The Taming of the Shrew

Last week we headed west for our annual pilgrimage to American Players Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin. We stopped at a nice little gift shop before we ate dinner at Culver's....and I found this sign. If it brings a few tears to my eyes....it is a keeper.

Home~Where your story begins

It was a keeper.

After some burgers and custard....we gladly made our way to the theater...which is a little hike up the hill.

Our dear friend, Rachel, joined us. Hannah was going to attend, but had to back out at the last minute due to preparations she needed to tend to for the class she was teaching the next morning. We called Rachel's mom and made plans as to where we could pick her up....and we brought her some clothes so she would be nice a warm at the theater. Good thing Rachel is the right size for our clothing.

Our classic theater look.

My Sweetie.

Just a few more steps to the top!

Bundled up with blankets for all....and to think the day before it was over 90 degrees in Wisconsin!

Before the show....anxiously waiting.



We saw "The Taming of the Shrew". As usual, it was wonderful and well worth the trip!
 Favorite moment....Kate's speech. And when she tried to place her hand beneath her husband's foot....he took her hand and kissed it. I had to hold back the tears....very touching.

After the show we made our way down the hill....

and by 1:00 a.m. we were in bed!

Wordless Wednesday

25th Anniversary Trip

Last September my husband surprised me with a wonderful gift....tickets to see one my favorite performers, James Taylor....in New York city, at Carnegie Hall. This past Sunday our day for traveling arrived. What's up with this sign? Can't they just say something easy...."Put yourself back together area after we make you take off your shoes and belts"? Wait, maybe that is easier....

Our "little" plane that took us from Milwaukee to Chicago. I blinked and we were there.

Alright, before this picture was taken, something terrible happened....our flight to New York was canceled. When your flight is canceled and you are using frequent flyer miles your only option is to go on stand-by (unless you want to pay more money). All flights going to New York were booked solid....the only way we were going to get a seat was if someone didn't show....or missed their flight. We went on standby for 2 flights with no positive results, although we did move up in the line of people. (46 were on standby!) We had to talk through our options...we decided not to separate and we were able to book a flight out the next day at 1:00 p.m.....not a great option, but we could make it work.

As we were sitting, waiting...we saw this man. My husband said, "Isn't that the lawyer from "The Good Wife"? We debated back and forth, he was convinced...I was not...but I thought it might be. We saw him standing around for awhile....he was on standby for our second flight, I believe. Then he disappeared!

As we were waiting for the third flight, we saw him again. My husband called home and asked Mary to find out his name. Once we had his name, my husband and I walked over to him (my husband is a brave man in these type of situations). My husband asked, "Are you Josh Charles?" He responded that he was...so we told him our tale of woes.  (I'm sure he was happy to hear our tale.) We chatted a few moments and he agreed when we asked if we could take a picture with him. 


Somehow he got a ticket for the next flight...and then they called our name for that flight! We couldn't believe it....the 8:30 p.m. flight!!! We walked on the plane at the very end of boarding....and we saw him again! We chatted again about making the flight...and our seats were right behind him on the opposite side. We quietly flew to New York....no one knew their was a celebrity among us. When we reached our destination he turned around to gather his things and he winked at me.


And I giggled...and I told my husband, "I have to tell you something funny." We gathered our things to leave the plane and I thanked him for making standby a little more fun. We said goodbye and we went on our way....a little story that will always make us smile.

We made it to New York before midnight. I wish someone could have calmed my fears earlier in the day...our trip went on as scheduled.

Trinity Church near Ground Zero.

A memorial to the fireman who gave up their lives in service to their fellow man.

This memorial is on the fire station wall very near to ground zero....

This is the view from the memorial...1 World Trade Center.

The memorial depicting the destruction of that day.

It is good to see so much life going on at the site.

There are many buildings around the site and people are welcome to come inside to take a better look at the work that is being done at ground zero.

St. Paul's is very near to the site.

