New York City

Well, we arrived safely in the Big Apple. After a pretty good flight and an hour train ride we made it to 125th Street in Harlem. Its freaking hot here. No hotter than Vancouver mind you but a lot muggier! We got to Ian's at 9:00 and although happy to see us you could tell that Spliff had not had the amount of sleep he needs to be his regular happy self. We were tired but also very hungry so we went to this great diner called 'The Kichenette' had some food and came home and promptly went to sleep for 4 hours! We needed the rest. When we woke up we were ready to go into the city. We hoped on the (A) Train and went to 42nd Street which is where Times Square is. As many times as I have been there it never gets old. The sheer monstrosity of the the place and the amount of people is truly amazing. It was really fun to watch Alana look around and take it all in. We cruised around there for a couple of hours visiting a few stores,checking out the broadway show schedule,having a quick bite to eat and doing what Alana and I love to do most, PEOPLE WATCH! In NYC people watching is easy! I couldn't contain my excitement howvever as the time approached 800.. TIME TO HEAD TO SMOKE JAZZ CLUB. I was trying to impress Alana you know, knowing my way around the city....well it seems whenver I try to do that I make an ass out of myself. We got on the wrong train and got off at 103rd Street only to be completely confused as to where the heck we were. I knew we weren't far off but it just kind of took me back a bit because when we came out of the station I had expected to see my usual landmarks. I finally got my bearings and within 15 minutes we were at my favorite place in the whole world sitting having a beer waiting for the band to start. The band....PETER BERNSTEIN on guitar, MIKE LEDONNE on organ and MARK TAYLOR on drums. I had forgotten how burning of an organ player Ledonne is. WOW....and Peter Bernstein...I've said it before and I will say it again. THE FINEST GUITAR PLAYER ON THE PLANET. The band played great, a mix of standards and a few originals. Smoke just introduced a menu at the club and the food was incredible. I had some kind of 'infused' chicken dish and it was really enjoyable. Mike and Peter came over and talked to us at length which was really cool. We headed home on the 'wrong' train again but with Manhattan being so skinny and all, you're never really that far off from where you need to be. It was funny however when we got off the train I had to ask someone what direction St. Nicolas Street was. They said "oh, just about 3 blocks that way" (pointing) but then he said "But Be Careful!" I thought that was funny. Never in the 4 times I have been to NYC have I ever encountered a problem or felt unsafe (knock on wood). Today is getting off to a late start 12:00 pm our time but we're definitely rested. I think I scored us guest list tickets to Joe Lovano, Tom Harrell, Jimmy Cobb etc. Sometimes the perks of owning a jazz club are just to good! Talk soon!