Elbug10's NYC Weekend w/ the Stars March 3-7, 2005 Day1, part 2 UPDATED 5/23! About This Page:

[BabieeMelly]

Great start, Lisa! That train ride down to NYC must have been GORGEOUS! I love Upstate NY We always drive to the Catskills and then up farther to Lake George in the Adirondacks and nothing is more beautiful than the views up there. I can't wait for more!

[elbug10]

<font color="blue"> Thursday, March 3, 2005, continued </font>
Act 1 Scene 2: Blondies Sports Bar, 212 W. 79th St. NYC

After about 45 minutes and one final trip to the ladies room (did I mention that NJ Transit’s is MUCH nicer and cleaner than Amtrak’s?) Rita arrived. We exchanged greetings and then set off on our adventure. We headed towards the subway station at Penn station, where we stopped outside to pick up a MetroCard for me. We decided $10 for the weekend would be plenty, and if I had anything left over on the card, I could use it on my next trip. I put a $10 bill in the machine, and it got stuck! I tried to get it out, but the bill ripped and a corner of it got sucked into the machine! Now the machine won't take any other bills! We went over to the ticket booth and tried to explain our situation to the attendant, but our complaints fell on deaf ears. We asked her for a MetroCard, but she wouldn’t take my ripped bill. We asked her to replace the bill, but she wouldn’t take it, “because it wasn’t all there.” We told her that the other part of the bill was stuck in her machine and asked her to get it out, but she said she didn’t have the key to open it. We told her that no one else would be able to use the machine with just a piece of a bill stuck in it, but she didn’t seem to care. Finally, Rita gave her a $20 and we got a $10 MetroCard and $10 change. It was past 5 p.m. by this time, so I would have to go to a bank on Friday to exchange the damaged $10.

Finally, we get to the subway platform and catch the train going uptown. Forgive me for not knowing which train we caught; the NYC subway system still confuses me, which is why I won’t take it alone, much to the chagrin of my aching feet and shivering body on Friday! The train isn’t too crowded for rush hour, and we manage to find seats for the short ride. Soon, we are at our stop and head for the short walk to Blondie’s Sports Bar, 212 W. 79th St. (official website: http://www.blondiessports.com/ ). At this point, we realize it’s still bitter cold out, probably no more than 20 degrees, and it’s now about 5:30 p.m. and the event doesn’t officially begin until 7 p.m. We easily find Blondie’s and see that there’s ALREADY a line forming outside to get in for the event. We couldn’t get tickets in advance for the event, they were being sold on a first come, first served basis, and we know space will be limited, as I will explain in a moment. At this point, I should mention that there are two Blondie’s locations, this one on 79th St. on the Upper West Side, closer to the AMC and OLTL Studios on 66th St., and another smaller, yet newer location on 92nd St. on the Upper East Side.

We had been to the other Blondies on the Upper East Side for another soap fan event, “An Evening With the Ladies of Llanview” back in August. We were not impressed; not so much with Blondies, but with the event organizers. The room we were in was MUCH too small for the number of people there, and we literally couldn’t move. I’m sure we were breaking all kinds of fire codes. The event was poorly planned, and I think the venue was changed to a smaller room after ticket sales weren’t what the organizers expected. At the last minute, ticket sales picked up, and they never cut off the sales, still selling tickets at the door! The only reason we stayed is because our table was literally right next to the stairs, and we knew that if the building needed to be evacuated in an emergency, we were the first ones out. But this was not the fault of Blondies, it was the event organizers, and the food had been good, so we were willing to give them a second chance. Also, Rita knew that this location was bigger, and it seemed our event would have the whole run of the place this time, rather than being held in an upstairs room.

Rita announces, and I agree, that there’s absolutely NO WAY she is waiting outside for an hour and a half in the freezing cold, when she’s already hungry. I agree, and then Rita comes up with a BRILLIANT idea, showing once again why we are friends! She says, “Well, we HAVE to eat, and we’re here, and hey, they serve food, let’s ask to go in and eat dinner. They MAY ask us to go back outside once we’re done, but I bet they won’t, and we won’t have to stand outside in this crazy line!” Have I mentioned that I love her? We ask to go in and are soon seated in a nice comfortable booth. We each order a hamburger platter and a soda, and decide to really take our time, lingering over and enjoying our meal. The manager comes by and asks how our meal is, and we explain to her why we are there and she says “of course you don’t have to go back outside!” Just stay here and I’ll collect your $25 admission fee. Bless her! Mind you, that’s what she should’ve done, since we had plunked down at least that much between us to eat there when there were plenty of nearby places we could’ve gone, but there was a method to our madness, and the old “you scratch our backs, we’ll scratch yours” approach worked.

Once we had lingered sufficiently over dinner and had stalled enough, the manager came over and collected our admission and then asked us where we would like to sit. Rita scopes out the place and picks us out two PRIME barstools RIGHT BY THE FRONT DOOR! The bar is very long, probably seating about 30 people along the length, and about 5 more at each end. Rita and I are the first two on the long end, just to the right of the entrance. We have a perfect view of the arrivals.

