Two Month Update

So I did see Bye Bye Birdie at the Stadium Theatre with Fabi. It was ok...I prefer the movie. They didn't do the title song, Bye Bye Birdie, which is the whole point of the show. I did see my friend Kat, which was nice! :) August 30 Kristin and I went back to NYC to see Cabaret. I spent the morning at Governor's Island again, to see the new hammock grove, playground, food court, and walking path(which was AWESOME!! Great views of the Statue of Liberty from this new section!) and I was hoping to go to Surprise House, but it didn't open until 2, and I had to be back for Cabaret. Maybe next year! Cabaret was awesome!! Alan Cumming is truly the man...he needs to be the only MC ever! Michelle Williams as Sally Bowles I was not thrilled with at all. I liked her as Jen on Dawson's Creek, but I do not like her portrayal of Sally at all. Sept 1 was Labor Day, and it was so hot out! My friend Tony and I went up to Boston, to the aquarium(I don't see much of a difference with the new renovations...to me, the $24 entrance price is hefty!) We walked around by the Harbor too. A nice day! Sept 5 I left for my cruise! I went to Montreal, and explored Montreal for the day. We found the Science Centre, which was free(thank god!) with my Boston Museum of Science pass...I would have been upset if I had had to pay, as it wasn't that great a museum. We also went to a farmer's market. We were excited to find a Ben and Jerry's! Sept 6 we boarded our boat, and set sail along the St Lawrence River for Quebec City! Our show that evening was a taste of all the performances we could see on the ship. They also gave us a sail away BBQ, which was great! I also won a bottle of champagne in one of the boat raffles. Sept 7 was Quebec City, and we went to St Anne de Beaupre Cathedral, which was a beautiful cathedral with carved pews, portraits, mosaics...it is also the church of miracles, so there are two columns of crutches, where people who needed them came to that church, prayed, and left not needing them. We also drove around the back roads looking at old houses, root cellars, and bread ovens. Then, we went to Montmorency Falls, which is a higher Waterfall than Niagara, (but Niagara is prettier, in my opinion!) After our tour we walked around the city, went to another farmer's market, where we had delicious gelato and bought maple syrup. We also took the funicular up to where Chateau Frontenac, the world's most photographed hotel, is. At night we had a guest piano man, Ryan Ahern, perform for us. He was fantastic! This evening, I won a bracelet in one of the raffles! Sept 8 was our day at sea, we saw a lecture on the Halifax Explosion of 1917, which I had known the bare minimum about-namely, Halifax had an explosion, Boston rushed to their aid, and as thank you, Halifax gives us our Christmas Tree in the Common every year. There was a bit more to it...back in WWI Halifax closed its harbor at 7pm every night. Any boats outside had to wait til the next morning. Well, one of the boats was carrying explosives. It was not labeled. The next morning, the harbor opened, and it was foggy, as Halifax is known to fog. a boat in the harbor was coming out, the boat with explosives came in, they didn't see each other til the last minute, and collided. The crew on the non-explosive boat all perished, while the crew on the boat with explosives survived because they jumped ship before the crash. The crash spread through Halifax, sending glass flying everywhere. There were 2000 casualties, and many many people who were left blind due to the flying glass. A telegrapher sent one final warning message out to incoming trains, warning them to stay away due to the crash. He lost his life, but saved hundreds of others, making him a hero! Boston came to assist right away, and the rest, obviously, led to why we now get a tree from them yearly. Haunting story. Our entertainment that night was Bob Mackie's Broadway, which of course, was my favorite of all the shows! Sept 9 we arrive in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. I LOVED PEI!! It was reminiscent of Martha's Vineyard, small, charming, seasonal. We had COWS Ice cream there, which was easily the best ice cream in Canada, true to their claim! We saw Anne and Gilbert, the musical, which is Canada's longest running musical. I expected it to be cute at best, but it was really, really good! Based on Anne of Green Gables, which is popular there, as it took place on PEI. Our entertainment that night was a comedian who was very funny! His shtick was joking about things that are real, which made it funnier! Sept 10 was Sydney, Canada. Sydney was also charming, but not much to do. We walked around the town, and realized everything was in the building outside of our boat! It is also home of the giant ciedleh fiddle. The fiddle is HUGE! 9 years old, built of steel, can actually be played, but they pipe music through it. Also inside were a farmers market, a craft show, a lighthouse which doubled as a theatre about the giant fiddle, a museum, and The Spirit of the Fiddle, which is an awesome show filled with Irish music with Cape Breton Island influence! They gave us a poutine bar on the boat that day! I loved poutine! Our show that night was supposed to be a fiddler, but they missed the boat...so we had a newly weds type game, which was really funny! Also that night was the Indonesian Crew show, which was pretty cool to see different cultural dances and songs! Sept 11 was Halifax, Canada...the day I'd been waiting for! I was excited for the Maritime Museum, which had the most extensive collection of authentic Titanic memorabilia! It didn't disappoint, either! The rest of the museum featured model ships, and other ships that had sunk as well. It also had life size models of famous figures from the War of 1812, and a parrot, Pierre, that spoke mostly French, but could ask me for a cracker