Mike and Claire's Anniversary Trip to New York City Sep. 1-6, 2005

A life long goal of mine was to go to the US Open. Well here I am at the Arthur Ash Stadium. Through Claire's indulgence, we caught a Friday night game and saw both Venus Williams and Roger Federa do their magic on the court. There are approx. 6-7 courts adjacent to A.A.S. in the US Tennis Centre in Flushing. We took the 7 train out to the courts. The seats are in clusters of three so everyone gets a good view from anywhere in the stadium. By the way that's not a tennis ball I'm holding in my right hand.

This is the site of the World Trade centre. For me personally, I felt a tremendous sense of sadness here. The site is immense. We were among thousands of people visiting that day.

The Rochfeller Center's crowning piece is the GE building. In winter, we usually see the large Christmas tree (usually shipped from Canada) in front of this building. Also, just past the palm trees is where the famous outdoor ice rink was featured in the movie Love Story.

My beautiful wife Claire is standing next to this modest lilly bouquet feature in the entrance lobby of our hotel, The Waldorf Astoria.The Waldorf is an excellent stay because it is kept in a grand old tradition and it is central to everything.

After attending the show, "The Producers", the new Mel Brooks musical in the St. James Theatre, we ventured out into the evening lights including those of Time Square. We also went to the romantic musical called "The Light in the Piazza" in the Lincoln Center Theatre at the Vivian Beaumont. We went on our anniversary. It was most appropriate because it featured two young lovers, one named Clara, the other named Mike, er I mean Fabrizio. Victoria Clark, who plays the main character Margaret Johnson, was awarded a Tony Award for Best Actress in a musical.

This is Claire standing in front of the Frick residence. It contains one of the most impressive collections of European art. Mr. Frick was a steel baron in the late 1800's. In 1910, he paid $750,000 for most of the Collection. The beauty of this gallery is that its complete collection can be viewed with a recorded tour in roughly one hour. Additionally, the residence itself is stunning. Other notable spots we included in the trip included: the American Museum of Natural History, The Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Grenwich Village.

One of the nicest surprises during the trip was an invitation by my cousin Ron Andruff (hey how many Andruffs are in the NYC telephone book? - one) and his wife Ambreta to a bar-b-q at their place near Union Square. They live in a "floor through" and have a wonderful back yard to entertain in the summer. They are right in the middle of Mahattan but their yard is very peaceful and quiet. We met a wonderful collection of their friends and the very next day bumped into one of them in Sachs on Fifth Avenue. What are the chances?

We are perched on top of the Empire State Building during this shot. The Statue of Liberty is but a small spec in the distance.We are looking toward Battery Park and the southern tip of Manhattan. The great thing about NYC is that you can take the subway or a cab anywhere.

September 4, 2005, in the Park Avenue Cafe, we celebrated our 34th anniversary. We have journeyed many miles since our honeymoon in San Francisco back in 1971. We have had amazing adventures in Canada, Europe, Australia, Mexico and Crescent Beach. I am very lucky to have found my soul mate, Claire. When Harry Met Sally is a movie about true loves. I think this trip evidences yet another.

I hope you enjoyed our 34th in NYC!