Tom and Carol's Great Adventure, Chapter One. Tuesday and Wednesday in Manhattan.

We have entered a new phase of our lives and I hope to be posting travel blogs regularly again. Our BIG trip is scheduled to start 8/22 and last through sometime in November. The date is based on several things happening before then so our departure might be a week or so later. We hadn't used the Airstream in two years so it's at Out of Doors Mart in Greensboro getting a few things fixed. ALSO, I totaled my truck in June and replaced it with a 2005 Chevy Duramax Diesel. Before we head West, I want to add auxiliary cooling and a custom tuning module to get extra braking from the Turbo.  Everything is scheduled to be done before 8/22, but none of our original summer plans have gone "as planned" so we've got our fingers crossed.

We're headed to North Dakota to visit Carol's relatives there. Then out through SD, WY, UT, AZ seeing all the sights. That's as far as we've planned.

Last week we went to NYC for a few days to OD on Broadway. We had planned to drive but when we found out that parking would be $55./ day we decided to take the train from Lynchburg instead.  We stayed at a Wyndham timeshare on the East Side and loved it. 45th and Second Ave., two blocks from the East River and the United Nations buildings. VERY peaceful and quiet. Of course, we spent most of our time in the Times Square area which is NOT peaceful and quiet. But that's where the shows are.

To please my bride, I splurged and bought Lion King tickets on line at regular price. Those of you who know me well know how hard that was for me. In 40+ years of going to Broadway, this was the third time I paid full price for tickets. Mary Ann and I used student "Twofer's" before TKTS even existed. The previous two times were for Phantom in February of 1988 or 1989, just after Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford announced that they would be leaving in the fall. Fast forward 23 years. Carol, Emily, Andrew and I are in NYC in the fall. THEY decide they want to see Phantom AGAIN. Instead of some of the other things on the TKTS board, like "How to Succeed in Business..." starring Daniel Radcliffe. Emily said, "Oh, we can see it when we come back at Christmas."  BUT between our fall and Christmas visits, Radcliffe announces that his last performance will be Dec. 31st. So when we come back, it is not on the TKTS board. What can I say? It is Emily after all. And she HAS to see Harry Potter as J. Pierrepont Finch. So she and I go while Carol and Andrew go to "Follies."

The AMTRAK was comfortable and it kept to schedule. We left Lynchburg at 7:40 AM and got to Penn Central at 3:20. Mapquest says it's a 6:50 minute drive, with no stops. AMTRAK  does it in 7:40 with several stops. We couldn't figure out how until we left DC after switching from diesel to electric. From DC to NYC, the train pretty much stays above 100 mph except for slowing down to stop at stations. And it hit 125 mph several times.

A quick taxi ride across town, check in, freshen up a bit, walk back across town and we were at the TKTS booth a little after 5. We scored tickets to Jersey Boys. At half price, of course.

Just a reminder  -   clicking on a picture will open it full sized.

The theater is on 52nd, so we had time to walk uptown while looking for a place to eat. I'll save my rant about chain restaurants ruining NYC for a later Blog. We walked past too many to count.

Picked a place on 8th Avenue that looked good, I had told Carol that any place in Manhattan that was a "Diner" would be excellent and reasonable. The Cosmic Diner was a new find and easily lived up to our expectations.

Jersey Boys was incredible. All "my" songs from high school and college. And a great story line.

Followed by a long walk from 52nd and 7th to 45th and 2nd. But we were Blessed the entire trip with moderate temperatures and low humidity. Which was not at all what we expected in NYC in August.

Since we had Matinee tickets to Lion King, we slept in on Wednesday.

We had a late breakfast at the Comfort Diner, right across the street from the Wyndham and it was another winner.

 This is Carol's Challah Bread Stuffed French Toast,stuffed with blueberries and strawberries.

I had some stuffed with pecans and bananas.

BOTH were incredible.



Another cross town walk got us to Times Square way before show time. 

But our favorite mid-town oasis was
waiting.
The Marriott Marquis.
Where Mary Ann and I used to stay, back when we had money.

 

 Now we just visit the beautiful lobby.
.

Which can be very crowded at times.

Unless you know about floors 4-7 which are the convention floors. If you go to one that is not being used it looks like this.

What can I say about Lion King ? 

 The NY Times review ended with, "...there is simply nothing else like it."

 This is the big screen above the Disney Store on Times Square.

One advantage to paying full price --- we got 6th row, center orchestra.

Gotta tell you a back story. I saw Lion King in Toronto with Mary Ann, Tom, Ann and Casey about 14 years ago. When Tom told me he had bought tickets, I told him that his mother and I had not seen it on Broadway because, "There was NO way they could portray a cartoon movie on stage. It just had to be a lame attempt." BOY, did I have to eat those words for a long time.


We went straight from Lion King to the TKTS booth and got tickets to the evening performance of  "Les Miserables".  People watching on Times Square is always fun. But with the incredible weather, it was really nice. Then back to the Marriott to chill for a while.

Directly across 44th St. from the Marriott is Junior's of Brooklyn.  Every other time Carol and I had visited NYC we either had a fridge in our hotel room or we were staying in Jersey City in our Airstream. NYC restaurant servings are HUGE and we always took half our food back to the room for later.

Fortunately Junior's allows sharing. Here is my HALF of a roast beef sandwich with onion rings.  The pickles, coleslaw and pickled beets come with every meal

"Les Miserables" was as wonderful as I remembered.


It was a short detour to Junior's for some of their "World Famous" Cheesecake.







That's it for today. I'll post "the rest of the story" tomorrow on the next day.

Life is so Good. Every Day.