End the Summer in New York City- A Travel Journal Part 1

 

I think any weekend is a great weekend to be in New York City, but we had exceptional weather this Labor Day. A perfect end to the summer.

We arrived Friday around noon and were lucky to be able to check in to our hotel at Hyatt Place Chelsea. We’d never stayed at this hotel before, but we love the Chelsea area and thought we would check it out.

On the 21st floor, our room had a gorgeous view of the city. The room was small and simple but everything we needed for a weekend trip. The only negative I would say is that the elevator situation was pretty bad. There were 4 elevators but the timing of them was terrible and at least twice we decided to walk down the 21 floors because we were tired of waiting. 

We dropped our stuff in our room and headed out to Chinatown. We got a cheap lunch of crispy duck and pork with rice that fed us both for under $10. Chinatown is a great place for delicious cheap eats, but many of the restaurants are cash only.

My husband also wanted to get a haircut at this little barber shop in Chinatown. He loves the way this barber cuts his hair even though there are only a few words that they are able to use to communicate. The barber speaks primarily Chinese and my husband does not. That doesn’t seem to matter, my husband is happy with his cut every time.

Saturday Church at NYTW

Then we headed down to this cute little wine bar called, Parcelle, to meet one of my husband’s colleagues from a previous job. We sat and drank wine at a little table outside and enjoyed catching up with her for a bit. It was a perfect evening to enjoy chatting and people watching as the sun set.

We ended the night going to see Saturday Church a new musical starring Bryson Battle from the Voice, at the New York Theater Workshop. It tells the story of Ulysses, a young LGBTQ+ youth struggling with his identity, caught between the worlds of his family's church and an LGBTQ+ sanctuary that finally allows him to be himself. It's an excellent show, with great singing, dancing, and music written by Sia.

We had planned this trip in part to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday and decided to make it a mini-family get together in the city. Both my brothers and their families flew in and we met up with them Saturday morning. The early risers of our group headed out to New York City Bagel and Coffee House to get a quick breakfast before we met everyone else for brunch. I get super hungry in the morning and get a little hangry if I have to wait until everyone else gets up.😂

The birthday girl and the rest of the family joined us for brunch at Maman, where we celebrated with mimosas, great food, and lots of laughs. 

Maman's eggs and farro salad

Next we were off to see a matinee of Heathers The Musical a dark musical comedy based on the 1980's cult classic movie, with Christian Slater and Winona Ryder. 

The theater buzzed with energy from the crowd even before the musical began. The audience screamed and cheered throughout especially when the three Heathers arrived on stage for their popping rendition of Candy Store. Everyone jumped to their feet for a standing ovation at the end. 

If you're in New York, go see this, it's BIG FUN!!!!

How did you celebrate Labor Day? When was the last time you went to NYC?  

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Stay tuned for Part 2 of NYC Labor Day Trip, where our journey takes a dark turn as well. 

Heathers is Big Fun!

Also don't forget to stop by tomorrow for my IWSG post! 

Love, 

Kathy 💕💕

One Year On Broadway

How do you know when it’s time to close one chapter of your life and begin a new one? To let go of the past, open your heart, and trust in a new beginning. To take a leap.

At first we said, “no.” We knew it was ridiculous.

And yet something in our hearts led us back to the island.

Having no idea where it would lead, Jesse and I took a leap of faith and became co-producers of the Broadway Revival of Once On This Island, the story that had given us so much. 

Even if it failed, we would have a great story to tell. 

We ended up with so much more.

Here is an excerpt from my first book, One Year On Broadway: Ridiculous! Interesting! More Amusing Than Mangoes! 

Coming out soon!

Once on This Island! and IWSG

I love Broadway musicals! Luckily, so does my husband and our three kids.  In fact you could say we're fanatics for Broadway. We love the big classics like Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon; the newer ones like Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, and Waitress, but one show stands out for us above all the rest.

It is Once on This Island by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

Why? I'll tell you our story.

Over 25 years ago, my husband and I were just two college kids who had just started dating. He was working a part time college job as an usher at our university's performing arts theater.  Once on This Island was touring and came to our school. He saw it and immediately bought tickets for us to see it the next night.

It was our very first show together.

The Romeo and Juliet-esque tale of a poor peasant girl, Ti Moune, falling for Daniel, the wealthy son of an aristocrat, touched our hearts especially deep because my parents didn't approve of our relationship.

But I chose love.

And when we were married two years later, we brought the soundtrack of Once on This Island along on our honeymoon and listened and sang to it wherever we went.

Fast forward 23 years of happy marriage to last Sunday December 3, 2017. Once on This Island reopened for the first time on Broadway and we were lucky enough to be there to see it!  I started crying the moment the first notes were sung.  It was 90 minutes of pure heartfelt emotion.

Even if you've never seen or heard the original musical, if you like musicals at all, you should find a way to New York to see this!  It is an experience like you've never had before.  Everything about this musical is phenomenal!  The staging, casting, and choreography, immerses you into the story of the storm ravaged island and its characters.      

The New York Times review said it was a "Ravishing Revival" and it surely is!

Watch the Official trailer!

IWSG

This is the last post of the year for the IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group) started by Alex J. Cavanaugh.  It is a place where we as writers release our fears, hopes, and dreams into the world and give encouragement to one another! We post on the first Wednesday of the month! If you'd like to join us, click the IWSG link and sign up!


This month's optional question is:  As you look back on 2017, with all its successes/failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently?

That's a tough question to answer!  2017 has been pretty great for me, but not because of anything I've really done. It has just been fabulous to see the opportunities that my three children have been presented with and to watch them shine in what they love doing.  So I wouldn't want anything to change. And I guess I've realized that while writing is a passion for me that comes just after my love of figure skating, more than anything I want to spend the last few moments I have with my kids before they are all totally gone. I'm okay that writing has taken a back seat.

But with that in mind, going forward to 2018, the quiet times when my kids aren't around, will be dedicated to writing!


Love, is why we tell our story!


Kathy