St. Paul's is an Episcopal congregation and they did many good things to help the people trying to deal with the after affects of the attack. Sadly, though, they are also a very liberal congregation and had services for people of many different faiths....Buddhists, Native American, Shinto, etc...

President George Washington was here after he was inaugurated.

A remnant of a hard working fireman.

After the visit to ground zero we made our way north...to Radio City and Rockefeller center.

Lunch was in front of a fountain on a gorgeously beautiful day!

And this man provided our tasty food! He was a charmer!

Up, to the top of Rockefeller Center. The building in the center is the Empire State building.

This is man who made me go up to the top...and I am thankful he did. The views were astounding!

Central Park

From here you can see where all the elevators are located in the building.

Rockefeller Center...the place where this happens every year.

Alright, this the "Naked Cowboy". Apparently there are many of them...and the women kept flocking to him getting their pictures taken. Ewwwww......

 

This is where Good Morning America airs. Why is that important? It is the only thing that encourages me to get on our treadmill a few times a week. Now I know where all the people stand outside.

Times Square

We took a ride on a Ferris wheel in Toys-R-Us.

We took a break in Central Park and just watched the crowd go by. Lots of life in the park away from the noise of the city. It is wonderful that they kept that space for the residents.

Another view of the park...so much greener than Milwaukee.

On the way to the fountain. See the young couple in the center? It looked like they were taking engagement pictures.

Just one of the fountains in the park.

Many folks were out boating and paddling in canoes.

A very convincing Irish man, Neil, convinced us to take a ride in his bike carriage. I am glad we did! He took us to places in the park we would not have seen one our own...our legs would not have taken us there. With him as our guide we were able to see about 1/4 of the park.

Alright, can't find this exactly...the women of "Friends" supposedly splashed in this fountain for their opening....I can't find it though. Hmmmmm...... It is still pretty and peaceful, though.

"Strawberry Fields" in memory of John Lennon.

This memorial is very close to the place where John Lennon was murdered. His apartment was just across the street from the park. We are not huge Beetle fans...but it is still obviously sad when someone's life is cut short. A very strange man maintains this spot creating new patterns all the time. I don't know what he does for a living...he has been staying at this spot for 10 years.

The bridge seen in the snowball fight in "Elf". Also seen in "Enchanted".

Our driver....with an accent I could listen to for a long time.

Central Park is very close to Carnegie Hall...we made it with time to spare!

I am proud to say that my husband navigated the subway perfectly. We rode on the "R" line a few times and we able to get exactly where we wanted to go. I am not smiling in this picture....the people on the subway do not talk, laugh or smile. I kept imaging what it would look like if they did. People could become friends....chat about the day....instead, they choose this. On the streets they were a bit more friendly.

We choose a nice little cafe, just down the street from the hall, to enjoy our dinner. Prices were good and they gave us so much food we could finish it! We did leave room to split a dessert, though.

After dinner we made our way to the theater. Our long journey, that began last year, was almost complete.

Waiting on the steps inside the hall. A woman from Ontario took this photo...they also traveled far to hear James Taylor sing.

The stage in Carnegie Hall. It is a small theater and we sat in the back on the main level....and we could see the entire stage clearly. Every so often my husband would grab my leg....so many of James Taylor's songs are so tender. I tried to soak in every minute of his singing....he sounded awesome and is still a great performer. 

 

I love hearing the first notes of a song....and then suddenly realizing the song being played. That joy that comes from hearing those familiar words and tune that bring the listener contentment. Yes, can't help thinking about that same joy in Divine Service. There is something good and right about the familiar.

There are some You Tube recordings from that night....

We took limo (actually it was a Lincoln Town Car) back to our hotel. The driver was a typical crazy New York city driver! He drove very fast, in and out of lanes, almost hit the car in front of us too many times to count and he took care of our credit card info and bill while he was driving!!!

Neither one of us wanted to try the subway late in the evening....but we could have done it, if we had to do it. Since I am typing this you know that we made it back to our hotel alive!

Back in Milwaukee we ran into Sheriff David Clarke....and since my husband doesn't mind asking people if we could take a picture with them, we did.