cars are probably not available in NYC when you make reservation.)

Finally, we were on our way down Long Island.  Our first stop was Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt’s home.  Before he married, TR bought 155 acres atop the hill overlooking Oyster Bay.  After he & Edith were married, they moved into the huge house.  TR’s requirements for the house was it be big enough for a large family…lots of kids.

We toured the grounds and saw their pet cementery where several dogs and horses were buried.  As we visited rooms in his home, I was pleasantly surprised to see books in almost every room.  From my readings, TR read about 5 books a week.  There is even an article he wrote calleld, “The Books That I Read And When and How I Do My Reading, by Theodore Roosevelt”.  He sounds like my kind of person.  We discovered that his Gun Room has more books than any other room in the house.

Gentry rushed back to the room in hopes of watching Michael Phelps compete for his 8th gold medal in this Olympics.  We arrived around 11pm - race time!  The team was walking on to the platform and we got to watch history being made.

We rushed to the Minske Theater on Broadway for our show since we didn’t realize how late it was after dinner.  We sat down less than 5 minutes before the curtain rose.  All of us wondered how they would perform this animal play with people.  It was amazing!  Actually, Gentry told me later she wasn’t sure if she would really like it since people were acting as animals.  Afterward, she said it was one of the coolest shows she has ever seen.  We all agreed!

During intermission we could look down on Broadway and see all the people on Times Square.  Minske Theater was a great location as you were right in the middle of things, but you didn’t have to be on the street.

Another great event for our last night.

Steve suggested eating at one of Bobby Flay’s restaurants.  We discovered one a half block from our hotel.  It was so cool.  Upscale, classy and an absolutely wonderful experience.  The waiter suggested a cabernet blend which was robust and full of flavor that lingers.  I need to find the name of it so we can enjoy it later.

The basket of bread includes a corn fritter, roll and baguet - all warm from the oven!  Yummy!

Gentry said her chicken was the most tender chicken she has ever eaten.  We all enjoyed some of her potato chips with bleu cheese dip.  Steve had duck with wild rice.  Again, it was tender and moist.  I had cheese grits with shrimp, bacon and green onions which was great!

We splurged and had dessert.  Gentry ordered a Praline Chocolate Cake which was super, super rich!  Steve ordered Bourbon Filled Cream Eclairs.  I enjoyed both of them.  What a fantastic meal to end our trip

We slept late this morning. It sure felt good since we didn’t get back to our room until 1am. Off we went to SOHO to eat and shop. This is the type of shopping Steve & I both enjoy. Quaint shops and open-air cafes. Gentry & I had fun going into the boutiques. We got over our sticker price fairly quickly and a little summer dress for $300 wasn’t so bad I found a super looking leather jacket, but it was $675. We’re not used to paying those prices so we just “looked”. What can you expect from DKNY, Armani or Hilfiger.

From a business perspective, it’s interesting to see how they greet (or don’t greet) you when you walk into their store. After visiting several shops, Armani sales people were the first ones to welcome us into their store. They weren’t on our backs to make a sale, but they were friendly. Hilfiger also directed us upstairs to the ladies floor when we walked in. They could tell we weren’t looking for mens wear.

We ate lunch at a sidewalk cafe which had wonderful pizza. Gentry chose chicken, goat cheese and pesto. The crust was thin and the taste absolutely delicious. Across the street was a playground with a huge fence around it where kids could play on equipment and adults could play handball. It was so foreign to what we are used to in the suburbs where we have trees & grass in our parks.

We wanted to go back to 5th Avenue shopping area, so we took the subway. Or, so we thought. We took the downtown one and had to turn around to get uptown to the shopping district. Tiffany’s was a real experience. Now, I’d like to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Sweet Home Alabama again to compare it to the real store. What beautiful jewelry they have!

