We stayed with Maureen and Eric, the lucky parents of the inimitable Morgan, Carson, and McConn, of Port Discovery, Jersey Shore, Donut-Making, Take-a-Break, Photogenic, Rock Band, and Laynie-Loving fame. We were really lazy and didn't get any pictures of people (except for ourselves at Wicked), but I did snap a picture of the pool, which is still under construction. Can't wait to try out that slide next summer!
Me, outside the theater.
Layniebug, in front of the awesome Wicked set. We were in the front mezzanine, second row, center section. Laynie likes the front mezzanine better than the orchestra. She says that it is better visually.
Waiting for the show to begin. Oh boy!
Laynie got a great shot of the curtain. Check out those little jewels.
Laynie with her captioning device.
The captioning device was so cool! Only three of the shows on Broadway have these (Wicked, Mamma Mia, and Jersey Boys) so far. It works based on the lighting cues, so it stays reasonably in sync with the show, which is difficult given the timing variations inherent in a live show. Applause breaks alone could make a show 10 minutes shorter or longer. Laynie felt like she could really follow the words to one of the songs: No Good Deed. It is sung with very distinct timing. Laynie really enjoyed the show, although it was a little loud for her delicate bionic ears.
I loved the show, and I felt like I got more out of it the second time around. The standby Glinda performed, and she was just ok, but the Elphaba was great. This could be a show I see a dozen times, like Chicago and Jekyll and Hyde. Oh, and Scarlet Pimpernel. And Putting It Together! I just love the theater, especially musicals.
It was a great weekend. We took the kids out for a sort of late dinner on Friday. To Take-a-Break, where else? The patio has now been enclosed, so they are open year round. When I lived there, it was just an ice cream shop with a few grill foods (hamburgers, hot dogs), but now they are doing big business in pizza, and they just introduced homemade donuts. McConn recommends them.
***BEGINNING OF SLP NERD-OUT***
Carson (age 6:9) has been in speech therapy since around April, and he is sounding so good! His R is over 70% in conversation, and his L is really coming along, as well. This is a huge improvement since I saw him in August, when he was still at the word level with these phonemes! I advised Eric to have Carson evaluated when he turned six last February, thinking they would work on his L, since he's a little young to work on R. But he turned out to be stimulable for R, so his SLP (who comes to his private school from the local public school, nice of her) went for it. Of course, I told Carson how good he sounded. I made sure to whisper it to him, since he's weird about compliments. He seems to view compliments about things he's just learned as reminders of mistakes made in the past. I do miss his little-boy speech though, especially widow (little), yeddoh (yellow), and Wex (Rex, the dog). White, light, and right are now three different words. But he hasn't worked on TH yet, so I get to enjoy dare (there) and fink (think) a little longer.
***END OF SLP NERD-OUT***
Laynie and I went to Chef Central on the way down to the city on Saturday. LOVE THAT STORE. I stop by there every time I'm in the area. If you ever find yourself in Paramus, NJ, GO. There's also a store in Hartsdale, NY, but I prefer the Paramus store.
OH, I almost forgot. I got stopped by a cop on Saturday morning! I drove past one in the park (Tuxedo Park, the village where my friends live), and I didn't think anything of it. When I was out of the park and on Route 17, he pulled up alongside me at a stoplight (good thing I didn't squeak through the yellow as it turned red) and asked me to pull over at the next parking lot. Brother. The cops in the park are so picky, because there is no crime there and they are always bored. Turns out I had a taillight out. He said he was going to write me a citation for it, but that I could come back after I fixed it and probably get out of the ticket. Uhhh....
I cheerfully explained that I was visiting from Maryland and was only here for the weekend to see Wicked with my friend, who has never seen it before. He asked when I got there. Um, last night. When are you leaving? Tomorrow morning. He asked who I was staying with in the park. I told him, and of course he knew who they were. His whole demeanor changed, and that was the moment I knew I was golden. He gave me back my license and advised me to fix that light as soon as I could and have fun at the show. Hooray! I went straight to Ramapo Auto Parts and fixed it myself. Well, with Laynie's help. And one of the guys who worked there might have helped a little. Still, I felt very capable. So capable that when my headlight went out two days later (weird coincidence), I fixed it that very day. With Laynie's help.
It was a great, though short, weekend.
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