This is a most interesting thread.... I'll go off topic here briefly, if only to lighten the mood a little.... As a testimony of New Yorkers NOT being rude, I share the following experience: While in Connecticut on a business trip (for DH), I went to NYC to see a play with a friend. Of course, I wore all my "cute" going out clothes to be out on the town that night with her and some friends. Went shopping, got mistaken for Anne Heche several times,(I wonder if that's a compliment or not!!) saw the play, had a blast. Next morning, DH was to bring the himself and the kids into the city to go sight seeing. It was November, and VERY cold in the city, so I told him to dress the kids very warmly and to bring me a warm hat and my tennis shoes. (MY "cute" boots had left me blisters....ouch!) Dressing "cute" was no longer important. I was cold, tired and just didn't care...) While waiting for DH and kids to come to my hotel room, I decided that I didn't want to lug all of my new purchases around with me while sight seeing with 3 kids. Plus, I thought, it was freezing, so it just made sense to "layer" all of my clothes. Perfect solution. No carrying heavy bags, and I was warm. All that was left were some of the dirty clothes from the night before. Socks, uncomfortable shoes, etc. Very light and easy to carry. Finally met DH in the lobby when I saw that he'd dressed the kids in their (albeit) warmest down coats, that were normally reserved for playing in the (few and far between) snowy days in our home state. They were very dirty from playing outside, but warm. DH also (as per my request) brought me a warm knit stocking cap and my tennis shoes. Not the most attractive thing, I admit. But I didn't care. Off we went to go sight seeing. But first, a pit stop at McDonald's. Wanted to take a pre-emptive strike against the inevitable "We're hungry" when we're RIGHT in the middle of something good. I decided to go against our norm of ordering each kid a separate happy meal. They weren't that hungry to begin with, and the dumb toys would just be a distraction on this particular trip, so I opted to just get them a snack of a supersize fries and large drink to share. Just something to tide them over for a few NYC sights. DH goes to counter to wait on his delayed order, and the three kids and I are sitting at the table eating when the nicest lady came up and gave my youngest a toy from a Happy Meal. Oh my gosh! Thank you so much! How nice. We continue eating. Then a few minutes later, a very nice gentleman comes up and gives us one of those peel-n-win game pieces worth 1 free apple pie. Oh my gosh AGAIN! How NICE New Yorkers are! DH comes back, surveys the new found items, and looks at me kinda crooked...."Why are people giving us stuff?" "Well, I don't know, but I gotta tell ya, New Yorkers just must be SO much nicer than we've heard!" We leave, with me thinking that the whole "rude New Yorker" thing is just not so....And then it happened. I looked to my left and saw a huge plate glass window. I saw the reflection of my family in it. And I immediately knew why people were giving us stuff. Let me paint the picture for you. All of the clothes I was wearing were showing in some way. 4 or 5 different collars were poking up out of my big, black coat. 2 pairs of the pants I bought the night before were velour-like material, and were consequently riding up on each other, showing that I was wearing 3 pairs of pants altogether. My hair was a mess, sticking out of the stocking cap. I had my dirty clothes and shoes from the night before in a large shopping bag....complete with paper towels hanging out the top. My children, of course, had their dirty old coats on....and while they were in McDonalds were all huddled around ONE order of fries and ONE drink!!!! It hit me. PEOPLE THOUGHT WE WERE HOMELESS!! Oh my gosh. We laughed so hard. We still laugh to this day! But those New Yorkers WERE some of the nicest people we ever met!! Just had to share. Sorry I went off topic!

just catching up to this..limited computer time if we are in a motel. I am sorry I missed the questions and thoughtful responses. jbrig: we will be in Poplarville MA tomorrow night. We are in Ocean Springs today and last night. Took our first day off. We will be in Baton Rouge soon after that and then on West of there. my email address is : carolinedonnelly(at)bellsouth(dot)net. I can get emails if you want to send me one. THAK YOU Mitch...the rain has not materialized but we are enjoying a day off. Wind at our backs ! I do feel strong . Thak you so much. graywings we all have cell phones. But we are never very far apart. We decide to stop usually ever 1 to 1 1/2 hrs. We usually wait till we see a likely Mom and Pop restaurant or gas station. Also whoever is in front pulls over and the others look for the bike that is parked outside. It always works out so far. imsocunfused. No we are using all back roads. We rode on Hwy 90 as it has a wide shoulder but we usually stay to back roads. We will pass through Baton Rouge and St Francisville LA and then Austin TX too...a straight line west. 880 miles in TX !!! Oh Marlene...how you touch my heart. What a fantastic tribute to the human spirit...I hope you don't mind if I share your comment with the Food Bank Face book page...I am so pleased that we can all work together to make a difference. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. jbrig : I sure try :)

A tip for Broadway shows is to check out Travelzoo.com, on the main page there is a link for NYC Shows/events. I bought 4 tickets to Mamma Mia recently and paid nearly $600 to find the same exact seats for about 1/3 less. It isn't as cheap as standing in line for 1/2 price, but you aren't wasting all that time either. The Christmas Spectacular at Radio City is amazing. If you are into the ballet, the NYC Ballet should be doing Nutcracker that time of year. You can spend an entire day at the Museum of Natural History. I have stayed at Hotel W in Times Square - it was very nice, but as with all hotels in NYC on the small side and very expensive. If it is clear you should do the Empire State Building. Check out Central Park and take a carriage ride. No matter what you will have fun.

My husband and I are a realtor's worst nightmare, as we've never fit anyone's expectations. In finding our property, our nonnegotiables were: 1. Far from the madding crowd. I've always been a loner who nonetheless loved the city, but hearing city buses, police chases and speeding cars all night was losing its appeal. 2. Acreage for our horses. We had a small house on a 1/2 acre in Portland when we adopted our first miniature horse, but minis are like potato chips — you can't have just one...so we needed more room. 3. Quiet street. We now have the last property on a dead-end gravel road, so no worries about animals getting out. 4. No close neighbors. We loved living in urban Portland with all it had to offer, but even a 1/2 acre meant close neighbors. Too close. 5. Space to garden. I had created an enormous garden of ornamental perennials, shrubs and small trees in town and we didn't want to downsize. I moved my entire garden, making countless trips. 6. Trees. Lots of trees. We now have four acres of Douglas Fir, Vine Maple and Alder on our hillside, plus moss, ferns, trilliums and other natives, supplementing my other gardens. Our property backs up to BLM forests and commercial timberland, so we are surrounded by MANY trees. 7. Proximity to Portland. We wanted the best of both worlds: to be as far into the wild as possible while remaining close enough to enjoy Portland's arts scene (we're both musicians) and thriving creative community (I'm a graphic designer, illustrator and writer). We are now at the edge of the outback yet only half an hour from downtown. 8. Price. We sold our Portland house at the right time, getting twice what we had paid for it, and we bought our acreage free and clear with the proceeds. We then leveraged the property to build our house. (Although my lawyer sister-in-law declared that "banks just don't do that," they did.) Portland and surrounding areas are incredibly expensive, especially acreage suitable for horses. We chose an area much disdained by hip Portlanders, but I've always felt that those who say they're hip seldom are... 9. Freedom to keep pets and livestock. This part is a bit sad. Nobody ever complained about us having horses in Portland (at the foot of Mt. Tabor, for those who know the city), but out here in a semi-rural area with numerous farms, we have a neighbor (over a mile away!) who complained about our rooster crowing and now complains about our livestock guardian dog barking at predators. Go figure. (Fortunately animal control laugh at her.) The route we have taken is not for the faint-hearted, but we held out for what we wanted and we now have it.