My First Celebrity Sighting Here

Richard and I shared some fabulous blueberry pancakes for breakfast at a nearby diner before he went off to work. The restaurant was virtually empty, just one other customer besides us. The owner or manager was speaking another language, possibly Russian, to a cab driver who hung around for quite a while. I felt like were were unwittingly in a mafia hang out, but halfway through our meal they switched to English (as if they sensed my concern) and I heard the cab driver telling the owner or manager about a TV game show. He seemed to tell the same story over and over again, as if he was fascinated about the possibility of a person winning a car on the game show. It was odd.

I reluctantly (because my legs are so white) put on shorts to go for a walk along the path beside the Hudson River. I walked to Chelsea Piers, which is 1.2 miles from our apartment. It is a 28-acre sports and entertainment complex, with a golf club, fitness center, and even an ice rink! I'm so glad I brought my ice skates and Alli, a former figure skater, will be super happy! Shortly after getting onto the path, I had to cross the area where people were getting off of a boat that must come from another borough. They didn't look like tourists, but like people were on their way to work. The mass of people came out through glass doors and rushed onto waiting buses. I did my best to weave my way through the crowd and was relieved when I got past that area. There are trees, grass, and flowering bushes along the path. I saw a few homeless people sleeping on benches, but they weren't antagonistic or trying to get any attention at all. Parallel to the walking path, there's a bike path. There were many more bicyclists than walkers, including men and women in business clothes. People talk about how dirty the city is, and I agree that the subway tunnels are filthy, but I find the streets pretty clean. I only saw one discarded coffee cup on the path and when I'm walking around my neighborhood in the early morning hours, there are always shop keepers hosing down the area in front of their shops.

When Richard got off work, he came home to change clothes, then we went in search of a new place to have dinner. We walked for a few blocks, and when we walked past one particular restaurant with al fresco dining, we first smelled a pleasant aroma, like steak on a grill, and then saw appealing food on people's plates, so we stopped there. The place is called 44 & X and it serves classic American cuisine. There was great people watching from our table. There were two nicely dressed women at the table next to us. I picked up only a few key words from their conversation (year-round schedule and conference) and decided they must be teachers, so I made a point to see what they were wearing. I'm stressing out about not wanting to look like a tourist, but to instead look like a real New Yorker. Alli made me give away 3/4 of my wardrobe before moving here because it was all too "Mom-ish." One of the women was wearing a nice summer dress with sandals and the other was wearing white slacks, a 3/4 length blouse and heels. I've noticed that most of the women I see on the streets are wearing flats, even with dresses and business attire. I have not seen many heels. They either don't wear them, or they change into them once they arrive at the office. As we were finishing our meal, I glanced up and noticed a familiar face walking toward the front door of the restaurant, which was over Richard's shoulder. It was Will Ferrell!! He was wearing a bright red tee shirt under a sports coat. He and his wife entered the restaurant, then were seated at a table right behind Richard. We were outside, and Will and his wife were inside, so there was glass between us. They must have known the waiter because he hugged both Will and his wife and he stayed and talked with them for 15 minutes. No other diners bothered Will. I was dying to have my picture taken with him, but I didn't think it was appropriate. He's the first celebrity I've seen since being in New York, but not my first celebrity sighting. When we lived in Big Timber, Montana, I saw two celebrities: Meg Ryan and Michael Keaton. The Paradise Valley is a popular place for celebrities to have homes. Ted Turner owns and house and lots of land up there, as well as Dennis Quaid (Meg was married to him at the time), Whoopie Goldberg, Brooke Shields and many others. When I worked at Cinnabar Creek, a gift shop with a coffee bar in Big Timber, I made a latte for Michael Keaton. It was a plain latte with one Splenda, which is what I've been drinking ever since. It was difficult to play it cool but I think it would be scary to have some crazed fan in your face, so I didn't/won't go there. I tried not to watch what Will was doing, so I did quick glances and tried to keep my cell phone out of sight. When I saw Meg Ryan, I was sitting in the passenger seat of Richard's Suburban in front of what used to be Cole Drug in Big Timber, waiting for a family member to get something from the store. Meg walked out of the drug store and stood right in front of the Suburban, talking on her cell phone. I was on my cell phone, too, telling someone about seeing her. She kept looking at me, with a look that said,"don't you dare tell anyone you see me" so I tried not to look up too often. That incident is what made me reluctant to bother Will Ferrell. Seeing him was the highlight of my night--picture or no picture!