It’s now about 6:45 p.m. and the event starts at 7. They are just starting to let some of the people in line in, when the first soap celebrity arrives-it’s Thorsten Kaye! Rita knows TK personally from his days on OLTL back in the mid 1990’s. They used to run into each other at the same bar, and slowly became drinking buddies. She even got to go to the OLTL set the day TK taped his “death” scenes as Patrick! TK and Rita visit for a minute and then she reintroduces me to him; I met him at SSW in November at WDW. That was where I introduced myself and told him I was a friend of hers and he told me, “Rita’s cool!” I SO agree! So, at Blondies he aaked me how I was doing and gave me a hug; he smelled SO good! Several people started noticing him and asking for pictures, so he began posing with people. Rita told me her camera didn’t work well in low light (this was a bar, after all), so we had previously agreed to use mine, since it had a low light setting, To my embarrassment, I didn’t have the hang of the new camera, and the first few pics didn’t come out well. TK was gracious enough to keep posing with us through several trial-and-error pictures, and I can’t emphasize enough how kind he was. While posing with Rita, he told her that he had been up all night with his 2 year old daughter McKenna, who was sick, and that he was hoping that if he arrived early, he could leave early. Later, we found out that he was one of the last celebs to leave; what a trouper!

By this point, other celebs were arriving. Most of the people behind the bar at first were news personalities from NYC’s ABC affiliate, who we didn’t know, and frankly, weren’t interested in! Grady, the Blondies bartender, as well as other Blondies staff, helped the “rookies” mix the drinks and made sure the money was taken and the orders got to the correct people. As the event began, the staff told us to keep it simple, things like wine, beer, a vodka and orange or cranberry juice, as these were not professional bartenders!. Also, they were pushing the vodka drinks because the vodka had been donated. So, no strawberry daiquiris for me! The drinks were free (for the $25 admission) but “donations” were accepted, and it was for charity, the Multiple Sclerosis Society. I started out with a coke, but was waiting for “my Ryan”, Cameron Mathison from AMC, to arrive and come pour me a drink.

In the meantime, Tony Danza arrived and got behind the bar on our end. Some of the other soap stars had arrived, but were down on the far end, including Jacob Young, James Scott, Justin Bruening, Alexa Havins and Teri Ivens (J.R, Ethan, Jamie, Babe and Simone, all from AMC). Neither Rita nor I could get over how SKINNY Teri Ivens was, even though she had just had a baby in October. If you think these people look skinny on television, you should see them in person! Since none of the soap stars were on our end, Rita decided to put Tony to work and ordered a vodka and cranberry juice. He told her she didn’t say “please”! Not funny, Tony! He seemed to be talking more to the news people and the other Blondies staff than the customers, and wasn’t as friendly as the soap stars were, IMO. We heard later that he mentioned the event the next day on his talk show, and would’ve liked to hear what he had to say.

Now, the place is getting packed, and I HAVE to go to the bathroom! But wait, here comes my Cameron! What’s a girl to do? Kidneys be damned, I’m holding it! We politely put in a request for Cameron to come down to this end of the bar (several other bartenders had offered to serve me, but I declined, saying I was saving myself for Cameron!). Finally, he heads down our way and he is SO gorgeous, even in just a plain old t shirt, turtleneck and jeans (oops, drooling on my keyboard at the memory)! He is so sweet and polite and kindly poses for a few pics before taking my order, a screwdriver, just vodka and orange juice. He puts it in a beer cup instead of the smaller clear plastic cups they were supposed to use, so I got about twice as much as I should have! Was he trying to get me drunk? (Memo to him: he didn’t have to try, I was already giddy enough!) I hand him $6 and he won’t take it! He says that it’s not worth that, that he doesn’t know how to make a screwdriver and it’s probably no good. I tell him that it’s for charity and I INSIST that he take it, so he does. He leaves to wait on someone else and I take a sip and it’s the most horrible screwdriver I’ve ever had! Mind you, I’m not much of a drinker, but this is BAD; probably 85% vodka, for one thing! Later on, we ask them to add more ice to water it down, and it’s STILL bad! Still, Cameron made it for me, so I’m happy!

Now, Rita and I both decide that we HAVE to use the facilities, no more stalling! Unfortunately, the place is wall-to-wall people now and we have to go clear to the other end of the place to use the restroom. We agree that even though we’ve seen just about everyone we wanted to see, there is NO WAY we’re willing to give up our prime seats at the bar just yet. People are standing at least 7 deep behind us, and we know as soon as we get up, our seats are gone, So we make the ultimate sacrifice for each other and decide to go to the ladies room individually. I bid Rita a fond farewell as I brave the crowds first, telling her that if I don’t return to “Tell Dad I love him!” It took twenty minutes, but I successfully navigate the crowd and find my way back to my perch and I send Rita on her way. Upon her return, she tells me that there are some items for auction in the back, including tours of the soap sets, signed scripts and props, etc, but we both decide that neither one of us has the energy to go back and place a bid, plus it’s getting late and we have to think about leaving soon to get back to Penn Station for my luggage.

After attempting to take one more drink from my screwdriver (no one light a match around this thing!), we ask Grady to dump the rest and give me back the plastic cup, so I can keep some of Cameron’s DNA! Now I can go home and make my own Cameron haha!!!! Okay, I’ve officially watched one too many soap operas! We decide to look around one more time and take a few more pics and then hit the road. At this point, we watch TK do an AMAZING Olympic-style leap OVER the bar! What a guy! We head for the door and are soon back outside in the chilly March NY night headed for the subway and Penn Station. We get to Penn Station and have 5 minutes to spare to get to Amtrak Baggage Claim, which, naturally is at the other end of the terminal. We make a mad, O.J. Simpson-style dash across the terminal and make it just in the nick of time. Whew! Next it’s back to the NJ Transit waiting room to wait for the 10:35 train back to South Orange, and make one more trip to the ladies’ room along the way. While there, we notice another lady standing, making a phone call. She’s got a wrist band on like ours and is holding a plastic cup in her hand as well! She’s been at Blondies, too! Later on, we found out that one of the celebs we missed was Catherine Hickland from OLTL, who at that time was starring in an off-Broadway play, and didn’t arrive until after 10. That’s too bad, because I like her and would’ve liked to have met her. She’s since been dropped to recurring status on the show, so may not be at some of this summer’s events. Oh, well.

Our train is called, and we head down to the platform and board. It isn’t crowded at this late hour, and we are able to find seats together. Unfortunately, we are near the exit doors, and it is very noisy to talk, but we try until we both decide we are too tired to make the effort to shout to each other. Soon, we are at the station in South Orange and headed toward Rita’s jeep. Another five minutes and we are back at her house where we drag ourselves and my luggage upstairs to bed. I manage to find the energy to shower before I crash for the night. We decide to take the 8:30 train into the city instead to give ourselves a few more minutes to sleep in the morning. That still leaves me less than 6 hours to sleep.

Next up: Day 2 The Empire State Bldg, NBC Tour and some Dirty Rotten Scoundrels!

[Colexis Mom]

So glad you're writing again Lisa What a great update! And what a great idea of just going in for dinner and then staying It sounded like a great time (albeit crowded )!

More please

[lauren-roxy]

I was so excited to see you had updated your report Lisa!! Great update and way to go to snag those prime seats at the event!! Hurry back with more please, this is a wonderful read!!

[luvnwdwgal]

Wow!!!! What a cool evening!!!

[GoofyMom]

OMG! You smelled Thorsten Kaye!!! :::sigh::: Blah, blah, blah, other stuff -- but you SMELLED Thorsten Kaye! Ok, seriously, that sounded like it was an absolutely terrific evening! But what was up with the chick at the MetroCard place? Ugleeeee.

[elbug10]

Donna, if you thought the chick at the MetroCard place ACTED ugly, you should have seen how she looked! Far be it from me to comment on the appearance of others, but... she kind of reminded me of a guard dog; all teeth and growl! People like that give tourists the wrong idea about Manhattaners. Fortunately, I found her to be the esception and not the rule!

As for TK, I'll try to find out from Rita what cologne he wears; she may know! The man is SO sexy! Plus, that voice... He could sit and read the phonebook to me and I'd be over the moon! If I can't have my Cameron, I'll "settle" for TK; what a sacrifice!

[DopeyGirl]

Lisa . . . I wanna see pictures, girlfriend!!!

[elbug10]

working on it, Sarah. I just don't know if I'm allowed to post pics of celebs on here w/o the celeb's permission. Anyone know? I know when you're at these events. you sometimes have to sign that pica are for your own personal use and that you won't sell them on Ebay, etc. Maybe if I put them at ofoto.com and you p.m. me for the link? I'm really not sure and I don't want to get in trouble! I asked Bill (Lizardcop) already, and he didn't know, either. Anyone else know?

[BabieeMelly]

How awesome! I absolutely LOVE James Scott!!! I met him a few weeks ago when my friends and I were walking around the city and we talked for like 20 minutes... he's TOO cute And very, very tall, lmao! I can't wait to hear more!

[elbug10]

Yes, James Scott is VERY tall. In fact, he's taller than Thorsten, who plays his father on the show and is over 6 feet tall himself! Thorsten has made comments about "my 7 ft. tall son"; very funny. As with Thorsten, I the English accent! Both are so suave and charming.

[wdwlovers]

Loving this report Lisa!! Can't wait to read more about your NY adventure!

[DopeyGirl]

James Scott = :::sigh:::

Something about Thorsten and the slight accent and his gruff sounding voice . . . and you know, I didn't know he was actually GERMAN and came to the States in the mid-80's on a track scholarship . . . the things you learn!!!

[BabieeMelly]

[ QUOTE ]
I the English accent! Both are so suave and charming.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh yes they are Lmao, I'm sorry but I love him, haha! I can't wait for moreof your TR, what a cool weekend you had!