Yes, I am still here. Things have been pretty quiet since July. I'm not going to touch on that thing that happened last week because there is SO MUCH of that already going on. My voice would just get lost in the noise and quite frankly, I don't want to share my thoughts on that here. So, I will post about some of the events that happened when I went to New York not quite a month ago.
My mom and I stayed with my sister in West Point for 10 days. Not every day had something planned, and it will be pretty apparent what was my favorite of the things we did. We went to the Statue of Liberty, that's kind of a given when one visits New York. What can I say about that? My first time seeing her was in high school, but she's still beautiful and represents something a little bit different to everyone.
We also saw The Lion King on Broadway. I had seen the show as done by a touring company maybe 5ish years ago with my ex and his family, but my mom and sister hadn't seen it before. Again, how do I describe something so fantastic? I will say this: The Broadway version was absolutely stunning, and if you get the chance, I highly recommend seeing it there. You get your money's worth in Circle of Life alone, if you ask me. However, if a traveling company comes your direction, don't turn your nose up at it!! It will still be beautiful. The differences were small. The Broadway cast has the advantage of a stage with built ins, and that's honestly the only huge difference I could pick up on. If Hakuna Matata doesn't fill you with childlike joy, then...you might be a lost cause. And if He Lives in You doesn't make you at least misty, then I really don't know what to do with you. This guy was above the escalators and stairs as you leave the theater.
My only complaint about the show is that the cactus butt line is not in the stage version. Sorry to disappoint. And incase you have no idea what I'm talking about:
A completely different kind of show we were also lucky enough to attend was a taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
We stood in line (with priority tickets, mind you) for probably a total of two hours. One hour outside the studio and another hour inside. Worth it? Oh yes. Before the taping, Stephen came out and answered a few audience questions and then we listened to his house band while we waited for the show to start. I didn't like his band. Sorry. But it was fun to see how the tapings work and see Stephen more candidly talking with the audience. It was apparently much colder in the studio than normal that day and he commented on that several times. It was also exhausting. We were the laugh track, applause, and whatever other reactions may be needed for the show. So we had to be "on", if you will, for a good part of the taping. Jumping around, clapping, screaming, just all around being super enthusiastic about everything. So it was fun, but very tiring.
Back when we were in the planning stages of this trip, my sister told me she discovered she lives close to the actual town of Sleepy Hollow. I jumped on that immediately and said we had to go.
There are several Halloween time activities that the town has, and I picked a dramatic recitation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow performed by a master storyteller. I could not have made a better decision! But before I get to that, some pictures!
That pumpkin guy was at an intersection, and this is a sign on a part of the sidewalk as you approach the Old Dutch Church. I don't know if you can read it, but it says "Sleepy Hollow Bridge. Erected to the memory of Washington Irving. 1783-1859." As you continue to the church, not 100 feet from that sidewalk/bridge, you'll see this sign:
The town has obviously changed quite a bit since Washington Irving's time. The actual bridge he wrote about is gone, sadly. This is a bridge in the area, but not the bridge:
Much more what you'd think of when you hear the story, isn't it? I wish I could adequately express how much I loved being there. I've always loved the Legend and the headless horseman though I have no idea exactly why.
This was just at the base of a flagpole. It made me so happy to see they've embraced the history of the town with little things like this. There is also a statue of this scene, but due to the trees and the lighting when I tried to take a picture, I don't have a good picture of that. Anyway, on to the church and cemetery!
The cemetery is on the other side of the church. As you can see, the church is quite small. I believe it seats around 100 people, possibly less. And the storyteller gave his performance inside that very church. SO COOL. I promise, I'll get to that more in one second. I took this picture of the church as we were waiting to get inside:
Sigh...I could live in this little town and be home. But on to the storyteller.
This was his setup inside the church. Photography and recording weren't allowed during the actual performance. I can understand why, but I really would have loved to capture him in action. His name is Jonathan Kruk and he was absolutely incredible. I already want to go back next Halloween. When I come across something I really like, I want to share it, so here are some snippets of what we saw:
The entire performance was about 45 minutes. He was not wearing a microphone, all that projection is just him. The video gives a good idea of what we saw, but truly the magic of it can only be experienced in person. I wasn't sure what I was getting us into going to see a master storyteller, but I am so happy that's what we did.
West Point itself is beautiful in the fall.
I believe this picture was on our way to Sleepy Hollow, but look at those colors! All the mountains look like that. It's glorious. And this is the view of the Hudson River from West Point:
Really a beautiful place to be that time of year. The weather cooperated with us too, which was a bonus. It didn't get really cold and stormy until it was time for us to head home. And that's a fairly decent overview of my New York trip. Hope you enjoyed reading about it! I enjoyed writing about it.
