Pretty much says it all.

The TONY's...To PHILLY and Back...and Dinner at Patsy's

For the first time in years I didn’t watch the TONY Awards. They awards were on last night but instead of staying home and watching them, I spent the evening with the Schencks down in the Village.

Thanks to TiVo I was able to watch my own version of the highlights. I saw what won and what didn’t. I was very surprised to see The Color Purple shut out of most awards. LaChanze did win the TONY for Best Actress in a Musical, as I hoped and predicted.

The Drowsy Chaperone won several awards – though not Best Musical (that award went to Jersey Boys – the only show this season I did not see).

Today I spent the day in Philadelphia. I’ve started a side job working for a guy who works for Designs for Mobility. Designs for Mobility helps insure that businesses and homes are accessible to those living with disabilities. I am helping organize home offices here in New York and also in Philly. I also take care of letter writing and basically do anything I’m asked to do.

My boss, Nelson, had me come down on the train to Philadelphia to work with him in his home there. We spent the day sorting, arranging, re-arranging, writing, etc. I was back on the train at 6:30 and heading back to the city.

I got back to my apartment around 7:45 and the Schenck’s were waiting. We all went right around the corner to famed Italian restaurant Patsy’s (where Frank Sinatra had a table in the days when Spanish Harlem was actually more Italian than anything else).

I have been craving lasagna since April's visit a couple of weeks ago. FINALLY I had some that more than fit the bill. It was absolutely delicious and of course it was steps away from my apartment the entire time.

Everything in Patsy's looks and tastes AMAZING. As we ate, I looked at Elizabeth and said, "I can't believe this place is right around the corner and we hardly eat here."

I shall remedy that.

A Boathouse Brunch and LOTS of Walking

Elizabeth met her Mamma Dell and Daddy Schenck at the subway closest to the apartment they’re renting for the week.

The subway and streets were packed with thousands of people of varying Puerto Rican dissent gathering for the parade. We crossed into Central Park at 72^nd street and made our way to the Boathouse. The Boathouse is a beautiful little restaurant that sits on the water adjacent to the Bethseda Fountain.

They don’t take reservations, so we weren’t sure what to expect. It isn’t far from the famous Tavern on the Green and it attracts the same clientele. We walked in just after 11am and were surprised to be taken not only directly to a table, but to a table in the middle of the room over looking the water.

The brunch was amazing. I had the most delicious blueberry French toast you can imagine.

From the Boathouse we wandered through Central Park, passing the Bethseda Fountain and then by Sheeps Meadow.

We turned uptown and walked to the Lennon memorial at Strawberry Field.

We continued up through the park walking along Central Park West. We passed the American Museum of Natural History. I told them about being at the museum with April a couple weekends ago.

We had nothing but time, so I suggested that we at least stepped inside the museum so they could see the amazing entrance of the museum and the enormous Barasouarus waits to greet everyone.

As we walked into the museum, Mama Dell’s mouth dropped as she looked up at the beautiful dome ceiling spread across museum’s entrance. We spent twenty minutes just reading the challenging quotes from Theodore Roosevelt that adorn the marble walls.

Walking out Mama Dell said, “This has to go on the list of things to do when we come back.” To which Daddy Schenk added, “…to the top of the list.”

From the museum we took the train up to 110^th Street that run along the top of Central Park. Mama Dell wanted to see the Conservatory at Central Park, but I couldn’t resist taking them on a slight detour to the glorious Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Elizabeth had hoped to take them to St. John’s if there was time; we were only two blocks away, so we decided to make time.

As we walked toward Amsterdam the Cathedral loomed over us in the sky. Again, Mama Dell’s mouth dropped.

We walked around the block to the entrance and walked up the steps. As I think I mentioned in my entry while my brother Tim was here, the Cathedral is undergoing a major refurbishing, so certain areas were closed off but enough of it is open to give you an overwhelming impression.

We spent a while walking the aisles and looking at the little chapels that crown the far end of the sanctuary.

We made our way back to the subway after we left St. John’s. Mama Dell, Daddy Schenck and Elizabeth got off the train at 96^th Street and headed back across the park to their rented apartment. I continued down on the train to 34^th Street where I met up with Damon for my second visit to this year’s NEWfest.

Damon and I were early for the documentary, Almost Myself, so we used the time to catch up and talk about all the films he’d seen at the festival. Damon is a member of NEWfest and he hit the festival hard. Looking at his hand held program for the festival, which had been circled, highlighted, crossed through, etc., I saw that he’d seen a big chunk of the films. We had a good time talking about all the varying films and what he liked and what he could’ve skipped over had he known.

The film, Almost Myself, was very, very interesting. It is a documentary that followed the story of several transgendered women. The film is by the same filmmaker who made Fish Can’t Fly, which Damon and I saw at the festival last year. I so admire the filmmaker, who is an older gentleman, for taking up filmmaking and using this new voice to tell these stories.

After the film I headed down to the Village and met up with the Schencks yet again. They’d rested and recharged. They’d been shopping – making a stop at Purdy Girl, of course – and made their way over to meet me. We walked down Christopher Street and I took them to the pier and then we had dinner at Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

It was a long, wonderful, leg-aching day.

The Puerto Rican flags were strung up everywhere in our neighborhood. Here the flag has been made into a banner that stretches across 116th Street.

