Published: December 23, 2008 10:35 pm            

Friends & Neighbors: Virginia Smith

When Virginia Smith headed to New York City Thanksgiving night for a fun weekend getaway, she had no idea she’d return a TV star.

Smith, 28, keeps a hectic schedule as a pediatric nurse at Peds Care in Dalton and as a wife and mother of three. Several months ago, her friend Jennie Fuquea noticed she could use a break and suggested a trip to New York for just the two of them. Fuquea didn’t burden her with any of the planning, instead choosing to do it all herself — even down to getting directions to each place on their itinerary. All Smith had to do was show up.

Upon arrival, they checked into the Millennium Hotel in the financial district near Wall Street. Their view from the 26th floor overlooked Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 terror attacks. Smith couldn’t get over what she was seeing.

“It was amazing to look at that every morning,” she said. “Other places might have been prettier, but it’s amazing that construction is still going on.”

After a good night’s sleep, they spent their first full day touring Manhattan on a double decker bus. The tour took them all around the island past such landmarks as Greenwich Village, SoHo, Chinatown, the United Nations, Fifth Avenue, Central Park, the Museum of Metropolitan Art, the Apollo Theater and Museum of Natural History. The tour also included a water taxi ride to the Statue of Liberty.

Smith was in awe.

“I was amazed at everything, really impressed with the Statue of Liberty,” she said. “I told myself I wasn’t going to act like a tourist, but the first thing I did when I saw those tall buildings was stand there (with my mouth gaping open).”

The duo wasn’t done after a day ogling skyscrapers. That night they headed on another tour, this time of the Empire State Building, Times Square and across the Brooklyn bridge for a stop in Brooklyn.

Fuquea had the foresight to realize they would need some pampering after all that, so next on the agenda was a day at the Great Jones Spa.

“It looked like something in the movies, just like how you’d picture a New York spa,” Smith said. “We spent hours there having hot towel massages and pedicures. That was the best massage ever.”

The third day was filled with that famous New York pastime — shopping! The duo hit Chinatown first, loading up on handbags as well as jewelry and sunglasses. Next were the flagship stores of Macy’s in Herald Square, Saks Fifth Avenue and Tiffany’s, where Fuquea just had to make a purchase.

“She got her little blue box,” laughed Smith.

From there they walked to Rockefeller Plaza to see the Christmas tree and ice skating. The scene painted a vivid holiday vision.

“There’s nothing like Christmas in New York,” Smith said. “Everything is so pretty.”

On Dec. 1, their last day in the Big Apple, Smith and Fuquea woke early to make that morning’s taping of “Live with Regis and Kelly.” They are both big fans of the show and scored tickets before leaving home. Even with tickets in hand Smith was nervous.

“We were standing outside waiting to go in and they offered everyone bagels, coffee and stuff,” she said. “You could go into the studio and get stuff but I was afraid to leave my spot in line. I was afraid we weren’t going to get in but we didn’t have any problems.”

Their biggest wish was to somehow get the attention of the hosts, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa. Even though their seats were way in the back, during each commercial break they both tried everything they could ... to no avail.

However, their luck was about to change.

The week prior to the trip, Smith’s sister Marie Bone had gone into preterm labor, leaving Smith worried. Unknown to her, her mother — who was home watching the show — dashed off an e-mail to Regis and Kelly asking them to relay a message to her daughter that the baby hadn’t arrived yet. During the last segment, Ripa read the e-mail on the air and asked Smith and Fuquea to stand up. Suddenly the eyes of America were on them.

“I freaked,” said Smith. “We started yelling ‘Hey, we love you guys! We love your show!’ and waving. I’ve watched it once and I look like an idiot. It was the perfect ending to the perfect trip.”

That afternoon after they got off the plane at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, a fellow passenger approached and asked, “Weren’t y’all on ‘Regis and Kelly’ this morning?”

The friends just grinned. They were famous — if only for a day.

        

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