in perfect English! We also went on a Duck tour of Halifax, which took us by the Citadel, around the city, and of course in the harbor by the Pier where our boat was docked and the Halifax explosion took place. After that we walked by the Harbor, shopped at a farmers market, and then boarded the boat for cupcake tea. Our show that night was a rock n roll/country show. Sept 12 was Bar Harbor, ME...back in the States! We had to take a tender to Bar Harbor, and then we took Oli's Trolley through Acadia Nat'l Park, which was beautiful! We stopped at Cadillac Mountain, another area where there were gardens, and Thunder Hole. It was such a gorgeous day! After that we walked around the town, cute shops, again, very Martha's Vineyard-esque! We will definitely be going back to ME! This was our last night on the ship. The show we had was Dancing With The Stars, where regular people learned to dance with the show staff, and the best one went on the next round, which is a big competition with all the boat winners at the end of the year. It was really fun to watch!! Sept 13 we arrive back in Boston! It was nice to arrive in my own state, with no stress of flights! I was tired, but far less tired than I would have been had I flown! I went to my friend Shirley's house at night to hang out and see people who weren't 85+!! (On Holland America, they tend to cater to the very elderly population!) Sept 21 was NYC! Kristin and I went in for the Broadway Flea Market, which was fabulous, as always! I spent $35 and got a lot of books, and of course my snow globe, and some pins. I also did lottery and won $37 tix to see Hedwig and the Angry Inch, with Andrew Rannells...who was better than Neil Patrick Harris, in my opinion!! 12 rows from the front also made a HUGE difference, compared to the back of the theatre, where I saw Neil!! Now it is October...October 4 I saw My Fair Lady at Ocean State Theatre, which was FANTASTIC! I would see another show there, def!! Upcoming events include Awesome 80's Prom at the Stadium Theatre with Leah on Oct 10, Salem with Alaina on Oct 11, NYC with Fabi on Oct 18, a benefit for my friend Andrea AND a baby shower for my friend Christina on Oct 25, a wedding for my friend Caity on Nov 1, and RI comic con on Nov 2. Hoping to go back to NYC 2 more times before the year is up, maybe a Wednesday day trip, and Dec 20(weather permitting!) Also planned are the Cape symphony on Dec 5, FL on Dec 13-15, and some shows at PPAC scattered in!

Super Update

Hello! So it has been over a year since I've last updated...life has been so crazy and busy! Lets do a quick recap! So since the 5.8.13 Sox game, the Sox (obviously) won the 2013 World Series! Of course, I was at their parade! But more on that later. In May I saw Stomp for Leah's Birthday at PPAC, and in Boston Alaina and I went to see In The Heights, by the Speakeasy Stage Company in Boston(had never seen that group before, and I was impressed!) So in June, I went to Block Island in RI for the first time with my friend Jes. We were not impressed, and do not get the hype. My friend Alaina and I participated in the Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl, which was fun. For just $10, it was all you could eat ice cream from about 20 different venues. I ate 13 cups of ice cream, she ate 16. Not bad, considering we went for a HUGE lunch before hand! I saw War Horse at PPac, which I surprisingly liked, and Kristin had her annual Tony Party in June, with Kinky Boots being crowned Best New Musical of 2013. Alaina and I dressed up as Elder Cunningham and Elder Price from Book of Mormon...cuz you know, rule 72 states you can not leave your mission companion! I saw Billy Elliot for the first time at the Bushnell theater in CT with Sarah, and LOVED it...Oh Sir Elton John, you do create wonderful musicals! I am sorry I boycotted this one for awhile...lesson learned! I also went to the Boston Children's Museum for the first time since I was 10, with Leah and her son, Kason. It was fun! I really enjoyed reliving my childhood! July brought me to another Sox game on July 2, plenty of fireworks, both at Mccoy Stadium and at Pierce Field, for the 4th, Back to Governor's Island in NYC to see my beloved Figment with Jes, (and this year they had vintage amusement park rides, which were awesome!) We saw Rock of Ages at night, and Jes found one of the guitar picks they throw out at the audience, and let me have it! We also went to Art of the Brick, which was an INCREDIBLE lego exhibit at Discovery Center Times Square. My Auntie Rea celebrated her 95th Birthday on July 14!! Imagine...95 years old! I visited Colt State Park several times this summer, and Boston many more times-including Boston's Figment-which doesn't impress me as much as NYC's, and something called Outside the Box, which was more art, performance art, street art, and free concerts-Including the Mighty Mighty Bosstones! I look forward to 2015's Outside the Box! I went to the WWII Memorial Park in North Attleboro, which had a little zoo. It was free, not super impressive, but had more animals than Slater Park! I also visited Fort Wetherell, which is an abandoned fort in Jamestown, and even scaled the cliffs to get down to the breathtaking water views...Me...scaling cliffs...Jes and Justin at their best lol It took some coercing, but they got me down there in one piece! Will I do it again? Not on your life! But I am glad I did it!! We also went to Beavertail in Jamestown, right on the water...the breaker rocks I am much more comfortable with! I'd go back there! :) August brought my annual trip to Martha's Vineyard, which was beautiful as always! Buttonwood Zoo with Brandon was fun, even though it was in the rain! Trinity Rep Celebrated 50 years, and had a Block Party, which was really fun, complete with performances, both inside the theater and out, food, costumes, walking tours of behind the scenes...nothing was off limits! Definitely a fun experience, one I am glad I got to enjoy! Went to Water Wizz for the first time in years, it was fun but definitely lost something since my childhood! I went to see Dropkick Murphys at the Newport Celtic Rock Festival, which was fun! Hung out with my friend Brigid and her son, and DKM were awesome! The end of August brought another Boston Adventure, with the Stone Zoo(They had a koala on loan, I HAD to see him!)not to mention the beautiful, upclose Jaguar!! and Shake Shack in Newton after that! I also started nursing school in August(but learned it wasn't for me after the first semester!) September I was back in NYC for the Broadway Flea Market, where I scored 25 tshirts for $12, my snowglobe of course, amongst other things! I also saw First Date as my matinee...SUCH a great show!! Very applicable to my life! lol October brought a Salem Adventure with Alaina, where we did the Salem Vintage Photos I love so much! The Jack O Lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Zoo, and of course my NYC bday trip with Pam...we saw How 2 B A New Yorker, and Big Fish, both which were fantastic, and spent the rest of the day at various stores and in Central Park! November the Sox had their World Series parade, and of course I was in my spot at Copley, and wormed my way right to the front! DKM were also in the parade as always! Afterwards Brandon and I met up and walked around Boston, to Fenway in time to watch the players drive away, and then to BU as he wanted to check it out. Later in November we also went back to Boston for the opening of the new Hall of Human Life exhibit at the Museum of Science, and to the Frost Ice Bar in Faneuil Hall...that was an experience! I would go back...it was fun. The whole room was made of ice-tables, benches, even the glasses you drank from! They give you big parkas to wear. Definitely something to see! And they change the decor in there as well! The end of November brought my first visit of the Christmas season to La Salette Shrine for the lights! December I went to the Cape Codder for the Enchanted Village, and saw the Cape Pops perform their Christmas concert. I went to the Taunton Christmas Parade for the first time since Ray graduated, and it was nice to see it again! We went to Sea World Orlando and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom on a Mini-Vacation. Right before Christmas, I did my annual New York at Christmas trip...I went with Jes, Kristin went with her brother, Kevin. We all met up for lunch at Serendipity 3! Jes and I went to the NY Botanical Gardens for the Christmas Train Show, something I had always wanted to do! It was awesome! The day was amazing, too...something like 64 degrees! On Dec 21!! We saw Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder at night...something I'd heard nothing but raves about so I took a chance...and HYSTERICAL! We were 2 rows from the front! (Good thing we saw it then, as it went on to win Best New Musical in 2014! Now tix are untouchable!) Finally, to end the year, Mandi and I went up to Boston for First Night, where we basically walked around looking at ice sculptures and doing First Night Figment, which had an awesome fire skeeball, and then eating ice cream while watching fireworks on the Harbor. A fun night! Hello 2014! Winter brought one of the coldest, snowiest winters ever. January I still managed to snag tickets to Wicked, winning the lottery at PPAC with Kristin, saw Working, a musical collaboration with Stephen Schwartz and Lin-Manuel Miranda up in Boston on a very snowy day with Alaina, managed a NYC trip to see Matilda with Kristin, and finally, got Rock of Ages tickets at PPAC with Holly! Not bad for a bad winter! February was uneventful, as it was too bad to go anywhere. March, however, I was back in business! Back to NYC with Kristin to see Bullets Over Broadway, which was hilarious and I loved it! A true Broadway show, and I got to meet Zach Braff after :) We also went to see the Beatles Exhibit at Lincoln Center. It was(FINALLY!) warm enough to go walking around Providence, go to the RISD Museum, and even a trip to Colt State Park! We also celebrated my cousin Heidi's 26th Birthday at Spumoni's with the entire family, and Alaina and I went up to Concord, went to the Old Schwamb Mill where we got a free tour, checked out a farmer's market, ate at Fuddruckers, went to Walden Pond and the Author's Cemetery, Saw Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and ended the day at Jordan's Furniture in Reading for Beantown, USA, Trapeze School, and Liquid Fireworks, then popped over to Natick for Jordan's Furniture New Orleans show! April was long coming after this winter! As a family we went up to the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, which was cute, and then we went to the National Seashore, and saw some lighthouses.We also went to Ptown, and walked around in Hyannis at the Harbor. A beautiful weekend at the Cape! For my mom's Birthday, I took her to see Stars On Ice, featuring Olympians Charlie White and Meryl Davis, amongst others. Jes and I saw Rockapella perform at the Stadium Theater in Woonsocket, and they were fantastic! Ending April took me back to NYC, where I thought I was seeing the Rockettes' Spring show, Forbidden Broadway, and Rocky the Musical. Upon arriving in NYC, on this torrentially raining day, I learned the Rockettes' show was NOT going on as expected, they had cancelled it for a year. I got refunded my money and was trying to figure out what to do with my newly opened time. I decided walking in the rain was fun, so I headed up towards Dylan's Candy Bar, with the intent of going to Roosevelt Island. I stopped at FAO Scwhartz, to dry off and check out the Lego exhibits and other things. It was nice with no people! Finally got to the Roosevelt Island tram, which was fun to take over the city! Roosevelt