Here we are, on Fifth Avenue, catching the window displays in Macy's and Lord 'n Taylor. They were really awesome. This doesn't capture them at all......the animation was really neat.....I was as enthralled as Payton was. Kris said they had really nice displays at Burgdorf & Goodman's, but it was still about 20 blocks away, and with the traffic (people traffic), it was just too hard to get there.
The weather was actually not bad. A little windy, as you can tell from my hair, but otherwise, not too cold. I was actually hot at times, with my scarf on.......I really didn't need it.
I don't know how we got this clear of a picture.....the hordes of people were over powering at times. This makes it look like we were the only ones there........NOT!
There really was some really nice decorations. The city was nice and lite up, but the homes and apartments weren't. People don't decorate like we do at home. Either they can't afford it, or they don't have access to decorating outside apartments, I guess. I think only one house on Kris' street had outdoor lights up.
This was really neat. The design on the building would change with the music. This right by the "tree" at Rockefeller Center. This is also the place where I got lost. I knew we were heading for the tree and the ice skating rink, but I didn't know how far away it was and we had been looking at the window displays on the way, so I didn't know if we were going to look at more windows, or the tree, or just what it was that we were going to see. As we got closer and closer (now I understand, since just around the little half corner was the Center and the tree), the traffic of people got worse and worse. You were literally bunched together like a pack of sardines. You could hardly move, it was so bad and if you tried to go against the movement of the crowd, well....... I was right by Kris and then she was gone. Andy was pushing Halle in the stroller, Kris had a hold of Payton's hand, and they were gone. I couldn't move and I couldn't see them. When the crowd moved enough that I could see around me, they were no where in sight. I looked up and down, side to side, but I couldn't see them. I started to panic......I'm claustrophobic anyway, so the crowd was hard for me anyway. I started feeling chest pain, and difficulty breathing, and I had to tell myself to get a grip on it. And to top it off, I didn't have my phone with me. I had left it at their apartment. I don't know Andy's phone number because he got a new phone while they've been here in New York (it's programed into my phone, but I don't know it, and I didn't think Kris had her phone). And, I don't know their address. So great.....what was I going to do? I decided I would just stand right there and not move, so they could find me. Isn't that what they tell you to do when you are lost.....not to move?!Well, I stood there for over an hour. I was starting to get worried. There were soooooo many people, how in the world would they ever find me. We had gone into the city by train, and I knew I could ask people and find my way back to Penn Station and ask someone, so I got on the right train. I knew what road they lived on, and maybe I could get a taxi and I thought I could tell them how to get to their house, just not the address, and hopefully they could speak English. I wasn't sure how long the train would run so I figured I'd have to be back to the station by 10 pm at least to catch the train back, because they only ran every hour. But what would Kris and Andy be doing.....worrying and looking for me? Would they leave and go back, thinking I could find my way, or would they stay there looking for me? So I was worrying about them, and worrying about me, and to be honest, it took everything I had to not just sit down and bawl. After an hour and almost constant silent praying, I turned and there was Kris......she found me. Then I did start to bawl. I was so relieved.....I've only been that scared once before in my life. Payton saw that I had tears in my eyes, and he was quite concerned about me and kept saying, "Was you lost Grandma?" "I love you Grandma". I kept thinking, if it had been one of the kids......we would never have found them. I just wanted to hug them close and get the heck out of there. I was done with the city. However, by the time we got back home, I was better and I wouldn't mind going back again.....you just won't find me there New Year's Eve. I have no desire to fight that crowd again.
