Rianna was joined on her trip by her mother, Kristen, and her grandmother, Sabra. The adventure began with frigid early-morning trip to the airport. Their direct flight from Madison to La Guardia went as planned and they were met at the airport by driver who took them to the hotel. Harper Collins had put them up in the Omni Berkshire, a 4-star hotel in Manhattan near Rockefeller Plaza, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Times Square.
After they got their things settled in their room they took off for a late lunch. They found Mars 2112, a space themed restaurant. The restaurant touts “Mars 2112 is a spectacular mingling of fantasy and reality, a 35,000-square-foot, bi-level, multi-dimensional, immersive environment that catapults travelers to a completely new world.” They enjoyed a few appetizers and rubbed elbows with the aliens.
After their meal they headed to Lord & Taylor for some shopping. Lord & Taylor was the secondary sponsor (Harper Collins Publishing was the primary) of the contest and had awarded a $500 gift certificate for their store as one of the prizes. Lord & Taylor is a fairly high-end clothing store so it would have been very easy to blow through the $500 and then some. But Rianna showed surprising restraint and not only did she not end up spending any her own money she didn't even spend all of the certificate. They ordered a pizza and called it an early night.
The only thing on the schedule for their second day in NYC was a “meet and greet” at the Ford Modeling Agency who claims to be “the leading management company for models and hair and make-up artists globally”. The “meet and greet” was brief but Rianna did have some additional photos taken of her and her measurement were taken and recorded.
The three travelers returned to the hotel to prepare for their afternoon/evening. They walked past the concierge desks to the elevators. They got in one of the elevators and pushed the button for the 12th floor. The doors closed and then...... nothing. They waited briefly before determining that the elevator was stuck. They looked for a phone in the elevator but the little door which normally conceals the phone was locked. They tried the alarm, the frequency and duration of the attempts increased as time passed. They tried pounding on the doors as well. They were stuck on the first floor with one of the concierge desks only about 5 feet away from the elevator but somehow no one hear the buzzing, pounding, and yelling.
They were unable to get cell reception in the elevator but they discovered that text messages were working. Rianna texted a friend in Williams Bay (near Lake Geneva) explaining the situation and asking him to call the front desk. He relayed the message to the front desk clerk who then informed hotel security. The security guard did not physically check the elevator instead deciding to rely on a control panel that showed the elevator status as “normal”.
Another 30 minutes of buzzing, pounding, and yelling was followed by another text message to Williams Bay and another phone call to the front desk. This time, however, the call was transferred directly to security. The security guard listened with skepticism and explained that the panel said that the elevator was working OK. The guard clearly thought the calls were hoaxes.
After more buzzing, pounding, and yelling someone on the second floor heard talking in the elevator and contacted security. So for nearly an hour and a half they ignored calls and no one (including the concierge stationed about 5 feet from the elevator) noticed that one of the elevator's doors had opened. When security finally came to the elevator's doors and yelled in they were surprised when they got a response. They then quickly opened the doors and discovered their screw-up. The hotel manager was quick to the scene and offered a very sincere apology. He made it clear that he wanted to make things right for the three ladies (“in waiting”?). They enjoyed a dinner of Kobe steak and lobster on the house that night.
The third and last day in New York was photo shoot day. The driver picked them up at about 9:30 to head to Jan Cobb's studio. Jan Cobb (“Is not and never was a woman” according to his website) is a well known fashion and beauty photographer. Rianna was joined at the studio by a host of Harper Collins (and one Lord & Taylor) employees. This was the first time that Harper Collins had conducted a cover model contest so it was going to be a new experience for everyone. Preparing Rianna for the photo shoot were Esi (editor), Wendy (publicist), Tanya (fashion stylist), Mumtaz (art director), Rhona (hair and make-up). Lord & Taylor provided all the clothes, shoes, and accessories.
The photo shoot had almost a party atmosphere thanks in part to Jan Cobb's high energy level. Rianna went through 5 costume changes during the 6 hour shoot. Some of the women from HarperCollins had fun trying on some of the shoes that had been selected for Rianna to possibly wear, and everyone was drooling over the table full of accessories.
As the day wore on some of the Harper Collins employees that were there mainly out of curiosity reluctantly returned to their real jobs. Overall the consensus was that the photo shoot was a success.
Unfortunately Carol Alt was not available for the photo shoot but she did call and leave very nice heartfelt messages on Kris' voicemail and e-mail. And she also left a signed copy of her current book for Rianna, her mom, and grandma. She sent Rianna some of her personal skin care line to her dorm in Madison, and has scheduled a phone call with Rianna when Carol is back in New York. It was an amazing experience for all, but especially for Rianna.
Now it's just a waiting game to see the cover results of Carol Alt's new book. Their was talk of inviting Rianna back to New York for the Release Party.