Coach was down the street and Gentry has been begging her friends to help pay for a Coach bag for her. Next we found Bloomingdale’s then headed back towards our hotel. The NBA store was amazing. Gentry kept saying how much Hunter would love this store. NBA products and…tv screens of basketball, basketball hoops, basketball video games, basketball players in life size. You name it, they had it!

When we arrived at Yankee Stadium, it was pouring down rain.  Lucky for us, our seats were under cover right behind home plate.  So we could sit and watch what was happening.  After a 1 1/2 hour delay, the ground crew started clearing the tarp over the infield.

Finally, we saw Derek Jeter and Andy Pettite walk on the field to warm up.  Again, that was lots of fun to see these guys in person.  The other cool aspect of this entire night was sitting in a ball park, watching a Yankees game, and realizing how much baseball history has taken place here.  One of the pictures in the program showed the field in the early days…from the same perspective of our seats!

Back to the game.  When Alex Rodriguez didn’t scramble to get a ball and the out at first, the fans boooed…just like on tv.  When he didn’t get a hit with runners on base, it was another booing time.  In the final inning, the Yankees have a chance to win the game.  Jeter on 2nd, Abreu on 1st and A Rod actually hits a dinker to get on base.  Bases are loaded and Giambi hits a pop fly.  Yep, they lost the game . . . and to Kansas City of all teams!

My favorite part of the game was watching the consistency of Derek Jeter.  Hunter and I read his bio a few years ago.  He really does live up to a leader and go-getter.  We saw a great catch and throw to first.  He also knows how to get on base.  He may not be a slugger but he consistently got on base.  Too bad the rest of the team can’t follow his lead these days.

We made it to Macy’s, the largest store in the world.  Or, so they claim.  Actually, it was huge and they were having a one-day sale!  Gentry had a blast shopping in the junior department which took up an entire floor (& city block).  We then walked by the Empire State Building and enjoyed some other shops.

Steve & I got up around 7am and headed up the subway to Yankee Stadium.  Since there are no advanced tickets for Yankee Stadium tours, you have to stand in line.  We arrived at 8am and they sell 40 tickets around 9am.  Our chances looked “slim to none”.  But, we stayed in line anyway.  Somehow, we got tickets to the 12 noon tour…yea!

Back to the room to pick up Gentry and then ride the subway back to Yankee Stadium.

We arrived at 11:30am and they started 9 minutes later - WOW!  They actually had 3-4 tours in each time slot.

On the tour, we visited Monument Park where you see monuments to the greatest Yankees, as well as all the numbers retired by the Yankees.

Next, we walked around the field to the dugout, pretty cool being down on the field where great plays are made.  Did you know the seats in the dugout are heated?

Next, we walked up to the press boxes and sat where the print media sits.  What a great view they have.

Our guide shared lots of intersting history about the team and the ball park.  I felt like I was in a baseball history lesson.  All in all the tour was much better than the Fenway Park tour.  They are even smarter with marketing because you conclude your tour by walking though the Team Store.

After resting in our hotel and waiting for the rain to quit, we walked down the street to Gallaghers Steak House.

Gallagher’s was the creation of Helen Gallagher, a former Ziegfeld Follies dancer who billed Gallagher’s as “the speakeasy that served steaks,” when she opened it in 1927. Then when Prohibition came to an end six years later, the resourceful Mrs. Gallagher repositioned Gallagher’s as “the steakhouse that served drinks.”

Now in its 71st year, Gallagher’s is truly a steakhouse to be reckoned with. Step inside and see the rows of U.S.D.A. prime beef dry-aging in the windowed 36F cooler. The grand circular bar will catch your eye along with the dark, wood-paneled walls lined with portraits of sport and movie stars.

The steaks were “to die for”.  Plus, the portions were huge so we took our leftovers so Steve could enjoy them for breakfast or lunch tomorrow.  I had Lobster & Shrimp Bisque that had an interesting spice of nutmeg or pumpkin.  I couldn’t quite tell, but it was delicious.