In 2010, Janet & I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary a year early with a trip to London and Paris. To this day, it remains one of our greatest and most memorable adventures. Our second night in London we attended a performance of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s sequel to Phantom of the Opera, Love never Dies. Though the show was panned by many critics for it’s labored plot, Janet & I fell in love with the show due in no small part to the stars, Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo. Having sung many duets together, we recognized the extraordinary chemistry between these two and began to follow their careers, and more importantly their profiles on Facebook (LOL).

As fate would have it, Ramin was cast as the star, Jean Valjean in the Broadway revival of Les Miserables, and this became a must-see on our bucket list of adventures. Fortunately we were due for a visit to see Autumn and Jim in NJ. I thought it might be cool for us to stay at a resort by the beach. After all it was the off-season and it looked like a good deal. So we booked a hotel in Seaside, less than a block from the beach. Unfortunately, the place was a flea trap after the long summer season. Bad as the hotel was, I try to find the best in any situation. I woke early see the sunrise from the boardwalk and was richly rewarded. I love sunrises at the beach, and these pictures only partially capture  the awesomeness of the experience.

After a great visit with the kids, we headed to the city to see Les Miz. Sitting in the 5th row made the show an immersive experience. Ramin was as incredible as we hoped. So much so, we decided to wait at the stage door for an autograph, and were duly rewarded.

Living in the northeast continues to make these types of adventures accessible.  Some days it makes the old cliche “living the dream” seem like a reality.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller