My Last Trip To Disney World 9.23-9.29.15

My Last Trip To Disney World I would like to begin with a little background. First, I have never had a less than magical experience at Disney. Not because of the “extras” that so many people expect, but because I truly believe that you create your own magic. I carry this philosophy not only at Disney, but in everything I do in life. My first trip to Disney World was when I was eleven, in 1991. My parents loaded us in the car to begin the 24-hour journey from Massachusetts to Florida. Not only was it our first trip, but we were going at Christmastime! Pretty awesome, mom and dad! We were mind blown at absolutely everything, and this solidified my infatuation with all things Disney. I couldn’t wait to get back to the parks! Fast forward to September, 2015. This was my twentieth trip to Walt Disney World! (And I’d even had a trip to Disneyland!) But this was different. I was finally going with friends, instead of family. We planned for a year. It seemed like time was moving so slowly, looking at my countdown on my phone every day. Even though I was going with friends, I had a completely different agenda than they did. They were looking to be more leisurely, while I was booked every minute! Finally, the big day arrived! We boarded our planes, and headed to Florida! ( I will admit, I am a huge Harry Potter fan, so I simply HAD to go to Universal to see the Harry Potter parks, which I did as soon as I arrived on the first day!) My friends headed to the hotel to relax. We were all meeting for dinner that night at Planet Hollywood. A tiring, but great first day! My second day, I had booked the Keys to the Kingdom Walking Tour. This is absolutely a must do! Our guide was Stephanie, and she was incredibly knowledgeable and fun! The tour takes you both onstage and backstage, and you are given plenty of information. I saw Magic Kingdom in a whole different way, after having my attention directed to the tiny details most people don’t notice. They also give you lunch at Columbia Harbor House, a “Keys” commemorative pin, and you get to go on rides without waiting. (I had Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise!) This is the classic tour, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go again! After the tour, I spent the rest of the day in Magic Kingdom, mostly taking character and décor pictures. For dinner that night, we had Chef Mickey’s. I had never been to a character meal before! It was so much fun! I loved the fact that the characters come right to your table! I was celebrating my birthday, and the “Fab Five” had all signed a card for me, and gave me a birthday cupcake, which was a nice gesture and totally unexpected! Something that happened this day, that I wasn’t too happy about, I somehow managed to lose both my Keys pin (which I was proudly displaying!) and my Birthday Pin. No idea how. The birthday pin was easy to replace, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to replace my Keys pin. Stay tuned! My third day, I was at Epcot, for the World DestiNATIONS tour. This is a relatively new tour; only in effect for about 4 months at the time I took it. It was a very small tour, with only 4 of us, and our guide, Matt. (Compared to the 20 or so of us on the Keys tour!) I loved this tour, too! We were again, both onstage and backstage. (Mostly onstage, but we did get to see where they keep the barges for Iluminations, which was cool!) Lunch was at Marrakesh, which no one was really happy about. I am extremely picky, and asked if they would give me nuggets and fries, and they accommodated me with no problem! I loved being able to walk through the countries without a lot of guests there. It was a surreal feeling of being in Disney, but without the crazy hustle and bustle! Another fantastic tour that I would definitely go on again! After the tour ended, I just hung in Epcot and did pretty much what I did in Magic Kingdom, which was take pictures. It was a challenge to try and time each meet and greet to maximize on characters! Dinner that night with one of my friends was at Via Napoli, which was simply amazing! Authentic Italian food (and I will actually eat sauce when it is from authentic places!) and we got to catch some of Illuminations after! Think I packed a lot in already? This brings us to our fourth day. This day was probably the craziest one! I was up early for Extra Magic Hours at Hollywood Studios. Thanks to the EMH and my Fast Passes, I was on and off Star Tours, Tower of Terror, Great Movie Ride, and Rock n Roller Coaster with no issues before ten am. I caught a meet n greet with Goofy and Pluto, and spent some time wandering around taking pictures. Then, I left to go to Magic Kingdom for an 11:45 reservation at Be Our Guest. I enjoyed the décor at Be Our Guest, but the food was only ok. I left Magic Kingdom to finish up at Hollywood Studios (I wanted Toy Story Midway Mania, but they were having issues with the ride, so I did One Man’s dream and a picture with Buzz and Woody, and the Green Army Man. Before long, it was time for me to go again, this time to Fort Wilderness for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue. This was my first time at the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, and I had such a good time! Plus the food was amazing! Two words: Strawberry. Shortcake. I barely had time to digest before I headed over to Epcot. I did Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and Soarin, and made my way amongst the Food and Winers to Akershus to meet my friends. My second character meal was with the princesses. Food was not my priority, as Hoop-Dee-Doo had more than taken care of it, but I would have to say their menu was my least favorite, being picky and not really eating different foods. The princess pictures were fun, though! If this day hasn’t been crazy enough, my friends decided we should take advantage of Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom, so we ended the night (at 1 am!) there. Insane day, and almost did all the parks! Day five…I’m thinking it is going to start being more low-key at this point. HA! My feet were killing me at this point, as I was averaging 10-12 miles a day. I don’t have anything scheduled til 11:45, which was the Mermaid Makeover at Pirates League in Magic Kingdom. This Mermaid Makeover I cannot rave enough about. It was about an hour, and they gave you makeup, nail polish, a hair clip, a sash, and a necklace. The makeup also lasted 12 hours-until I took it off. And that was with extreme heat, a shower, and a torrential rainstorm. I was impressed! But even more so than that, the Pirates League staff are simply awesome! My artist was Jamie, and we quickly bonded when we found out we were from the same state! She did a phenomenal job, and after, they take you into the “secret” room where you get pictures taken. (At this point I should mention that we had the Memory Maker, and these pictures were included on the Maker, without charging me extra!) After the pictures, you go out and you pay for the makeover. Well, the pirates who waited on me were ALSO from my state! The people in front of me had done a pirate makeover, and I inquired as to what the paper with their name was for. They explained that as pirates, you take the pirate oath and you get a pirate name. I replied that that was awesome, and I would be back to do a pirates makeover next time, so I could a pirate name. They surprised me by offering to let me have one now! They read me the pirate oath and let me get a name. It was a nice, totally unexpected touch! Remember my beloved Keys pin that I lost? I had gone back to Magic Kingdom Town Hall and explained my plight the day before. They told me it was no problem, to just leave my name and come back the next day and they’d get me a new one. After my makeover, I headed back to Town Hall to reclaim my pin. They gave me not one, but two! After a promise to not sell them on Ebay, I took my treasures with me, tucked safely into the secret zipper pouch in my purse! Another time that Disney went above and beyond, completely shocking me! I went to Animal Kingdom after this. This was my first time back at Animal Kingdom since 2003. I knew I wasn’t going to have much time there, and at first I figured I would just do Festival of the Lion King, and maybe Expedition Everest, and call it a day. I did both of those, plus the Kilimanjaro Safari, which I absolutely loved! Animal Kingdom had changed a lot in 12 years, and I was disappointed I didn’t have more time. Was unable to come back to it, too, sadly. After Animal Kingdom, my friends and I headed out for dinner at Tony’s Town Square, followed up by Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. (Now you understand why I decided I needed to have the Mermaid Makeover!) The Halloween party was awesome, as always! I really enjoyed the Hocus Pocus Show, and of course, the Boo To You Parade, which is one of my absolute favorites! But my highlights of the night weren’t the lack of lines or the candy. I had two amazing moments: One, my friends and I were checking out the Gaston Fountain, when the man himself came strolling by. He said, “ I saw you guys checking out my statue, and thought you may appreciate the real thing!” Hilarious, and he was on my list to get a picture with, so it was perfect! He refused to take a picture with anyone else, and walked away! Awesome! The second moment was the meet and greet with Jack Sparrow. I absolutely LOVE the fact that the characters are SO in character! Because of my mermaid makeover, Captain Jack had to make “absolutely sure” that I wasn’t there to hurt him, and the interaction was just hysterical! (Oh-I guess my runner up was obtaining my poison apple cup…I was so happy to get that!) Day six was another Magic Kingdom day, and the day I had managed to snag a reservation at Be Our Guest for all of us, so we had lunch together. My friends ended up going to Downtown Disney (It was still Downtown Disney then! It didn’t change until the day we left!) and I stayed in Magic Kingdom to ride Mine Train (first time! It was awesome!) and get more character pictures (including Stitch, whom I’ve heard they have since retired from meet and greets!) I did end up going back to the room and relaxing before dinner at Crystal Palace, my 3rd and final character meal. I really loved this one, I would say this one was my favorite character wise, and Chef Mickey was my favorite, food wise! We stayed for the Kiss Goodnight, and it was nice just lazing around Main Street on our last evening! Day 7 was our last day. Of course, it was raining, but we went to Magic Kingdom. We were treated to the Rainy Day Calvacade Parade, which was fun. Remember my Mermaid Makeover Memory Maker pictures? They had never shown up on the band. (Go figure, as they were the only ones I couldn’t have backups taken on my own camera of!) We went to the photo service and they located and added in my pictures in record time. I totally appreciated all Disney did for me this vacation…pretty much everything was unexpected (the pictures being the exception, as I figured they would find them!) and personally, I think people going out of their way for anyone is worth its weight in gold! I didn’t need anything extravagant to make my trip special, but these special touches certainly enhanced it! This truly was one of the best trips ever, and will forever be in my memories! Even without my friends by my side the entire time, I still had fun! I talked to all kinds of people, adults, kids, everyone! Not one moment was I bored or unhappy being alone! The parks emanate a kind of magic all their own! I was just so happy to be there, to be home. That alone was enough for me, even with the heat and everything! Can’t wait for my next trip!