Island itself, however, looked like Manhattan. Was disappointed, so took the tram back, stopping in at Dylans to dry off this time, and began talking to one of the workers there who told me about the show he was currently in(Tony and Tina's Wedding) until it was time to head to Forbidden Broadway. I arrive at Forbidden Broadway with ten minutes to spare...and the doors are locked. What?? I make a split decision and head up to Les Miserables, and managed to snag $30 seats...6 rows from the front! I FINALLY dry off completely during the 3 hours I am in Les Mis...only to go outside to a continual downpour...soaked again! I had some time to kill before meeting my friend Jenny for dinner, so I popped into the Tony Pop-up store across the street and plot what I want to buy in the future. I meet Jenny for dinner, dry off some more while having great company, and then head back in the rain to Rocky. I wasn't excited for Rocky initially, but the show surprised me! I loved it, especially how the ring was literally IN the audience at the end! I headed home drenched, but happy! May...so many things happened in May! First, we had our mini cruise to Canada from San Francisco! We almost didnt make it over, but somehow things worked out! we left from San Francisco, and headed for our first port, Astoria OR. But we ended up with a day at sea, because the boat couldnt pull in to Astoria. Bummed, but I had fun on board, watching movies and playing trivia games as well as whale watching-even saw some orca spouts! Our next port was Nanaimo, which was beautiful, a quaint seaside city! We had a walking tour, and tried the Famous Nanaimo Bar-def recommend!! Our final day was Vancouver, where we had some time to kill and rode the Vancouver Skyride which was like Disney's Soarin! The end of May, Kristin and I went back to NYC and saw Violet, with Sutton Foster, which we were initially excited for...but then found extremely boring! We also ate lunch with Jenny at Serendipity 3. I was supposed to see Forbidden Broadway as my makeup day, but wouldn't you know...the theater lost power that day! Unreal, right?? So I had to reschedule YET AGAIN!! I did go on The Ride in NYC...which was fun--and covered as it was raining AGAIN...but I didn't really learn anything I didn't know. Great for tourists, though! The day after was my friend Shirley's husband Mark's surprise 30th bday which was Ghostbuster themed, and fun! :) The end of May was our annual NYC weekend, which was with Kristin, Jes, and I! We arrived on a Thursday, after an hour train delay at New Haven. We dropped our stuff off at our hotel and went on our way to use our New York Pass! First was getting tickets to the Clipper Ship Cruise for later in the afternoon. Then we went over to Ellis Island, but we were disappointed, it wasnt what we remembered as kids! We left early, and headed to the Jewish Museum, which was AWESOME...but we had to leave before we were done to make the Clipper Ship! The ship was a relaxing ride(for us...for everyone else it was essentially a booze cruise) around the Hudson, seeing downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Bridge, Governor's Island, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. After that, we headed back to the hotel to get our bags to our room, relax for a few, then grabbed dinner at Cosi and saw our first show of the evening, Aladdin! Aladdin on Broadway was phenomenal, and James Monroe Iglehart as the Genie definitely stole the show! After Aladdin, we went to Rockefeller for Top of the Rock, which had beautiful night views! Yes, all in one day! Tired yet?? Friday we woke up early for Our Walkin Broadway Tour at 930. It was a fun tour with stops at various theaters with some information about shows, cast members, and the theaters themselves. There was some clips from shows being played on our headsets also. After that, we headed down to the Piers for the Full Island Circle Line Cruise, which was a 3 hour leisure cruise filled with information about the entire Island of Manhattan...which is the only way I will ever go to some places...such as the Bronx and Harlem! I absolutely loved this cruise. I recommend it for anyone visiting NYC for the first time...we had it on the NY Pass, but it's worth the price ticket! After that, we went on the Inside Broadway Tour, which was almost identical to the Walkin Broadway tour, but we didn't pay for it! Thank god for the pass, because I would have been upset if we had paid for essentially the same tour as the morning! After the tour, we headed to Buca di Beppo, which was ALSO on the NY Pass...Buca is a restaurant where they serve "family style" food...Jes and I split spaghetti and meatballs...and we ended up paying only $3 TOTAL...bc with the pass, Buca took $10 off your meal...PER PERSON! After dinner, Jes and I went to see the Accidental Pervert off Broadway--which was HILARIOUS! I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time! and Kristin went to see Rocky. After, Jes and I headed back uptown to do the Skyride(which is in the Empire State Building, and NOT anything like Disney's Soarin, or Vancouver's Skyride! I do NOT recommend seeing this UNLESS it is on the NY Pass... the ticket price is at a ridiculous $42 for a motion sim ride that hasnt been updated since 1995!) After that we went to the top of the Empire State Building, which essentially was the same views as Top of the Rock...I think we should have done one during the day, but maybe next time! On our way back, we stopped at Junior's Cheesecake...and then we saw a huge crowd outside the Richard Rodgers...it was IDINA!!! I managed to get a great pic of her, but no autograph, sadly! But I am happy with a pic! At this point you would think we are exhausted...and done...right? Nope. Enter Saturday!! Saturday we started the day with Serendipity 3, then headed down to see If/Then with Idina Menzel! I LOVED