Hey all,

We had one more fantastic time. Talk about country come to town, we were it! I can't imagine having a more fun trip. The people were all very nice, no problems getting around the city, and the food was definitely a plus. It rained on us all day Saturday. We lugged our instruments all over Manhattan Island to find a place to play. After an exhausting trip around the city, we wound up in a no name bar in Greenwich Village and picked for the bar tender and bouncer. The Friday night show was great. We stopped in Washington Square park for a few minutes before the show. We had no more uncased our instruments and began playing when people started gathering around. By the second song, there were no less than 40 to 50 people standing around. We gave them a 20 minute show and headed off to the Baggot Inn for our show. The sound guy was great and made us feel right at home. We picked for an hour and then were flattered when they screamed for an encore. Met some really nice folks there and wouldn't mind going back again sometime when the weather is a little better. Mark and Anna live in a studio apartment above a Japanese restaurant. It is no bigger than my bedroom and they pay $1,300.00 per month to live there. The traffic was amazing. Taxi's everywhere and how they kept from just piling on top of one another, I'll never know. We walked the streets some. We saw John Lithgow, the actor. Pale Male, the red tailed hawk that made the news when they tore down his nest. At the airport we saw Ed McMann. It was a pretty much non stop trip from when we left and I was glad to be back with home with Vette. She was a sight for sore eyes. Two of the highlights was being taken, unknowingly, to a drag bar. Mark and Anna thought it would be funny. Nick and I looked around for a few minutes and it didn't take long to figure out something wasn't right. Admittedly, some of those men were as pretty as I've seen women!!!! LOLOLOL The queers were just down right funny and I don't think they have closets up there for them to stay in. The other was, believe it or not, Hose, our taxi driver. We met him as soon as we got off the plane. A little anxious, Nick and I asked him if he knew where the street was we were going to and how much. He said $45.00 and we said let's go! He began walking through a parking lot and I just knew we were in for it. However, he popped the trunk to a black Lincoln town car and off to the city we went. He was very friendly and talkative. When he let us out, he asked if we wanted to have him come pick us up to leave. We said yup, got his number and he picked us up right on time. Well, that's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure there is more I'll think of.

Chris (Banjo)