The thing that intrigued us about Russ was the museum entry tag he was wearing on his glasses.  Look closely and you’ll see it.  We thought he would be a good source to suggest a place to eat our lunch after our visit to the Brooklyn Museum.  As expected he was full of great ideas.  We took him up on two suggestions, Tom’s diner a local establishment that’s been around since the 30s and Ample Hill Creamery.

Famous for their sweet potato pancakes most of us opted for a lunch version of the vegetable in the form of sweet potato fries accompanied by burgers or Ruebens. In the true spirit of the generosity of New Yorkers – though they might not want that fact to go public – three complimentary “Egg Creams” showed up at our table.  the waiter heard us talking about the fact that we didn’t know what it was and brought them us to try.  (If you don’t know what an egg cream is, it’s like a root beer float made with milk, soda water, flavoring and topped with whipped cream.) Not an egg in sight.  Yum.

Since we hadn’t eaten quite enough (ha!) we made our way through a traditional brownstone Brooklyn neighborhood to our next recommended destination…Ample Hill Creamery where we taste tested a multitude of homemade ice cream flavors.  This place was so cool..friendly staff…set up for families and filled with toddlers, moms, babies and other locals.  And, the ice cream was great.

We’ve decided in the spirit of humor to post at least one (but no more than 100) most embarrassing posts of each of our team members during this adventure.

They will all be G rated – not to worry.

And to assure the rest of the team that it is all in the spirit of fun, I’ll be the first victim.

This picture is of me doing my Donald Trump imitation thanks to the winds blowing off New York Harbor.

After he got over Wendy’s customary California style greeting of “How are you tonight” (something that truly shakes them as true New Yorkers), Salir, our Uber driver, loosened up a bit. Wendy explained what she meant over and over– she was just wondering how his night was going.  He turned on the music and got a request from the backseat to turn it up (Carol).  The radio was playing that great song by Human League “Don’t You Want You Baby” and of course we all had to sing along.  Wendy in her helpfulness went to turn up the radio and promptly changed the channel.  Salir gave her a glowering look and re-found the station, mostly to keep the rowdy passenger in the back seat at bay.  Once the song was back on and the singing commenced, Wendy noticed that Salir was singing along.  When she asked him if he was singing, he of course denied it.  But we all had seen it … He couldn’t hide it.  He finally admitted it and said “Okay, okay,” he said,”I was singing.  Your girls enthusiasm is contagious.”  His secret was out!

What can we say about our waiter Sean?  He was responsible for our meal at Red Gravy which was a little worrisome.  Our first hint as to his personality was when he was describing the drink selection – we noticed a tad bit of hesitation and confusion..but he muddled through…we’ll sort of.  Wendy and Leanne finally made their way up to the bar to try their luck with the bartender. Which didn’t bring much more success.  But what Sean didn’t possess in knowledge, he made up with enthusiasm.  He was really helpful in selecting dishes and worked it out so we could eat family style – the new way we found to give everything want to try without having to each order a full dinner.  And we do know he likes the Black Keys and that he went to his first concert at the age of 14 because his Mom made him and he DID not like it. Leanne had her own meal –  heck the dinner was in honor of her 50th birthday!!  Unfortunately we didn’t get a picture of Sean but he will no doubt remain in our memory for quite sometime.

Imagine standing in an enclosed area…10x10x6 feet high. That’s what Park Rangers Kathleen and Willam do each day in two hour shifts.  We had to work to meet these two New Yorkers.  In fact it took us 370 stairs to meet them in the top of the crown of the Statue of Liberty.   What an awesome experience. Strike that off the bucket list. Whoo-ya,,  funny thing was as we got set to climb the rather steep spiral staircase to the crown, an elderly Park ranger (yes older than us) cautioned us as to whether we should do the stairs since we were planning to do the Avon Walk on Saturday. Ha!!!  Just made us more determined to fight off our fear of heights, tight spaces, sore muscles and just general exhaustion.  But, it was really pretty easy and so worth it.  What a view!!  William and Kathleen filled us in on all the history, pointed out the special parts from the inside like the eyes and the nose and the lips and the waves of the hair.  William also gave kudos to Lynne for getting tickets for us all at the same time.  Quite a  feat according to him.  This was indeed the crowned jewel in our day visiting Lady Liberty when the skies were crystal clear and the sun bright and warm.

