Rockefeller Centre, NBC and Goodbye New York

T'was the last day in New York. All was noisy and wild in the downtown core as the five Ottawans hopped into a taxi, heading to the NBC studios and Rockefeller Centre.

However, just before the tour, a quick stop at FAO Schwartz, for a check-up of Evelyne, by Nurse Amanda. After the clean bill of health, wash, flu shot and change of diaper, off we go to NBC studios.

The kids loved the NBC tour, which included a short history video featuring the early days of the network along with its numerous flagship tv programs (i.e. Friends, Seinfeld, Leave it to Beaver, Bonanza, Tonite Show, Saturday Night Live...). Jeremy volunteered to participate in a mock news program as the "Weatherman" while his anchor sidekick, a 6 or 7-year-old boy read the news. Jeremy did a fantastic job reading off the teleprompter and pointing to the various spots on the "invisible" map of the US. We had a sneak peek inside the studio for hot breaking news, because they had forgotten to close the door. :) The woman anchor was getting ready to go to air, to cover the tragic Viriginia Tech massacre. We also sat in the Saturday Night Live studios, which are very small. The studio was built to allow for perfect sound accoustics, not one wall touches the floor or building structure, the entire studio structure is suspended...somehow. After the NBC tour, we headed to the Rockefeller Centre, expecting a view from the top of this beautiful building. But nyet. No view and to the kids' dismay, it was an architectural and historical tour conducted by an older historian who measured about 5 feet tall She tried to make the tour appealing for the kids, but to no avail.However, one hour and 15 minutes of culture is not going to kill the kids, right? They've had such fun in all the stores and tours, that's not much to ask. It was a great tour for the adults, because she provided gems of historical information that provide a greater understanding of the era in which the building was constructed. After the Rockefeller Centre, we had to return to the hotel to pick up our luggage and head off to the airport. Well, try to catch a cab that can carry 5 people, at 4:15 p.m. on 5th avenue. You would think it's a breeze. Ah, no.
While trying to hail a van-cab, Francine was caught in the middle of 5th avenue, surrounded by cars, with a messenger cyclist narrowly missing her, screaming obscenities to her, while a car driver yelled out to her "Hope you have good insurance". That was fun!
We finally got one after 20 minutes and headed to the hotel where we promptly picked up suitcases and hailed a van-cab in about 2 minutes. Off we went to the airport, checked in in plenty of time. The only "ick" was Kathy and Francine being searched physically by the security folks. The police officer asked Rosie not to touch any of "mommy's" luggage and to just retrieve her own, and "all will be alright". It was a random search. We ate our pieces of pies from last evening's dinner at the diner, and then had a quick dinner at the "New York Rock" bar and restaurant. The flight was a bit delayed and as a result, the flight wasn't even an hour -- the pilot never coasted once and just vamoosed to Ottawa. Departure was at about 9:10 p.m. and we arrived in Ottawa at 10 -- not bad eh!
So we're back in Ottawa, sleeping in our own beds, and glad to have had a good time, despite the torrential rain. We lived a historical time in NY, in that a record was broken as far amount of rain that poured over the city.