Travel!

 My Friday features usually focus on books or other reading material but, this time, I want to go a different way. Last week, my husband, daughter, and I spent a few days in New York City. While we were there, we collectively saw two shows, sampled tons of gluten-free food (much to my daughter’s delight) went to two museums and the Harry Potter Shop, spent a little down time in a midtown Starbucks, did some shopping and walked a LOT. 

Although we usually engage in essentially the same activities when we all travel together, this time was a little different. Our daughter had made plans to go to the Spy Museum with a friend on our second day there, leaving my husband and me to make our own plans. He wanted to do a little shopping, while I preferred to take in another show. 

So, that’s what we did. He shopped and I went to see Daniel Radcliffe in Every Brilliant Thing. It was, at the risk of being too on the nose, brilliant – one of the best shows I have seen. Although I’m not a rabid fan, I like Daniel Radcliffe quite a bit, and I like him even more after this show. His range and his generosity with the audience was quite something, beginning 30 minutes before the show as he runs around the audience, introducing himself and seeking out theatregoers who will participate in the story. Because the show has a mental health thread woven throughout, it can be quite an emotional experience, but the journey is worthwhile. Despite the fact that was the one thing I did by myself in New York, I think it was my favorite activity of the trip.

Another favorite was The Museum of Broadway, a place I hope to return to. It brought back theatre history, and fun facts I hadn’t considered since the musical theatre class I took in college a long, long time ago. And the costumes, props, set pieces and additional memorabilia were just delightful. For a Broadway aficionado, it’s a lot to take in. Part of me wishes I could’ve stayed longer, but I also recognize that I was saturated by the time we left, (and my husband and had daughter passed that point before I did), so a return visit is likely to prove more satisfying than more of the same.

As a matter of fact, I think I would return to nearly all the places we visited on this trip. We found some good restaurants where my daughter, who has Celiac Disease, could peruse a full menu rather than trying to ferret out one or two gluten-free items on otherwise gluten-laden menu. And the meals we enjoyed left both my husband and me, who have no dietary restrictions, delighted as well. On a non-foodie note, the Harry Potter Shop was beautiful and it would be fun to go back when we weren’t worrying about finishing our visit there in time to make it to our dinner reservation.

This is my second trip to New York this year — marking my first excursions into the city in more than six years. Though the pandemic is behind us, my desire for travel has been slow to return, but last month, thanks to the generosity and initiative of a dear friend, I had an opportunity to get myself back in the travel game. Together, we saw a taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and a Patti LuPone concert at Carnegie Hall. That trip, along with the more recent one with my family, whetted my appetite, nudging me to book more trips for later this year before I forget the perks of leaving home and the status quo lures me back in.

It’s a big world out there and I want more. More shows. More trips. More brilliant things.

As I wrote in a post at the beginning of this year, age is a state of mind. And, as Mark Twain, (and a few others) have reportedly said, if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. 

Life is full of brilliant things, and we are never too old to find them. At least not as long as we're willing to seek them out.