I am a long-time fan of Jane Seymour as Dr. Michaela Quinn. I was very young when the series was on, however, I watched both reunion movies when they first aired. And when Dr. Quinn went onto the Hallmark Channel when I was in high school, I made time in my schedule to watch the show. I was so captivated by it and became even more so when the DVDs came out.

I am a member of the Jane Seymour Club and on February 9, 2005, I received the following e-mail: “For any member who happens to be planning on attending the New York Art Expo to see Jane and her paintings on March 5-6th. I have been contacted by Jane's team and she has some free passes to get in on both days. Regular cost is $15.00 per person each day. If you would like to get a free pass, please send me your full name and address ASAP. Also how many people in your party. The passes will be sent out until all are gone.”

After reading that e-mail I just had to try to see Jane Seymour but had no idea how. I live in Pennsylvania and know that New York isn’t terribly far away. I requested passes right away through e-mail and they arrived shortly after.

My problem then was, who to go with? I knew I couldn’t go alone, but that I had to go somehow. After letting my boyfriend think about it for a while, he agreed to go. He’s not a huge Jane Seymour fan, however, he’ll listen to my discussions about her and watch some Dr. Quinn episodes with me. One year, he even bought me a Dr. Quinn photo and sent it to Jane to be autographed! And, he also bought me Somewhere In Time and The New Swiss Family Robinson on DVD.

And to make the situation even better, my parents gave me over $100 to pay for bus tickets, food, and any incidentals while our day spent at New York.

Saturday, March 5, my boyfriend and I bordered a Beiber Bus at 10:15am. Only about ten people were on our bus because we were on the last stop and the prior bus was almost filled. So it was a very roomy and enjoyable ride up. Our bus driver’s name was Greg, and he seemed very nice and helpful.

We arrived at the NY Transit Authority a little before noon. Jane was due for a personal appearance at the Javits Center from 1-4pm. So my boyfriend and I walked over to the Javits Center right away. At first we were very confused as to where we submitted our free VIP passes. Luckily for us, we spent our first date at the Javits Center in 2002, and were somewhat familiar with our surroundings.

One of the first exhibits that caught my eye at first was one with Disney and The Wizard of Oz art. We looked at it a bit, and then walked around some more until it was closer to 1pm. Surprisingly, Jane was there before 1pm and little did we know but her exhibit was right down from the Disney one we visited earlier.

At first I saw Jane and then she bent down signing something. I was in shock at first. I went to my boyfriend, “Look, there’s Jane! There’s Michaela!” And he didn’t see her at first until Jane got back up. So I went to go pull out my camera out of my purse, and one of Jane’s representatives greeted us. We then went to approach Jane, and two women stepped up and talked to her for a little bit. Jane was mentioning how busy she is and also mentioned her family. And then finally I got to meet Jane. I shook her hand and said, “Hi, I’m Tiffany” and boyfriend greeted her as well. I then told Jane, “I am a Michaela Quinn fan” and she replied with a smile, “Oh good.” She then asked if I saw her artwork of Michaela and Sully and went on to talk about it for a while. And at this point I was still in shock with her standing beside me. She looked so beautiful and was talking to me with her accent. And while she was talking, I said how I also liked her Elise & Richard artwork, and she smiled and said something more.

Jane then turned and talked to her representatives. I still had not gotten my picture taken with her, so I just stood there. I didn’t know what to do. I overheard her discussing how she drank some Starbucks. When she turned around again, my boyfriend asked if we could have pictures taken with her. So Jane suggested standing by the Michaela & Sully portrait. So her and I got our picture taken by my boyfriend. And then she talked to some other people while my boyfriend asked one of her representatives to come over and take the three of us. And…. I accidentally stepped on Jane’s toe! Or maybe it was my own foot. Just a little tap by accident, and I said, “Oh, I’m sorry” and she replied nothing back to me. And I then said, “Thank you.” Hopefully my favorite actress isn’t upset with me…

My boyfriend and I then walked around some more and even met Miss New York from the USA Pageant and got our picture taken with her as well. And after we exited the Javits Center, we walked around New York to the St. Patrick’s Cathedral and then went out to lunch before walking back to the Javits Center a little before 4pm. I saw Jane was still there and walked by her stand, and she did look at me. I went back to the Disney stand and took some pictures, but they weren’t as appreciative when it came to picture taking as Jane was. When we left the Javits Center, Jane was no longer there.

We then took the bus home at 5pm and it was totally filled.

Meeting Jane Seymour was memory I will always cherish. She is very nice and I hope doesn’t dislike me for stepping on her toe!