New York, New York

Before I launch into the account of our recent adventure, I'd like to say, "Happy Birthday, Dad!" (I wanted to send you a postcard with those greetings, but nobody sells stamps in the USA on the July 4th weekend.)

As an early anniversary present to ourselves, James & I participated in a bus tour to the one and only New York City.

July 2: "Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today / I want to be a part of it..."

I might as well have just stayed out late to watch the fireworks, 'cause I don't think I got a wink of sleep all night. That occurs all too frequently when I'm about to travel. I really hate it, too, because I turn into Ms. Grumpy-Hyde. Not what you'd call starting off on the right foot. Sheesh.

Our buddy Dave picked us up and delivered us at the designated rendezvous point by 6:15am. The bus left at 7am, and we crossed the border approx. 2 hours later. Half an hour after that we were given a rest stop, and by 11:30am we stopped for lunch in Binghampton. Most of the group ate at the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (also a restaurant), but James & I and another group of 3 chose Applebee's. Those three received their food first, but we two arrived back at the bus before anyone else, despite having taken a few minutes to poke around the Cracker Barrel store. Between the lunch stop and when the Manhattan skyline slid into view around 4pm, I read a bit, but mostly dozed until we were deposited at the front door of the Sheraton Manhattan. The driver took the bus back through the tunnel to New Jersey every evening, because there was nowhere for him to park in Manhattan.

At 5:30pm, any tour members who wanted to met up with our guide, Mauri, to go to TKTS, the ticket office for the shows. The musical we wanted (The Philanthropist with Matthew Broderick) was too new to offer discounted tickets. (And we were not prepared to pay top dollar, which could easily have run to $150 per person. Yowch.) On top of that, the line for plays was half as short as for musicals. All in all, we were quite pleased with our selection of 39 Steps: the performance was Monty Python meets Sound & Fury, and actors and props demonstrated versatility and the ability to multi-task. For example, a fireplace in one scene creatively converted into the front of a car in the next with a quick 180-degree turn. James quite enjoyed it. Truth be told, I was more enthralled with the clever, minimalist set design than the dialogue.

We'd wanted to eat supper before the show, but all the restaurants we stopped by had a 15-20 minute wait, so we grabbed a quick bite after the play at Sbarro in Times Square. Certainly not the most glamorous choice, but by that time we were really hungry and hordes of other theatre patrons were starting to emerge. The food was fine, like that of any other Sbarro I've ever eaten at, except that this franchise had a roomy lower level. Oh, and it sold water, bottled in Canada, in a very cool container; I should have either saved the bottle or taken a picture of it, but I didn't. We headed back through the throng of people to the hotel.

And so the morning and the evening were the first day.

NOTE: Photos will follow as soon as I find a way to make the camera cooperate.