If/Then...don't know why it wasn't nominated for a Tony! I think we are all in consensus that If/Then was our fave show of the weekend! After If/Then Jes and I went to see 50 Shades The Musical Parody, which was funny as hell, and then we met back up with Kristin to see Hedwig and the Angry Inch with Neil Patrick Harris...who was superb! The show was fantastic! We didnt get to meet Neil, sadly, but I am glad we got to see him! Then we went home. 9 attractions(10 if you include Buca) and 5 shows in three days! Exhausting but fun! What a May!! June started out with a visit to the Museum of Science with Shirley and Nikki for the Grossology Exhibit which was fun! We also went to Terrorcon at the Convention Center. Jes and I went up to Salem and Gloucester, for the Hammond Castle(Very cool!) The Toy Museum(it has since closed, sadly, bc it was awesome!), the Peabody Essex Museum, and Salem WIllows(which didn't impress me much...except for the sunset!) We also went to Jordan's in Reading, for Beantown USA and Trapeze school and Liquid fireworks...and I finally got to try the ice cream in there which was great! June also had a visit to the Roger Williams Zoo and Colt State Park, and my first visit to the Bronx Zoo(via bus trip!) I really liked the Bronx Zoo...its HUGE though and I didn't get to see everything! But I enjoyed what I saw...I can only go by bus trip though, as I can't get there myself in NYC...not without taking busses and that isn't happening! To end June, was my cousin Heidi's Bridal Shower at Country Gardens in Rehoboth...a Beautiful venue! It was a hectic but fun month! July...July started out great-Went to Craigville Beach for the sunset and to Four Seas for my favorite ice cream ever! Went back to NYC with my friend Melonie for Governor's Island and Figment, which we sadly didnt have a lot of time as we decided to rush Holler If You Hear Me, the Tupac musical, which sadly closed...we had front row seats and though I liked the show, I knew it's shelf life was very limited...and sure enough it closed the following week. I FINALLY got to see Forbidden Broadway, and THAT was closing the week after as well...and because he felt bad that I tried for Forbidden Broadway TWICE and couldnt see it through no fault of my own, he gave Melonie a comp ticket too! We also went to the Avengers exhibit at Discovery Center Times Square. I went walking with Shirley, Nikki, Heather, and her daughter Lily, at Borderland, which was fun. The following weekend was my friend Shirley's Surprise 40th birthday, and I had volunteered to take her. That went well, as she was not expecting it from me :) She had a nice party. But that same day, I received terrible news. My Uncle Danny, father to Heidi, who was getting married in just three weeks, had passed away. Heart Attack. That week was extremely painful...with his wake and his funeral. My heart goes out to my cousins, and his poor girlfriend, Nella. My family collaborated with a poem for him, which I will post as a separate post. After all that, I ended the month with Fabi, seeing 13 the Musical at the Stadium Theater(because we had purchased tickets way back in March.) August...what a crazy month this has been!! I took Heidi for a pedicure as a pre-wedding present, which was fun to have some cousin bonding! Our family from California came in on August 5th. August 6th was the wedding rehearsal...and my orientation during the day at Bridgewater State University, where I am entering in Sept as a senior in the Health Management field...I am very excited about this, more so than I was for nursing! Heidi's wedding rehearsal went well, it was beautiful at Ocean Cliff right by the water in Newport! Afterwards, we all had a buffet dinner at a nearby pizza place and watched the slideshow of Heidi and Fabio that she had made. (Fabio is from Verona, Italy! He had 20 people fly in for his wedding, which was incredible!) The next day started out beautiful, my family and Nella and I all took a Gansett Harbor Cruise around Newport before the wedding. We went back to the hotel where my aunt and grandma were staying, and changed into our clothes for the wedding after. We were scheduled to take a 330 Trolley to Ocean Cliff. As we were waiting for the trolley, it started to torrentially rain. There were about 24 of us waiting for the trolley. The trolley was also late. But it finally arrived, (since the groom was with us, the wedding couldn't go on anyway with out him!) Thankfully, when we got there, it had cleared up enough that the wedding could go on, outside! The harpist played beautifully, and the ceremony was nice, especially the sand ritual the parents of Heidi and Fabio did, to symbolize the joining of our families. I never had any doubt that Fabio wasn't going to be part of our family! His family and friends are lovely, as well! The reception was fun, and their cake was adorable! It ended up being a great day! The following Saturday we had a huge BBQ with the pool for my family and Fabio and his parents. It was a nice day, followed by Waterfire. Then, my cousins from Cali had to go back home, sadly. I wish they could have stayed longer! My aunt and uncle are still here, until Tuesday the 19th. Today, August 16, I am seeing Bye, Bye Birdie at the Stadium Theater, and hopefully seeing my friend Kat at her restaurant. So that is my (extremely long!) Update! Upcoming are The Irish Rovers Concert next Friday, Newport Celtic Rock Festival for Gaelic Storm next Saturday with whale watching before that, NYC Aug 30 for Cabaret, maybe a Cape trip in the middle for Martha's Vineyard, and then in Sept we are going on a 7 day cruise to the other side of Canada--Montreal, Quebec City, Prince Edward Island, Sydney, Halifax, Bar Harbor, ME, and then in Boston. Sept 21 I will be in NYC for the Broadway Flea Market! And that is far as the crazy goes, so far! I promise to keep this updated more regularly!

