If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you know that it’s hard for me to let an anniversary go by without getting out of town and doing something special. Last year we celebrated in Las Vegas. You can read all about it in my Viva Las Vegas posts of 2021. When I was in New York singing at Carnegie Hall, I saw the poster for Funny Girl which included among the cast, Ramin Karimloo, one of our all time favorite Broadway stars. I took a picture and texted it to Janet who replied “When will we go.” Well there’s no time like the present! I got home and began my planning for our next adventure.

I took the train for my last trip and found it quite relaxing, so I though Janet would enjoy the experience, not having to worry about traffic. A commuter bus runs from our town, Salem to South Station so I booked tickets to correspond with our train. Interestingly, the margin of transfer was only 10 minutes between bus and train. I knew that if there was any delay by the bus, we’d miss our train, but I booked it anyway.

The day arrived and we boarded the Boston Express. The driver arrived a few minutes later than scheduled and seemed to take her time departing from the station. As we drove it appeared she was making up the time However, as we exited the highway, the bus hit every red light reducing the final time of transfer to five minutes. Janet doesn’t run. But in this instance she kicked it into high gear. Fortunately we boarded the train upon the final call and found our seats. Such a close call, but totally worth it!!

Upon our arrival, I made sure that we exited into the new Moynihan train hall so that Janet could see this marvelous structure. I know I raved about it in my last post, but it is totally worth viewing if you’ve ever had to navigate through the maze under Madison Square Garden.

Streaming services have changed the way we view programs. What once took years to view twenty seasons can now happen in weeks or even days. For the past six months, Janet and I have binge watched over 20 seasons of Project Runway and Project Runway All Stars. In nearly every episode, the designers visit Mood Fabric store in the garment district. I told Janet that the next time we went we’d stop and see the place, so I made it an important stop in our plans. After checking into our hotel we strolled down a couple of blocks and visited the famed store. It was indeed one of the most completely stocked fabric stores I have ever seen. Just about anything a clothing designer could want was located within the three floors. It was everything Janet had anticipated and more. Before leaving she echoed those infamous words “Thank you Mood.” We didn’t see Swatch, but we certainly enjoyed our visit.

Our dinner reservation wasn’t till 6:00 so we decided to kill some time revisiting Hudson Yards West. The place has certainly filled out since our last visit about 3 years ago. Many new stores and things to do made me wish I’d have planned more time to be there. Interestingly, the wind was traveling through the urban canyons at a high velocity and felt as though we were in hurricane like conditions. Unseasonably cool, this really made us glad we chose to wear jackets for the weekend!

Seven years ago we had dinner at Mama Mia 44SW in Hell’s Kitchen. Unfortunately Janet was not feeling well and wasn’t able to enjoy the dinner. I thought it would be nice to give the restaurant another chance and we were so glad I did. Mama Mia’s is a family owned restaurant that prides itself in traditional Italian cuisine. The daughter of the original owner, Connie, bustles around the dining room taking orders, seating guests, and making sure everyone is happy. She stopped and talked with us for a few minutes and insured we would be back on our many trips to the city. The food and service were excellent, and a server even ran across the block to find me and deliver my bag I’d left on my chair.

Funny Girl hasn’t been seen on Broadway since Barbra Streisand appeared in her star making role of Fanny Brice in 1964. Beanie Feldman has donned the mantle in this long awaited revival and unfortunately did not measure up. She is a wonderful comedic actress, however the role also requires superb vocal abilities. We wanted to love her, but simply couldn’t. Ramin, however was all we hoped for and made seeing the show worth the weekend. I realize my blog isn’t a theater critique, but most of the critics thought the same, so I included my review as well.

We debated about taking the subway back to the hotel or walking. I misjudged the distance and we ended up walking twenty blocks through Pride parties and New York night life. Though I never felt threatened, I knew that we probably should have taken the subway after such a long day.

The next morning we found a nearby Starbucks for breakfast and boarded our Boston bound train. As before, the margin of time in our transfer was scheduled to be less than 10 minutes. The train was early that day so we were able to leisurely walk to the bus.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience and a great way to celebrate our 36th anniversary. Once again, the New England residential experience has provided us with the ability to experience things we’d only dreamed about living in the Midwest!