NEW YORK CITY! Best friend Cathy (Luuuuuucy!) extended the invitation, and me, being the Ethel that I am, accepted. There's certainly no place like it, it's a blend of excitement and chaos all at once. The taxi's are just TOO much, clinging to your life at every turn or intersection. We ate many expensive meals, but the best meal was in Soho with my niece, Christin......the best Chinese dumplings, and of all things, a tuna fish sandwich (it had to be the cilantro). She also took Cathy and I to a great little Cuban dive, we had plantains for dessert, Cathy had a grilled chicken cuban that looked delicioso. That was a pretty relaxing day, Christin sure knows her way around. She took us on a subway trip that was quite interesting. I wish we could have spent more time with her, in her world, but four days wasn't quite enough. Back at the Vision Expo, Cathy and I got a glimpse of "The Donald" and we even had time to go shopping.....can you imagine eight stories of Macy's? Me either, but I bought a sweater, on sale of course. During our last hours in NYC, we took a cab to "Ground Zero". It sure left a big hole, and you can feel the emotional hole when you are standing in front of it all. The church in the distance certainly caught my eye from Ground Zero, though the blast knocked out a huge tree on the grounds, not one of the stained glass windows in the sactuary broke. After that, we were rushed back to the airport, in a TAXI, of course, the last of the wild rides! What a trip. Thanks, Lucy, and Christin, I had a wonderful time!