Richmond to the Big Apple and "Hadestown"

 Saturday, August 17, 2024

We're all up and at our appointed stations right on time!  Jeremy is taking Dylon to his baseball game, Cathy has to go to work, and we're on the road before nine! We've repacked our suitcases so that when we get to The Pod Hotel in Manhattan we won't look quite so much like bag ladies and we're on our way.

Dylon and Jeremy

Cathy and Ginger

We've been warned that there may be as much as sixty dollars in tolls before we get to the city and we think maybe an EZ Pass would be a good investment.  I Google where to to buy an EZ Pass and then where is the closest Wegman's.  It's a bit out of our way but it should be worth it.  And Ginger needs a toothbrush and we're out of crackers for our tuna/cream cheese spread, so a grocery store won't go amiss. We've been talking about other visits to NYC and Dale's name came up.  And almost immediately we passed an exit for Dale City!

We find the Customer Service desk and the very helpful lady tells us that a pass won't go into effect for forty-eight hours!!  That's not going to help at all.  Instead we get sixty dollars worth of change and small bills and head back to the GPS's approved route.

Somebody in this store has a sense of humor and too much time on their hands!

pretty bridge

Fun sign on an Amazon truck.  I really like the one that says "There's fun
stuff inside this truck" and also "That thing you wanted?  It's in here!"

There's a lot to learn when you're on unfamiliar roads, like what it means when it says the tunnel has a toll but there's no toll plaza!  And why the close some lanes.  And why the toll operator says we could have gone to the DMV and gotten an active EZ Pass, even though it's Saturday and I'm sure they're closed!  And who knows where that office is anyway!  They say Virginia is for Lovers;  but we're not feeling the love!

What the heck??

We stop at the Maryland Welcome Station and find that their restrooms are closed.  But there are Porta Potties and even a man keeping them all shiny clean.  And although the station says it's only closed on a few named holiday, Christmas and the like, it's locked up tight.  Good think we didn't need any information!

This is for people like me who've read about these but never seen one!

And we're in Delaware! We've been talking about other shows to see and investigate "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" which got rave reviews.  There's a Sunday 3:00 matinee with reasonably-priced tickets and we figure we can go to lunch with Steven at 11:30 and get back in time to catch it!  It's so cool to do all our shopping on line and get our tickets on my phone!  We even get tickets for the Met on Monday!  Our New York time is filling up nicely.  Now I just need to hear from Shannon.

Yep, it's been raining on and off for a while.

We'd been talking about the paper tickets back in the old days and 
it turns out they still use them!!

Woohoo!  We're approaching the Lincoln Tunnel!  We're almost there!  It's a giggle and a half when the GPS says we are only 925 feet from our destination and it will take us 8 minutes!  But we can see our hotel and even spot a parking garage!

By George!  There it is!!

Ginger pulls up in front (in the no parking, busses only spot) and we hop out.  She takes out the big things, two suitcases and my back pack, and leaves me and them on the sidewalk while she goes off to park.  i schlep them inside and figure out how to get upstairs to the lobby.  Once there I can't check us in because the reservation isn't in my name.  No problem for me!  I just wait patiently and quite soon Ginger appears with our keys and off we go to see what a pod room looks like.  Remember that the rent is really cheap and we are only a thirteen minute walk from tonight's theater, the Walter Kerr.  Oh!  Did I mention that we're seeing "Hadestown" which won the Tony for best musical and best music?

The room is adorable with a well-appointed bathroom and bunk beds and it's sparkling clean!  We have time to change clothes, walk to the theater to make sure we know where it is and get some dinner.  We split a Rueben with pastrami and it's so huge that I can't finish my half!  And we have plenty of time to walk back to the theater and join the queue for bag check.

Nothing is cheap in NYC.

But it's really huge!

Our seats are amazing!  Second row balcony and closer to the stage than a similar seat at the Tampa Theatre.  Ginger had talked to Ben earlier in the day and he said that he saw it at the Fox and loved itl.  I'm feeling better because I'm the one that really wanted to see it and we've been playing the original-cast recording without being all that impressed.

I needn't have worried!!  It's a fantastic production!!  It deserved it's awards and then some. Powerful voices, creative choreography and sets, splendid music from an eight-piece band, just mesmerizing!!

When we were queuing up for security bag check, the lady in charge told us to stay in our lines, "Your line is special! " "What about ours?"  "Yours is special, too!  They're both special!"

Giggle!

We stay until the band has finished playing and walk home without even getting lost!  We've figured out how to arrange everything in the room for maximum efficiency and are settled in for the night.  I'm blogging and Ginger is finishing her Duo-Lingo for the day. What a successful one it has been!!

View from our room!