NYC How I Missed You So! 4.19-4.21.13

This was Kristin's and my NYC weekend! It had been a long winter, as I'd mentioned, and I had missed the city. This weekend was a bit surreal, as earlier this week at the Boston Marathon, there was a now-infamous bombing that occurred, killing four people, and seriously injuring hundreds more. While I was in NYC one of the brothers involved in the bombing was killed(thank god!) and the other brother was found, and is now locked in a prison hospital.(Was excited when they finally captured him!) In the wake of the tragedy that happened, I went to NYC proudly rocking my Sox gear, Boston pride...which normally I would never wear in NYC because I know better. Going to NYC was an experience. We took the train from New Haven as always, and not long after we had gotten on, we were stopped at a station for about 45 mins-an hour. We had no idea what was going on, finally found out that the Boston bombers were thought to have boarded an Amtrak train up ahead of us that was heading to NYC. Pretty scary to look out your window and see police officers with machine guns walking back and forth. Finally we get to NYC, and as I am walking out of Grand Central Terminal, my sandal breaks. Unreal. Luckily, there is a Modells across the street from Grand Central. $25 and a new pair of flip flops later, we were on our way. We stayed at the Mayfair Hotel, where we stayed last year. We dropped off our stuff and headed for the subway, where we went to Brooklyn(first time ever!) We went to the Botanical Garden, which was nice. Then we got lost and ended up walking all over the city til we found a subway. We ended up eating at a place called La Defense, which had amazing red velvet cake. After La Defense, we walked back to Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge, which was fun, and great views of the city! My evening show that night was the AMAZING Pippin! Pippin was delightful, incorporating a circus and acrobatics, with all the actors doing their own stunts! Pippin is the story of a guy who was trying to find his place in the world. It's a magical show that should not be missed! Patina Miller is the Leading Player, Andrea Martin is the Grandmother(Berthe), Terrence Mann is the king(Pippin's father), and Matthew James Thomas is Pippin. The doorman at Pippin teased me about my Sox hoodie, but immediately stopped when he found out I was from Massachusetts, and apologized. Saturday we started the day snagging my rush matinee ticket to Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, and then went to Serendipity 3 for early lunch and frozen hot chocolate. After Serendipity, we went to Dylan's Candy Bar(my fave candy place!) After Dylan's we walked back for our matinees. I was seeing Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, as Id mentioned. The story of siblings Vanya and Sonya who are in their late 50's, and live together. They bicker, and they really don't do much with their lives. Older sister Masha is a famous celebrity, and she swoops in with her gorgeous and very much younger boyfriend, Spike, to try to sell the house from under them. Vanya and Sonya are warned by their house keeper(who gets visions) to beware of the house being taken from them. At the end, Masha and Sonya and Vanya are sitting in the house(which is no longer being sold) and enjoying each other's company, Spike is out of the picture, and the housekeeper was right on her prophetizing. Sounds boring? It's NOT!!! It was absolutely hysterical! Vanya-David Hyde Pierce, Sonya-Kristine Neilsen, Masha-Demi Moore, Spike-Billy Mangnusen. At Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, I realized my external phone charger wasn't charging, and my phone was almost dead. No problem! We had a hotel room! After Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, I went to Schmackarys to try their cookies. Had a chocolate chip and a red velvet. To me they were kind of dry, I much preferred my dessert from La Defense! But they are really popular, so maybe it was just an end of the day batch. After that I went back to the room to relax a bit, as I had two shows at night: Cuff Me, a 50 Shades of Gray Parody which was funny, and F%$king Up Everything, a rock musical. At the room I discovered my wall charger didn't really want to charge either, unless I bent the cord a certain way. Turns out the plug was fried. Cuff Me was really funny, they did the book by making parodies of songs and putting the story around the music. I don't even like the 50 Shades books, I find them boring and poorly written, but the cast of Cuff Me did a great job! I didn't stop laughing! F%$king Up Everything was really good! I loved the music, the storyline was good, and it was really upbeat! Definitely one of my favorite shows of the weekend, I really want a cast recording! It was a totally relatable show, also! After F%$king Up Everything, I was hungry so I went to McDonalds(it was around midnight) and I wasn't paying attention after I'd ordered, and these three stoner guys came up to me and started teasing me about my hoodie, which I promptly reminded them about the recent events in my state, and I'd said something that made me naturally drop my R's, and one of them actually came up to me and was like, I have to give you a hug, you dropped your R. It was really strange! But I figured stoner guys were harmless enough, and those guys and the doorman were the only people who teased me. EVERYONE was talking about the Boston Bombings all weekend, no one was disrespectful in any way, and it was nice to find camaraderie. Sunday we hung around the room for awhile, until about 1045. Check out was 11, and after check out Kristin went to rush Chicago to get us seats because Adam