This is Blake, the waitress at the South African restaurant – Madiba on Dekalb in Brooklyn.  The food was out of this world and very unique.  She was awesome and gave us some excellent tips on ordering curries and samosas. Brought out a special house apricot jam for us. After our meal Blake invited us back for around of shots on the house.  Being that the restaurant is across the street we would make it back for sure.

In fact we came back last night and they delivered. Blake was there and ordered shots for all of us. And, we think that the restaurant now has a new way to drink tequila shots – accompanied by orange slices covered in cinnamon.  Yum. The bartender hadn’t heard of it so they may name it after Lisa.  The really cool thing was when we met two other staff members, Les and Fabian, (or as Lisa called him Fabio). Les’s mom passed away from breast cancer when he was 14.  He was really touched to know that we had raised so much money and travelled so far to walk in the Avon Walk. We ran back to the house got a Pint House Goes Pink shirt for both Blake and Les to wear on Saturday in honor of his mother.  That’s what it’s about.

Before we left Blake told us that she and her husband have a farm in Zimbabwe that is working to help locals  earn a decent wage and become employable cabbagpatchfarms.com. So many stories….

Eataly is a food lover’s (of which there are 8 in our group of 8), dream come true.  A huge menagerie of treats for every taste displayed with the flair of a fashion spread.  It is the brain child of Mario Batali. Of course, this was a must on our destination list and we checked it off after the show.  Walking 10 city blocks in the misting rain down the New York streets at night was exhilarating. The lights shining off the wet pavement, the occasional burst of light or sound from a passing emergency vehicle, the stories behind each face we passed.  Once inside all focus changed from the mystery of the night to our hunger.  We visited nearly every nook and cranny and bought some specialties for a later day.  We got some unique and delicious cheeses thanks to some advice from the guy behind the cheese counter who was more than happy to help a group of woman with Visa cards pick out a nice selection of cheeses from around the world.  Before they closed we also managed to enjoy a family style dinner of pizza, pasta and some amazing appetizers.  Yes we came to here to walk but we must admit we also came to eat and are doing a fine job of it!!

I originally was writing this based on a report of what we we doing on a day by day basis.  But after an amazing day full of human experiences more than just seeing things we have been lucky enough to experience this city and it’s people.  So it may no longer be chronological but more serve as a peek to the side of New York that we are lucky to enjoy.  It’s funny because we are here with a mission and wiling to share it so often start up conversations which prompt people to tell us about their experiences with cancer etc.  The locals are especially friendly and ready to strike up a conversation.

Last night we went to an off broadway performance with comedian Brad Zimmerman, who Laurie had seen a few weeks ago in Thousand Oaks and wanted to have all of us see.  It was in tiny theater near Times Square.  Waiting in line we overheard one of the patrons claim “This place is a fire trap!”  It was a bit small with only one exit but….we had great seats….the table right in front next to the very small stage.  The show was entitled “My son the Waiter – A Jewish Tragedy”. The show was hilarious And the intimacy of the small “firetrap” made for a unique and personal experience especially with the addition of his new straight man…Lisa!  After the show, because of the way we move through this town…Brad came out to talk to us about why we were here in New York.  He wanted to know about the walk and how much we had raised.  He sat with us for quite some time and we took a picture which we emailed him for his website.  His show is funny and heartfelt … Just about life.  He’s planning on being in Huntington Beach in February, but is truly hoping he can’t because he may get a shots on Broadway.  We wish him well.

The Highline is an elevated park that spans 1.5 miles on the west side.  It’s past life was as a spur of the New York rail system which has been re-designed as a garden walkway filled with beautiful vegetation, small food and shop stalls and incredible skyline views.  It gives an entirely rooftop perspective of the city which even friends who we know who have lived here all their lives have fallen in love with.  So, of course, we made that one of our first destinations.  Getting there was fun too with a trip on the metro and then a quick browse through Chelsea Market where each one of us at one point or another had to be pulled out of one shop or another – whether it was a spice and tea market, basket shop, clothes boutique or this amazing space filled counters of people devouring fresh crab legs, lobster and other shellfish.