START SPREADIN' THE NEWS...

I'm leavin' today!  Well, no, not really.  We won't be going until mid-October, but still...I want to be a part of it, New York!  New York!  I can't get over it.  We rarely even take one vacation per year, and now Dear Hubby already has us booked for our second this year!  Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

I've been to N.Y. twice before.  We went to a wedding on Long Island once, many years ago, then I went back for work another time, when my boss decided to shake things up a bit and do our winter buying trip there instead of at our usual Atalanta market.  This will be our very first time, however, to go strictly for pleasure -- to stay right in the theatre district, and go to a different show each night we are there...Warhorse...Book of Mormon...Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.  So many good options!  So little time!

Cousin Jerry at our family reunion last summer -- the handsome hairless gentleman with the goatee.  Oh wait, I guess that describes pretty much all the men in my family! (the ones with hair in this photo aren't blood relations)

My cousin Jerry just happens to be the prop manager for Priscilla, and he has offered us a behind the scenes tour before the show.  He did that for us on our first trip there (he was a set designer for the Metropolitan Opera at the time) and it ended up being the highlight of our whole trip, which we still talk about to this day!

Then, of course, we must hook up with little Kevin Hall, who has been my son's best friend ever since they started school together in Indonesia.

Little Kevin's not so little anymore.

Perhaps Kevin can take us to one of the cafes where he and his writer-cronies like to hang out!

My dear sister, who has been to NY many times, shot me a list of must-do activities within minutes of hearing the news.  Obviously, she knows me well, for her list included two foodie venues (Trader Joes, and EATALY, Mario Battali's new food hall), two great shopping venues (Fish Eddy and ABC Home, where cousin Jerry sometimes finds great props, such as a spectacular chandelier, for his shows), and two places to have tea ( Alice's Tea Cup and the St. Regis Hotel).  We're gonna be a part of it, New York!  New York!