Pascal had just joined the cast. I went to Starbucks for a Passion Tea Lemonade and a Lemon Loaf slice, and then I went down to Old Jews Telling Jokes, which had been on my list to see for awhile. We both snagged our tickets, and we grabbed a snack at the Little Pie Company(vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting for me as they had no red velvet!) and I went to my first show of the day(I had three more that day!) Old Jews Telling Jokes was HYSTERICAL! Again, nonstop laughing the entire time! I had read the book, and really enjoyed it! On stage was awesome! I was the youngest person in the audience, but that was ok! I definitely recommend this one, especially if you are in the city on a Sunday and want to do something before Broadway's start(most shows start at 3 on Sundays!) After Old Jews, Kristin and I both went to see Forbidden Broadway Alive and Kicking. I had been DYING to see a Forbidden Broadway show for years, so I was excited to see this one! It didn't disappoint! It parodied shows that were currently on Broadway(some had closed at this point but that was ok!) You didn't have to see every show to get their comedy though! They definitely did a good job, and it actually closed the week after we saw it, so I am very grateful that I finally got to see one of them! I hope they come back with it soon! After Forbidden Broadway, we had some time to kill before our evening show, Chicago. We hung around Times Square, just hanging out, mostly in the Marriot Marquis Theatre, charging our phones, til we got booted out of there. (Remember the shoes I had to buy? Yea. My feet were NOT happy with me at all! I could barely move!) When it was time for Chicago, I was excited because I hadn't seen it on Broadway, and I was going for Adam Pascal. We figured since he'd JUST signed on, there was no way he was missing a show yet--and an evening show to boot. WRONG!!! Mr Pascal had taken the night out!! I was really upset about that, but the show was still really good. If they had advertised that when we'd gotten the tickets, I woulda said forget it for another day! Very disappointed about that! On the way to Chicago, my purse broke. Awesome! But I managed to fix it thank god! We also tried to stage door at Nice Work if You Can Get It, but Mr Broderick decided to remain elusive and not come out. Which was also disappointing. It was sad to leave NYC, but it was a fun weekend! Still with me? Good. So if you are paying attention, That was SEVEN shows, kids. Seven shows, one weekend. Pretty Amazing, and topped last year by two! Don't know if I will ever be able to do that again, but I was really pleased! So. Seven shows, 5 dessert places, and 4 things that broke(BUT when I realized the external charger only wasnt working because of the cord and got a new cord, the external started working again, so YAY!) Now. You know they are coming, pics!!

December 1, 2012-NYC Today was a Triple-Show day! We got to NYC pretty early(gotta love the express train they run at Christmas!) and we went straight to the booth theatre to get Kristin her Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Ticket. Then we went to Dylan's Candy Bar, where I had to stock up on my Red Velvet Cake Candy Bars! We had taken the long way to Dylan's, up the gorgeously decorated 5th Avenue, so it took us awhile! We left Dylan's at 11:15 am. I had tickets to the Rockettes @ 11:30. On my way to the Rockettes, I realized that I had brought my receipt for the ticket and not the actual ticket! The Rockettes staff was awesome though, they figured out where my seat was and I only missed the first 5 minutes The Rockettes were amazing, it was their 85th Anniversary show, and they had changed some things which I really liked! I will go back in 5 years probably. Maybe every 5 years is perfect! Though the Rockettes really put you in that Christmas Spirit, I was sad I didn't get to spend more time walking around 5th Avenue and seeing the Christmas Decorations! After the Rockettes, I went over to see the Rockefeller Tree and the skating, and of course the angels and toy soldiers they had set up. Gorgeous as always! I couldn't stay long though, because I had tickets at 2 to A Christmas Story. A Christmas Story was fantastic! This was a new Christmas show for the season, and they didn't disappoint! They followed the storyline impeccably, and the music was fun. The cast was extremely talented! They even had real hound dogs on the stage! One of the best scenes was the leg lamp dance. Hysterical! However, in the show, one of the patrons several rows ahead of me had a stroke. She apparently has TIA, but they had to escort her out of the theatre on a gurney. Scary!! I'd never seen that happen before! Of course, I had to take my picture with the pink bunny suit! Great show! After A Christmas Story, I went over to Macys to meet the Man of the Season himself, Santa Claus! The line wasn't bad, (Though this was Dec 1, at around 430 pm!) The Enchanted Village was wonderfully done, as always! And I got my traditional picture with Santa :) After seeing Santa, I met up again with Kristin for a very special Lion King Exhibit. Lion King is celebrating 15 years on Broadway, so they had set up a pop-up exhibit of costumes and props, and you could take pictures with everything. It was only up for two weeks, so we were lucky to catch it! And it was for free! :) After the Lion King exhibit, we went to the gorgeous Bryant Park to see the tree and skaters, and then we went to see Annie(My third and final show of the day!) Annie was phenomenal! I really enjoyed it! Katie Finneran was awesome as Miss Hannigan!Very good revival! After that we boarded the train to come home. Busy but fun day! And it flew by so incredibly fast!

