Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Trip Journal, Day 3: "New York City or Bust"



Friday, June 26, 2009

My wife has never been to New York City. When we first told our daughter we were coming to visit her in Washington DC she suggested we take a week end and the three of us go to New York City and see a Broadway play or two. My wife and I though that was a great idea. Our daughter then made all the arrangements. She got tickets for the Broadway revival of South Pacific, and Mamma Mia. She got our hotel reservations and made reservations on the Bolt bus that runs between Washington DC and New York City.

On Friday morning she had a taxi pick up, the three of us, at her condo and take us to the bus pick up point in downtown DC. We then had a 4 hour trip to New York City. We arrived near Penn Station and then got a taxi to take us to our hotel at the Sheraton New York Towers in the theater district near Times Square and The ED Sullivan Theater where the David Letterman Show is produced. There were a lot of touist everywhere!



We checked into the Sheraton and got a 17 floor room with a great street view. We then took off to see Times Square, where ABC's Good Morning America is broadcast, then on to Rockefeller Center and NBC where Saturday Night Live is produced.



We then went to FOX NEWS my favorite! I looked for Sean Hannity or Bill O'Rilly but could find neither on the street out front. We then walked up to Central Park and walked through a small section of it.



We then walked to the Plaza Hotel where they filmed the end to the Movie "The Way We Were" which is "our movie." It was one of the first movies my wife and I saw when we started to date. We walked across the street, and to our daughters embarrassment, I gave my wife a kiss where Streisand and Redford hugged at the end of the movie. We got a great picture of it but my wife will not let me post it.

Memries,
Like the corners of my mind
Misty water
-colored memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were







We then walked down to Tiffany's and looked in the window Audry Hepburn looked in, in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". We walked into the store and looked around for a short time. As a kid growing up in Coos Bay, Oregon this movie and Audry Hepburn made a big impression on this then adolescent boy. I have a very large poster of her as your walk down the steps to my movie room. We then had a nice dinner at a sidewalk cafe and went back to the hotel to get ready for Mamma Mia. While in the room a big thunder storm hit New York City and it rained just like at the end of "Breakfast at Tiffany's." I could see the yellow taxis down on the wet streets.

Two drifters off to see the world.
There's such a lot of world to see.

From "Moon River"


The Storm ended just in time for us to walk a block or two to the Broadway Theater where we saw the Musical "Mamma Mia." Last Summer we saw the movie at the Cinema Center here in Medford. For Christmas my wife ask for and received the blu ray DVD of the Movie and the entire family watched it at Christmas. The play was well done without the great scenery of the movie. However, the energy of the audience at the Broadway play made up for it. It was obvious that many in the audience had seen the play many times and clapped and sang along. The ending where the cast dresses up like ABBA and sings some songs was outstanding with the audience standing up and swaying to the music. It was electric and a lot of fun.





After the play we walked back to Times Square to see the lights before we headed back to our hotel. A full and fun day in the "Big Apple."