The beautiful tree-covered entrance to the Central Park Boathouse.

Elizabeth and MamaDell at the Central Park Boathouse.

The VIEW...from inside and outside the Central Park Boathouse

My favorite spot, the Bethesda Fountain. The area was blocked off today, so these are the only pictures I've ever taken of the Fountain where there are no people present. The picture with the two towers in the background is the famous San Reno residence.

Sheep Meadow in Central Park. The building on the far LEFT in the skyline shot is the BLOOMBERG BUILDING - my store is located on the ground level of that jewel of a building.

The winding, covered pathways that run all through Central Park. In the background you can see the Dakota.

A clear shot of the Dakota and the Lennon memorial, which I'm told is visible from the Lennon residence inside the Dakota.

Walking through Central Park...a Schenck family photo.

A view of the bridge/tunnel and the view from the bridge/tunnel. I'm in love with this park. It is truly a sanctuary set in the middle of all of New York's concrete.

Mama Dell & Daddy Schenck at the Chat N Chew

After work I got to see Elizabeth’s mom and dad. All three of them met me at the store and from there we decided to go get dinner.

We got on the subway and went down to Union Square and had dinner at one of my new favorite places, Chat ‘n Chew (where I took my brother a couple weeks ago).

We had a great time just sitting around and catching up.

American History Museum, Central Park, Chelsea (again!) and Little Italy

Thanks to free tickets from a Container Store co-worker, today April and I spent a blarge portion of the day at the American Museum of Natural History.

It was utterly fascinating. You could spend weeks there and never exhaust all there is to learn, challenge and explore. We spent hours taking in the Darwin exhibit, the IMAX film on the Galapagos Islands, Butterfly exhibit and as much of the museum’s other exhibitions as we could. The museum is an almost endless maze of artifacts and collections.

Visit: www.amnh.org

From the museum we walked down Central Park West. We passed famous residences like the San Reno and Dakota and crossed into the park. I showed April the memorial to John Lennon and then my favorite spot, the Bethseda Fountain.

We looped through the Park and came out at Columbus Circle where we took the train down to Chelsea and had drinks at G Lounge (on vacation a few years ago I discovered their Merry Martini’s – peppermint schnapps and Godiva White Chocolate liquor – heaven!) before heading down to Little Italy for dinner. April and I walked through Chinatown and then started scouting menus for a place to eat dinner.

Visit: www.glounge.com

We finally settled on a corner restaurant and had a delicious meal with questionable prices. In Little Italy around dinnertime you will see “barkers” outside almost every restaurant. They draw you in with descriptions of their specials or some reduced prices. We liked the menu and took the bait. When the bill came we saw that we were lured in at one price and charged another. Thinking we were tourists or that I wouldn’t cause a fuss, I called them out on it.

It all came down to – not what we’d been told – but that I had pointed at the menu vs. just saying what I wanted. April had been charged one amount and I had been charged another – though our portion sizes were identical.

April and I didn’t back down and eventually it was corrected.

It was sour end to a nice meal, but we left trying to focus on the positive. We rode the subway back to my apartment and settled in for the night. April leaves early in the morning, so she started packing up her stuff and worked on a little more schoolwork.

I'm glad she's had several days here. It's felt like Tim's visit a couple weeks ago. Both Tim and April stayed for several days - it's nice because then you don't feel like you're rushing everywhere to "do" something - you can just enjoy being together.

SoHo and a Surprise

Today we were able to sleep in a little, which was a nice change.

We met up with Chris again. Over lunch we shared more family stories and though, between the three of us we have vastly different backgrounds and upbringings, we share a lot of common ground.

Back at Jack Rabbit, Chris gave us a great tour of the store and gave us both running shirts to help promote the store. April teaches and practices Yoga, so she spent a little while looking through the racks and trying on several pieces.

Chris and I talked a little more about the process of writing his book. He’s recently gotten some revisions back from his editor and was talking where he went to write and what writing the book had done to and for him emotionally and physically.

We posed for one more picture and then said our goodbyes. It was wonderful getting to know Chris and I hope to add him to my NYC circle of friends.

As we left Jack Rabbit we walked by Union Square and headed downtown. We did some shopping and, for the first time since I moved here, we went down to SoHo. SoHo is one of the hottest shopping spots in the city. Stores and designer with specialty shops line all the streets

The weather was great. The sun was breaking through and there was a nice little breeze. April popped into one of her favorite store, Anthropologie.

Visit: www.anthropologie.com

We walked the sidewalks with no real agenda. Slowly we headed uptown and decided to have dinner in Chelsea. We passed by the famed Hotel Chelsea (where many famous writers, musicians and playwrights lived during the 60’s and 70’s.) and made our way to the trendy little restaurant Food Bar.

The dinner was good but the conversation and sharing is what I will remember most about tonight. Our friendship has always allowed for nothing but openness and honesty and tonight was no exception. We challenge each other every time we’re together – we accept and embrace each other’s journeys. Just when we think we’ve shared it all, the Universe moves us to open up more. It is always completely unexpected and nothing that either of us plan.

Tonight as we talked, at one point April looked at me and said, “You do know this is huge.”

With those words I realized that I had, without planning it, take our friendship to another level as well. Before dinner I thought April knew all there was to really know about me.

I surprised us both.