So, Mom and I went into New York today to visit the Titanic Artifact Exhibition. This is, not surprisingly, an exhibit of actual pieces salvaged from the ocean floor. Jewelry, dinnerware, ship’s whistles. Eyeglasses. Cosmetic cases. Watches. Wallets. A pair of shoes. The compass from the bridge. Money. Letters, stamps. A sink from a first class cabin. Along with these real items, there are some set pieces–a replica of a third class cabin, or a section of a first class cabin. A hallway set up to look like one of the real ones.

When you get there, you get a boarding pass for the trip.

On the back is the name and details of one of the passengers. My boarding pass belonged to Nora Hogarty, an 18-year old on her way to becoming a nun. Mom’s was a Catherine Jenson, mother of two.

When you get to the end of the exhibit, they have a list of who lived, who died, and sadly, Nora didn’t make it. (Mrs. Jenson did, though she suffered from TB, so who knows how long she lived afterward.)

Also at the Discovery Times Square location was an exhibit for “Leonardo Da Vinci’s Workshop,” which was fascinating. Pages from his notebooks, sketches, preliminary work for some of his paintings. But, even better? 3-D models of some of his most ingenious inventions. A Robot Soldier, for heaven’s sake. A mechanical Lion designed to walk up to the King of France and present him a gift. A mechanical kite designed for men to fly. All very, very cool. I wanted to play with all of them! But, unfortunately they had “Do Not Touch” signs all over the place. They did have interactive touch-screen computer models, though so you could see how it all fit together, get closer looks at some of his masterpieces like the Mona Lisa–including a representation of what the colors probably looked like before they faded with age. Very, very fun.

And, here, see? Proof that I was in Times Square. (That’s the Army recruitment booth there on the right, with a facsimile of the US flag in lights.) But, see that Pepsi 2010 add?

I’m not crazy for seeing the name of my favorite little boy there, am I?

While we were walking through Times Square, looking for someplace for lunch, we were stopped by these two lovely ladies. The one on the left, Catherine Birndorf, has a book coming out (co-written with Lucy Danziger), and they were asking people if they could ask a few questions for a book trailer they’re working on. How nifty is that?

The book is called “The Nine Rooms of Happiness: Loving Yourself, Finding Your Purpose, and Getting Over Life’s Little Imperfections,” and is a guide to helping women deal with the inbalances in their lives. Or, well, something like that. It’s hard to get a clear description while standing on a street corner, but the idea is that we each have metaphorical emotional rooms, Living room for socializing, Family room for family, the basement which is under everything and stands for our past … all that … and that sometimes even when you think you’re focused on one “room,” you may be stuck in another, one that’s throwing your balance off.

Anyway, they were both very nice, and we enjoyed chatting with them. They seemed to like Mom and me, too, which is always a good thing.

Anyway, we took the train in from Penn station. Dad had dropped us off at the station this morning, which is good, because the train is my favorite way to get into the city. (For the many times I GO into the city, of course.) True, taking a bus directly to Port Authority would have been closer, but it’s not like it was THAT long a walk. Luckily, it wasn’t freezing cold, either. Not yet snowing. Not windy (thankfully). It was just … normally cold, so the walk was perfectly reasonable.

And, as usual, somebody stopped me to ask for directions. It’s uncanny, but it happens almost every time. I’m told that I have a distinctive walk, determined, like I know exactly where I am and where I’m going. When I spent a semester in London in college, I had somebody ask me for directions there on my first day there (and yes, I actually knew the answer). I find it intriguing.

Or maybe it’s just my eye-catching orange hat? It’s proof that I was there, though, and taken by Mom, while we were playing “catch me if you can” with her and her camera on one side of this pole, and me on the other. She finally said, “Oh, just peek around,” so I did. She did the same for me to take her picture, but like just about every picture of her these days, she HATES it (sigh). (Honestly, we all understand about good and bad photos, but she hates even the good ones.) But, anyway, I’m not posting it because I want her to continue speaking to me. She was definitely there, though.

Oh, and as usual, the train ride was great for my sock knitting. This sock? I finished turning the heel last night and was literally two rows past the heel when I got on the train … and now look. That’s about half a leg, there! So, yay for me.

Okay, I should go spend some time with my boy. He really missed me today. Dad reports that he spent most of the day sitting by the garage door, instead of hanging out downstairs with Dad, or curled up on his pillow like usual. He even convinced Dad to take him to the train station to pick us up. Such a happy tail! He was sooooo glad to see us, and he has kept close to me ever since. Poor guy … he hates it when his family is unaccounted for.

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