Home Again, 6/14-6/19/2017

Our daughter, Amanda, lives in Astoria (Queens), NY, and works in theatre in Manhattan. She invited us to a Wednesday matinee (6/14) of The Whirligig at the Signature Theatre on 42nd Street (www.thenewgroup.org/the-whirligig.html).  Amanda was responsible for set automations (a technical position), including aerial rigging for two of the performers. We were excited to be able to make the trip to the Big Apple to see the show (it played from May 4-June 18).

Traveling by rail (Amtrak) from Exton, PA, to Penn Station, NYC, we only had to drive about 15 miles from the campground to the train station (convenient!) Amanda met us at Penn Station and we had a lovely brunch at Vynl (www.vynl-nyc.com) before she had to go to work. 

We snapped some photos of the current show (The Whirligig) Amanda was working; and, the next show (Spoon River) where she is working in July.

There is a really nice lobby/cafe and bookstore at the Signature Theatre. We spent time checking out the displays there and Amanda brought us a Playbill while she prepped for the show. 

One of my favorite parts of going to Amanda's shows is the backstage tour before the show. There are a lot of moving parts in The Whirligig and it was fascinating for us both to see how some of it works. John had to get a picture of us on the stage, too!

We really enjoyed this original show by Hamlisch Linklater, described as "Heartfelt and compassionate, The Whirligig spins a tale of a fractured community weaving a circuitous route back to one another." We were talking about it for days, so well done. 

After the show, we walked down to the waterfront area along the Hudson River (only a couple of blocks from the theatre) where we got something to drink and enjoyed the scene there. 

Amanda went back to work for the evening show and we walked to Penn Station to catch our train back to PA. It was a really special day for us. It's always a treat to see Amanda's work first hand and a good show, too!

The next night we went to dinner with my brother, Mark. He and John are very close, and it is always fun for the three of us to spend time together. Continuing with our busy social calendar, we went to dinner at the home of Lisa and Chris, long-time friends, Friday night. It's always a delight to spend time at their beautiful farm. 

Dinner with Mark and his family was planned for Father's Day. Out of the blue, my nephew, Bryan, called me around 3 pm before we had left for Mark's. We were shocked and so very sad to learn that my older brother, Bob, had died (apparently in his sleep) of heart failure earlier in the day at his home in Charleston, SC. We spent the rest of the day re-grouping with the family and figuring out what our next steps should be. 

My oldest brother, Jim, made plans to fly to Charleston from his home in Columbus, OH, Monday morning. John and I (plus Sadie) decided to drive our car there (650 miles) on Tuesday (leaving the motor coach in PA).