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New York, New York City…

It was like no experience that I could have ever imagined. I was finally in New York City. I have talked about and imagined going there for years. Friends have been inviting me to come visit for years as well. I remember our family driving through NYC on our way to New Jersey but that was in 1975. Fast forward 29 years and here I am walking on the NYC streets and watching all the people go by. I am seeing places that I have only read about or seen on TV. Special thanks to my friend B. for his wonderful hospitality and for being a great tour guide for my first NYC adventure. I am already planning to visit again in the summer or fall. There is so much to do and see, that 1, 2, or 3 trips is never enough to see it all. The city never sleeps and I admit that I did not get too much sleep either.
Friday evening, we met up with friends at Day-O Restaurant in Greenwich Village. The food and company were great and they played 80’s soul music. Later, we drove around so I could see Times Square and a bit of Harlem.
Saturday afternoon, EJ arrived and we went out for lunch at J’s Restaurant in Downtown Newark. A classic soul food restaurant and believe me, they delivered. After waddling out of J’s, we ran errands and headed into the city to do a little shopping before we headed to the Blue Note Jazz Club to see the Michel Camilo Trio perform. There were only bar reservations available (standing room only) and we waited in line outside for about 20 minutes before entering this historic jazz club. Michel was already jamming on the piano along with his excellent bass player and percussionist/drummer. I had an indirect view of the stage from where we were standing. They jammed for about an hour and were spectacular which just added to the experience of being in this world renowned jazz club. After the concert, I checked out more of the club and the gift shop. They had some great memorabilia and I brought back just a little bit.
Sunday afternoon, after resting from being out dancing til the wee small hours of the morning, we headed back to the city and did a little more shopping before the NYC BlogFam Lunch. I did pickup a few musical treasures which I have not listened to yet but soon. The big event of the day was NYC BlogFam Lunch at Dallas BBQ on West 72nd Street. Bloggers are the good folks like myself who write web journals and weblogs. Now, of course, you are thinking thick glasses, nerds, and pocket protectors. Think again!!! These were some of the coolest people in the blogosphere. Bloggers present included Lynne, Ronn, Donald, Madison, Steven, Earl, EJ, Philippe, and there were a few non-bloggers too. We discussed various aspects of blogging, life, and music and we had an all-around great time. That mass of fried onion above was ordered by Donald and he was willing to share it with everyone. I definitely look forward to attending another BlogFam event later in the year. Afterward, I got to ride the ‘A Train’ to Penn Station to catch the PATH Train back to Jersey.
We closed out my visit with the Sunday night open mic performance at the Village Underground. The hosts were the very talented Ron Grant and Melanie Daniels. No, I did not sing. I was just there for the experience and there was some very good talent on the stage. The live band was off the hook as well. I did find myself later being a part of the heavenly audience choir on “We Are Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” You can tell this was a place where many people got their start in the music business. It was very fun and a great way to end a spectacular weekend.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2004 at 1:06 am. It is filed under Special Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.