The People You Meet in Hoboken!

I lied in my title to get your attention. We actually arranged to meet Joanne and Kaylin Jensen at Times Square and the four of us went to Hoboken, NJ to see Carlo's Bakery from the reality show "Cake Boss." Joanne had ordered a cake ahead of time so we were able to skip the line outside and go right in. Joanne was served by Maddalena, Buddy's sister, who was the only one in the bakery this morning who was recognizable from the show. Bob talked to the young man who was acting doorman and found out that the bakery employs 130 people and baking goes on 24 hours a day. They are planning to expand to an on-line ordering business which would have products made at a different location. Buddy, apparently, is in Canada right now.

When we got back to NYC, we split up and Bob and I headed to the Union Square Greenmarket. If I lived in the city, I would be shopping here ... if I could afford it. Heritage vegetables seemed to be the biggest market.

Bob then left me ... not permanently, you understand ... and I went off to find a store called Tender Buttons. Yes, that's right, a store that sells nothing but buttons, some 50 cents per button and some hundreds of dollars per button. I bought a single button which wasn't the most expensive, nor was it the cheapest. The shop was like a museum ... wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

On the way back to meet the rest, I passed Barneys which had the best ever window displays. Here are two of them:

I should mention that while I was doing this, Bob was in another part of Manhattan, a spot where they were filming either a television show or a movie. There was an overturned car and actors dressed as FBI, etc and ordinary people were in the background. However, Bob was told to "move on as you don't blend into the background." He had his Saskatchewan Games jacket on and it must have been too noticeable amidst the New Yorkers who always seem to wear signature black. Earlier this week we had been in the same area and there were many trailers and power generators around. The trailers had computer printed sheets taped to them with "stunt double", etc. on them and one had Brian Glaser on it. I'll have to check the internet to see what project he is doing in New York right now. Then I'll have to boycott it when it comes out as poor Bob won't be in it!

Times Square has been crazy-busy today ... almost human gridlock. If I lived in the city, I would be buying everything on-line.

When Bob, Joanne, Kaylin and I met up again, we headed to Ellen's Stardust Diner for a funfilled lunch. The one singer kept gravitating to our table. He should have been enamored by Kaylin, but paid more attention to Joanne.

Later I went to Macy's something I had neglected to do on our three previous trips to NYC. The minute I was in, I was wanting to yell "get me out of here" as it was clogged with people. I did take a few shots of their interior Christmas decorations before I left. Unfortunately their Christmas window displays won't be revealed until the 18th.

I got many beautiful shots of the Empire State Building from near Macy's - oh, and what's that in the photo? - that same blue sky that we have seen every day since arriving.

Bob and I saw the musical "Million Dollar Quartet" this afternoon and will be heading to the musical "Memphis" shortly. Last night, when we arrived back at the hotel from "A Little Night Music" the lobby was deserted so I got a couple of shots of it. If only the bathroom in our room had been refurbished like the lobby has been. Our bathroom is definitely circa 1970s although the room itself is very modern.

Wouldn't it be great if two lonely parents in NYC heard from their kids back home?