Today didn’t go quite as planned. And none of my missions were accomplished. But like so many unplanned days, it was wonderful. I braved Time’s Square, my least favorite part of New York, and we scored some tickets to An Act of God with Jim Parsons. Then hopped on the subway down to SoHo. We wandered and wandered and wandered. But my favorite part was getting a photo of our travel owl “Sweetie” at Bleeker and MacDougal. So much about that sentence probably makes no sense. It’s a combination of a couple family traditions. On all our vacations, Roger and I bring a small stuffed animal to pose in photos instead of us. And its fun to put our little friend in funny places to capture our travels. The second part of that is that the first time I came to New York, my dad made a big deal of the Bleeker MacDougal Street intersection. Significant to the folk rock scene. On that first visit, my dad threw Phil, the purple frog of happiness (our first travel animal) up to the street signs so we could take a photo. Each time I’ve been to New York, I make the journey to Bleeker and MacDougal to pay tribute. Here’s today’s version:

Here’s a couple other places that Sweetie visited today. Washington Square Park, China Town.

We journeyed from SoHo back to our hotel at 32nd and Madison. By foot. In a wandering winding fashion. My ankles could tell you the story (I don’t think they’ve ever been so swollen). But we saw some great things along the way. The highlight was Madison Square Garden and its unique public art display of hanging reflective metal pieces.

Then it was back to the hotel for a quick rest and to change for the show. I tended to my blistered feet. Roger proclaimed that the blister on my right foot was the worst blister he’d ever seen. I’m happy to be special sometimes, but that was not the way I’d choose.

We trudged through Times Square up to the theater district. I firmly believe New York should institute a law against walking and looking at one’s phone in Times Square. The herd of phone zombies made it nearly impassible. But we arrived at Studio 54 and settled in for an amusing show. An Act of God was humorous and poignant. The parting message of the show was “Though shall believe in oneself”. A message I was happy to be reminded of. A main mission of this journey I’m on is to know, like, and believe in, and be proud of myself.

After the show we popped over to see Carnegie Hall. I had the great honor of playing there when I was in high school. An experience I will never forget.

Then it was off to China Town and Little Italy. We had a lovely dinner in Little Italy. Followed by amaretto cherry gelatto. Yum.

We scratched out our plan for tomorrow. I think it might be our best day yet.

Here’s a couple bonus photos from our day: