Mary Poppins or UP in 3D

We had our first missed connection today. I had planned to visit the Steiger Craft plant today, but we just had too much going on. We waited in line for Mary Poppins tickets, had a latte at Starbucks on Wall Street, visited the Apple Store on 5th Avenue, ate Krispy Kreme donuts at Penn Station, and visited Times Square. Rylee volunteered  to go to the Steiger Craft plant with me, so we set out about noon to do so. On paper, it looked like we could have made it to the plant and back in time for Rylee to link up with Ann, Hannah, and Sam for the Mary Poppins show, so we started off to do it. Upon arriving at the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) an official put it this way... "trains don't go clear out to Bellport all the time...." We would have had to wait a half hour to take an hour and a half ride, then catch a taxi, go another 20 minutes to get to the plant... I guess something had to give in a day as busy as this one. As it turned out, Rylee and I simply took our time coming back to the hotel. We stopped again at Times Square and had a late lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Then we played in Battery Park before meeting up with the gang here. They told stories of the M&Ms Store, the Nike Store.

Right now Ann, Hannah, Rylee, and Sam are back in Times Square at a theater watching Mary Poppins. Hannah left with a bright yellow skirt on that I've never seen before. That probably explains the GAP bag in the corner.  She looked sharp. I think maybe Ann had on a new skirt too, but I stopped short of saying, "Hey, nice new skirt!" You know, if it turns out that she's had it for a while, I would have revealed that I hadn't noticed it -- so I played it safe. Trevor and Iare just about to go watch "UP" in 3D at the cinema that's attached to the hotel. 

I can't find any cameras around here, so instead of a family shot,  I'll post a picture of the 23 foot Steiger Craft Chesapeake. Their construction is impressive, and I am disappointed that I missed meeting with Alan Steiger to see his plant. It's a small outfit, and everything is done by hand. They are built entirely of fiberglass -- with no wood frame. Steiger claims a "wood core" will sooner or later begin to separate from the glass that covers it due to their different rates of expansion and contraction in changing temperatures. I saw one of his boats at the Seattle boat show in 2005 and was really impressed.

--Kipp.