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!

Poem For Uncle Danny, 7.29.56-7.20.14

A Few Memories of Uncle Danny From his niece, Heather, and his nephew, Ray. Great sense of humor At movies and parks Always sneaking in snacks With triumphant remarks! Twizzlers and coke cans, cookies too- Always hidden safely out of view! Caring, devoted, enjoyed all our shows, concerts, parades, and more- Theatre productions, football games, So many-we can’t keep score! So full of life! So young at heart! Welcomed each day With a brand-new start! Always a big kid! And ready for fun! Fights in the pool with giant squirt guns! Enjoyed competitions and winning at games. That was his claim to fame! He liked to help at holidays and parties Cooking meals and cleaning up Like a smarty! His food was always Yummy and delicious! But, even better— He…did the dishes! Growing up he came on family vacations Cape Cod visits, the Islands, and Plimouth Plantations. Barnstable Fair, Edaville and Halloween- We had the most fun you’d ever seen! We will think of Uncle Danny each and every day, The memories we have of him will always stay! His sense of humor! His big, hearty laugh! His generous, kind, devoted spirit- All for another’s behalf! Very special-ONE OF A KIND- he will live on forever in everyone’s mind! Uncle Danny was a very special guy! We will miss him very much

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!

Red Sox vs Twins 5.8.13

Went to the Sox game tonight, with Alaina. The Sox sucked and lost 15-8. But I love being at Fenway anyway! The fans this year are not taking the BS of the Sox, if they lose most leave, as was the case here. It was kind of interesting to watch the place empty out before the game ended, something I had never seen before. Hopefully this isnt the start of a losing streak! Even though they lost, I still had fun...only thing was it was probably a bad idea to book a Sox game so close to returning from vacation!! Almost fell asleep around 8 pm, as had been my MO lately!

Johnny Baseball-Post from 2010 That I realized had never posted

This was not a show I saw in NYC, but at the American Repertory Theater in Boston. I had been in anticipation of this show for over a year(when the Boston Pops promoted it at their Red Sox Album concert in May of 2009!), so I was excited the show was finally open!

I was not disappointed!

Synopsis:
This is the story of a young ball player, Johnny O Brien, who is on the Red Sox in the early 1900's, and befriends Babe Ruth. Ruth takes him to a night club where he falls in love with the singer, Daisy Wyatt, who is African-American. Being that it is the 1900's, white and black marriage is not acceptable in any way, but Johnny is prepared to deal with that as he proposes to Daisy. Daisy however, doesn't accept due to a deal she was given to NOT accept, so his career wouldn't suffer and for compensation, hers could take off. She couldn't turn that down, so she left town to save his career and start hers. About 20 years later, baseball and the world is changing and black ball players are being allowed to try out for the professional teams. Two black ball players try out for the Sox, and it turns out that one is the son of Johnny and Daisy. Daisy had implored to Johnny to help her son achieve his dream, finally admitting that her son is actually his son. His son doesn't make the team, and he turns to God, and says "God curse the Boston Red Sox, and all the boys who dream." The Red Sox(as everyone knows) does not win another game. Flash forward to 2004, all the fans are in the stands at Fenway hoping and praying the Sox are going to win. Right now, the prognosis is not good. An elderly black gentleman has been telling the story of Johnny O Brien to this little boy the entire game. The little boy questions the motive of the black ball player by asking why he cursed the team for the future players and fans. Here you learn the black gentleman WAS that ball player, and he lifts the curse by saying, "God bless the Boston Red Sox and all the boys who dream." And then David Ortiz gets that homer, and wins the game and the rest is history! I like the fact that the story goes back and forth between the 1920's and 2004. The songs are excellent also! And the acting was excellent! I would definitely see another show here! I just wish they had a soundtrack out! ** I just would like to add that I still feel this was a top notch performance, and it SHOULD go to Broadway...hint hint producers out there...its an ORIGINAL MUSICAL(which we need MUCH MUCH MORE of, no more movies to musicals please!) It also covers a subject that is America's pasttime: baseball...and its an underdog story...plus the Sox have a lot of fans out there(this girl included!) Damn Yankees got their shot on the Great White Way, why not the Red Sox???

