New York City: Day 1

After our mini-tour of the harbor, we headed to the marina so that we could have some time to explore the city. We stayed at the 79th Street Boat Basin, which was on a small park, was 3 blocks from Broadway, and was 5 blocks from Central Park. Once we were settled in, Caroline and I headed out in search of sushi, and Dad headed out to run some errands.
This is a view of some neighboring boats from Progress... there were a TON of houseboats like these that obviously hadn't moved in ages. Many of them were covered with dying plants, bird feeders, and pigeon droppings.
We decided totake a pedicab through Central Park, and I think that was our only mistake of the trip. Our guide was TERRIBLE... most of what we learned along the was from listening to some of the other pedicab drivers talking to their riders!
We did get to see an overview of Central Park, though, and I really didn't realize how huge it was. It was packed with people, running, cycling, picnicing, and even a wedding party or two.
We had instructions that we were to leave the boat at 5:15, appropriately dressed for the "Captain's Dinner" and an early birthday suprise for me. So, after three days of jeans and tee shirts, we dressed apropriately. We took a cab to Times Square to sightsee a bit before dinner. Talk about overwhelming. Everything you see on TV and in the movies showing the hustle and bustle of Times Square was true. However, it was so much crazier being in the middle of it!!

From here, we walked to a restaurant called La Masseria, an incredible Italian Restaurant. We had homemade stuffed mozzarella with tomatoes, basil, and vinagarette, a salad with pears, gorgonzola and walnuts, and I had "Home made fresh caciotta cheese ravioli in a light tomato sauce Capri style". Sooooo good! Dessert sounded wonderful, but I don't think any of us could have fit in another bite, so we headed on with the idea of stopping back in for dessert later. (I asked Dad how he had heard of the restaurant, and he just vaguely answered that a friend had recommended it.) We walked just a few minutes before Dad stopped us in front of the Ambassador Theatre... he had gotten tickets for Chicago! As we were sitting in our amazing seats (five rows from the stage, center of the theater!) and browsing through the playbill, my jaw dropped... my mom's cousin (who Ihave always thought of as my cousin, too), Rob Bartlett, was in the show! With a great part!! I hadn't seen him in ages, and I couldn't believe that I was going to see him perform. All of these suprises had me a bit overwhelmed, to say the least! The show was fantastic, and Rob was amazing. For those of you who have seen Chicago, he played Amos, Roxie's husband. He really did steal the show... it was amazing how the audience responded to him.

To top it all off, we got to go behind the scenes after the show to meet some of the performers, see the stage, and spend some time with Rob. He had actually been in on the birthday suprise... Mom called him to see if he could help Dad, and he helped Dad get our incredible seats, and he was the mysterious "friend" with a restaurant recommendation! Rob has been in the Odd Couple and Little Shop of Horrors on Broadway as well, but he is probably more well-known for being on the Imus in the Morning show (until recently...!).

I was so excited to share all of this with Dad and Caroline... I think it was a night none of us will forget! Dad did an amazing job planning all of this... such a perfect birthday suprise.

Unfortunately it was late, so our time with Rob was short. We headed back out to the still-bustling Times Square, bypassed dessert, and headed back to the boat to crash. It was a long but exciting day, and I think all three of us slept incredibly well.