Another moment I knew we'd someday move to New York City

Another moment that left me thinking that we would ultimately live in New York City was in the summer of 1986. Dana had been born the previous fall and my parents had come to Gainesville to take care of her while we took a much-needed summer vacation.

We hadn’t been back to New York City since the World Series visit and this was our first time to really explore the city as a couple. I loved it. I was working for SantaFe HealthCare and had just a few days for vacation after using most of my days for maternity leave; Larry had a gazillion days as the Sports Director for WRUF and was heading to Chicago after our NYC vacation to spend time with his brother Phil and his wife Paula.

This was our first trip after becoming parents and we were determined to make the most of the visit. We stayed at the St. Moritz, a hotel on Central Park South – a fabulous location (it eventually became a Trump property and today is a Ritz Carlton), but our room might have been the tiniest we ever stayed in. It literally held a queen sized bed and a dresser, and you had to turn sideways to move between the furniture. We, however, thought we had won the lottery even though we didn’t have a view of Central Park.

There were so many firsts. Our first Broadway show. Our first special dinner (looking back, of course, it wasn’t). Our first visit to the iconic, Mai Tai-originated Trader Vic’s – which at that time was in the basement of the world-famous Plaza Hotel.

Our first Broadway show together was “Sweet Charity” (Larry had seen Chorus Line before he met me) starring Debbie Allen, who at the time was best known for her work as an actress and choreographer on the movie and television show “Fame.” Bebe Neuwirth, who was just emerging on television as Lillith in Cheers, starred as Charity’s fellow dancer Nickie.

I had visions of what Broadway shows would be like and we dressed to the nines – I had this sexy, sequin-laced black dress – and Larry wore his best suit. We were disappointed though, because, even though it was an evening performance, Broadway was already starting to see the dressed-down audience that rules today.

Our special dinner was at Mama Leone’s – more of an Italian tourist trap than we realized at the time – and we would swear there were members of the Mafia a couple of tables over. The portions of Italian American entrees were huge – much more than we could eat, but the dark, smoky, exotic restaurant more than met our culinary expectations at that time. We’d learn later what real NYC Italian food meant.

One of the most memorable parts of the trip, though, was our visit to Trader Vic’s, this amazing TIki bar located in the basement of the Plaza Hotel. Trader Vic’s had moved to the Plaza in 1965, seven years after opening at the Savoy-Plaza Hotel.

It was known for its umbrella-laced tropical drinks and its Pu Pu platters – and was a favorite of Larry’s dad and step-mom. We met them there – sharing exotic drinks and a platter – it was so cool. Three years later, a developer by the name of Donald Trump closed Trader Vic’s and added an Oriental restaurant/sports club where people running through Central Park could stop by. Yeah - right.

The end of the story is among the most interesting travel days of my life. Typical thunderstorms hit New York City the afternoon we were flying out – I was heading to Gainesville, Larry to Chicago. My flight was canceled; Larry’s was still scheduled and United wouldn’t let him move his flight to the next morning. Larry literally gave me every dollar he had in his pocket before heading to the gate for his flight.

Me, a NYC novice at best, called around and after finding out that no hotels around the airport were available for the night, called Larry's Dad and hopped a cab to the Bronx – hoping a NYC cabbie could find his way from Queens to a Bronx street I’d never visited. Thankfully, I found a cab driver who in 1986 (still not a safe time in the city) took me under his wing – and together we found our way to the Bronx. And the next day, my sweet father-in-law hired a driver in the wee hours of the morning to get me to LaGuardia to fly back to Gainesville.