Hawaii and California, 4.28.13-5.5.13

Aloha! I went on vacation to BEAUTIFUL Hawaii! We stayed in Princeville, on the island of Kauai from Sunday-Thursday. Hawaii is GORGEOUS!! But very hot! And there is no air conditioning, not even in our resort! Walmart is considered a tourist attraction. They have air conditioning, but no bags! You have to bring your own! Unreal! Our resort was the Wyndham Bali Hai, and it was gorgeous! Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, washer/dryer, jacuzzi, dishwasher, and two patios! We were right near the pool, which was also gorgeous! Our Resort: The first day we were tired(we had come from California where we had had an overnight) but we did a lot of sitting around, me in Lihue(Kauai's airport) because I got on a flight before my family, and they did a lot of time sitting in California. The resort was an hour from the airport, and you have to drive S-L-O-W in Hawaii, the speed limits are ridiculously slow! So we only ventured out in the evening, where we learned the only thing open til a decent hour was the grocery store! Everything else closed by 8! Interesting. Second day, we went exploring. We discovered the feral chickens and roosters all over the island. We also found a random beach with high surf, Wailua Falls, Where Fantasy Island was filmed, and Opaekaa Falls, where Gilligans Island was filmed. The areas were really pretty! In the afternoon/evening we went to the Smith Family Garden Luau, where we took a boat over to Fern Grove, which was really pretty! And we got to walk the gorgeous gardens filled with flamingos! Then we had a real luau dinner and show, which was great! Random Beach, Wailua Falls, Opaekaa Falls, Fern Grove, Smith Family Luau Third day we went to the Kauai Coffee Plantation, which was kind of cool to see. They even gave out free cups of coffee, many different flavors. Too bad I don't like coffee! My family said they had the best malasadas there, too. Then we went to see Spouting Horn, which is really cool, the ocean hits up against lava tubes and "spouts" like Old Faithful! After Spouting Horn, we went to one of the Botanical Gardens on Kauai, which was gorgeous! We also found Glass Beach, but that was a disappointment, as the pieces of glass were so tiny! After that, we went on a sunset cruise on a catamaran. Saw the Napali Coast, which is amazing and gorgeous, a beautiful sunset, and even some breaching humpback whales! Kauai Coffee Plantation, Spouting Horn, Botanical Garden, Napali Coast, Sunset, Whales Day 4 we were up bright and early for an airplane ride around the island! We got to see the entire island, and it was beautiful! In the afternoon we just relaxed and took it easy, as we were leaving early for Ohau. I did get some nice pics of the resort and pool though! Kauai From the Sky, Resort and Pool Day 5 we bid adieu to Kauai, and hopped a flight to Ohau where we spent the day at Pearl Harbor-USS Missouri, and USS Arizona Memorial. I liked them both, it was really cool to be on the Missouri, and sad to be at the Arizona Memorial. However, I was annoyed by the group of late teen-early twenty somethings who thought it was appropriate to make duck faces and smile and pose for pictures. It was a sad place, a place where people lost their lives 72 years ago, and here were these children being disrespectful. There is still oil leaking from the Arizona, which rests beneath the surface under the Memorial. So incredible that it is still there! After Pearl Harbor, we went to the Bishop Museum, which was a great museum, featuring a working volcano three stories high! Amongst other cool things. After the Bishop Museum, we closed the day at Waikiki Beach, which was busy and fun! After Waikiki we hopped a red eye to California! Day 6 and 7 we spent in California, visiting our relatives. We were in the San Francisco area. It was really nice to see them, but too quick a visit! I did take pics of the marina, though. San Francisco Marina