Pages

Broadway and Biking

Sept. 14, 2010    We've been moving along the east coast since our departure from Nantucket.  Stopped to visit with friends, Dennis and Marti, Montclair, NJ, a commuter city outside of New York City.  Mills Reservation, at the edge of Montclair, provides numerous trails and we started our first day in town with a path that led us through areas with sun filtering through oaks and maples and to a cliff with an overlook of the NYC skyline.

Took advantage of our proximity to NYC to celebrate Alan's 65th birthday and take in a Broadway musical, the long-running, Chicago.  Auditorium design in the Ambassador Theatre (built in the early 1920's) provides an excellent view from almost every seat in the house.  The staging was minimal but included a conductor and thirteen-piece orchestra in the middle of the stage.  They became an integral part of the musical.  Twice Tony-nominated, Charlotte d'Ambroise, and longtime Broadway and international performer, Arma-Faye Wright, brought their characters to life with their dancing and vocal skills.  John O'Hurley (of Seinfeld fame as J. Peterman) rendered an excellent portrayal of Billy Flynn, the character played by Richard Gere in the film.  Made for a fun evening in the city.  We enjoyed the excitement of being driven through Time Square, the throngs of people moving along the streets and the bright lights.

The following day, we went into the city to visit the Museum of Modern Art.  Since our last visit, 25 years ago, the museum has undergone a major expansion and refurbishment.  We primarily visited for a Matisse exhibit, but the museum provides a phenomenal overview of contemporary and modern art from Monet and Seurat to Kandinsky and Picasso.  You could take days going through this museum,  we viewed only a tiny part of the 150,000 object collection in the hours we visited.


Drove the next day to Manasquan, NJ, to visit with friends, Rich and Gloria, as they were winding up a visit to their old stomping grounds. Got in a visit with their kids and grandkids, as well.  The following day headed out on a bike trip, weaving through the neighborhood and onto a bike trail that would lead us to Allaire State Park.  We stopped at the Allenwood General Store, built in 1876 as a railroad station.  For many years, it has been a general store and restaurant known for their New Jersey pork roll breakfast sandwiches, obviously a required stop on the trail.  Unfortunately, the afternoon rains moved in a few hours early, so we decided to backtrack in the rain,  Half a mile down the trail, Gloria suddenly had a flat--valve snapped off--Rich rode back for a rescue vehicle.  Drenched to the skin, hot showers and dry clothes were the next order of the day.  A ten-cent tour of the area took us to Manasquan Inlet, the start of the Intracoastal Waterway and a big surf area.

No comments:

Post a Comment