10.6.12 Leah, Kristin, and I all went to NYC. The plan for Leah and I was to see Rock of Ages matinee, a 6pm Naked Boys Singing, and an 8pm Forbidden Broadway. Kristin was going to do Forbidden Broadway with us. Being a huge fan of Forbidden Broadway for years now, this was the show I was most excited about. It was one of those days where you couldn't catch a Rush break. Leah and I got in line for Rock of Ages(yes, I said line!! Last year, Alaina and I went to Rock of Ages after the Hair matinee...around 5 pm and got rush tickets no problem. This year, because of the damn(suckish) movie, we had a line.) So there are two girls in front of us, who didn't have cash. They told the box office rep they would be back. Leah and I get up there, and he says he has one rush ticket left. I let her have it, as I had seen the show many times before, and I was not willing to spend $69(the next cheapest tier.) Leah later told me those girls who had left had come back...they were two rows ahead of her. They aren't supposed to hold rush tickets, it's first come first served. I shoulda called him on it. So this left me trying to find a show. Went over to Nice Work If You Can Get It(solely because I love Matthew Broderick). Of course, nothing was left. So I am wandering down the streets, going to meet up with Kristin, who is at Newsies(and scored 3rd row center for a pretty decent price!) and I end up on 42nd St. Scrolling through my phone, looking for discounts and shows on my "must-see" list. I end up across the street from an off-broadway show called Cock. I had been intrigued by Cock for awhile, but I had thought it had closed in September. I look at the marquee, and by sheer luck, saw that Cock was actually closing today! I was like well, it doesn't hurt to check it out! So I stayed outside the theatre for a half hour, only to go in to be told I had to wait ANOTHER half hour, til 1230, before I could rush.(So far, I had spent most of my day in line!) So I finally go in, and I scored a matinee ticket for $25. My show didn't start til 230, so I met up with my friends for a quick lunch and then we all went to our respective shows. Cock was about a gay couple. The first scene they were in love, and everything was fine. Next scene they are arguing, and one calls it off, much to the shock of the other. The next scene, the one who calls it off is telling his ex lover that he met someone and they are great but he's not over him, and SHE would very much like him to be, so they could be together. This shocked the partner, and he flips out over this. Then its almost a rewind, and it shows how the partner who ended it, John, met this girl and how their relationship has progressed to the point where she wants to sit down with John and his former partner to discuss the future. So we are brought up to date, and John, his new gf, his ex bf, and his ex bf's father are all discussing matters, and ultimately it ends with John being forced to make a decision. The story was actually hilarious! It was British humour, which I love I laughed through most of it! I don't know why the show is closing, the theatre was filled, it was a tiny theatre, with bleacher style seats made of wood and the stage was a circle. It was 90 minutes, no intermission, and those seats aren't the best! You will notice I only called one character by name. John was the only character who HAD a name. Not sure why. I would love to get a script. All I know is, it was hysterical, and I really enjoyed it! So after Cock, Leah still has about 20 minutes before her show ends, so I head over to Naked Boys Singing. I did get tickets for $21.50. I go and meet Leah, find Kristin, and we all go to Starbucks. Naked Boys was funny, and exactly what it sounds like. I had seen it before, in Provincetown a couple years ago. One of the guys I had seen up there was actually in this performance! I love the songs, they are so entertaining, and you don't really notice the naked after awhile. And of course, the guys are all good looking! Another quick, 90 minute show. So it is FINALLY time to try and get tickets for Forbidden Broadway(It is 730pm now) and we head over to 47th St. We go in, first we are told that they had student rush, then they told us they wouldn't take our ID's because of NO EXPIRATION DATE!!! That was bs. How is it our fault that our schools don't PUT expiration dates on them?! She offered us one seat for $29, and 2 for $70. We passed, I refuse to spend $70 on off-Broadway! What to do?! We didn't have a backup plan. We tried Chicago, they laughed at us(shows were starting in 30 minutes!) so we chose Mamma Mia. We scored standing room tickets for $27. Mamma Mia was excellent, as always. We stood the first half, and then an usher found us seats for the second half, 11 rows from the front! Awesome!! A long but fun day....with unexpected shows. I am glad Rock of Ages turned out the way it did, because I got to see Cock. Still not happy with Forbidden Broadway's treatment of us, and because of that I am MUCH less inclined to see the show now. We will see. To round out the year, we are planning on The Mystery of Edwin Drood Nov 3 matinee($22, we already got them because we belong to a program called Hiptix for people under 35!) and Annie, which we will probably have to buy in advance, as they are not offering rush, just lottery, and lottery is rigged on Broadway(they suck!!!) and I refuse to pay $70+ for Annie. Dec 1 we are also hopefully planning, and that day my MUST see is A Christmas Story. After deliberating, I think I am going to try to get tickets for Newsical. That closes Jan 6, and it sounds hilarious. As always, I have backup plans, but I will buy Christmas Story in advance if I have to....no way am I missing that one! Things can change though. We will see!