WEDNESDAY – AUGUST 1^{st We got up early and drove from Boston to NEW YORK CITY (about 4 hours, 223 miles). Actually, we drove to our motel in nearby Secaucus, New Jersey, and then took the bus into Manhattan. We arrived earlier than expected, so we were in time to get tickets to a Broadway matinee at 2PM, although tickets to most shows were scarce since it was about 1PM or so. The top three choices were sold out, so we ended up with the show that started with the letter “D”, which turned out to be ‘Deuce’, starring Angela Lansbury. It was forgettable for us; although the audience composed mostly of elderly women enjoyed it.}


With a bad taste in our mouth, we decided against going to the Yankees baseball game versus the White Sox that night in favor of seeing another Broadway show. Got in line for TKTS discounted tickets soon after Deuce let out, and picked up tickets for Curtains, a musical comedy and “Whodunit?” starring David Hyde Pierce (brother “Niles” on TV sitcom Frazier). We scoped out the harbor scene and ferry tour information. We bought tickets for cruise the next day at 10AM (which officially ruled out going to Yankee Stadium, because the game the next day started at 1PM), and we ate before the show performance. The play started at 8PM, and was quite enjoyable. We felt like we were back on track.

Then we walked to the Port Authority to pick up the final bus to Secaucus out of Manhattan around 11PM (or later).

THURSDAY – AUGUST 2^nd We arrived in Manhattan by bus from Secaucus, and made the short walk to Pier 83 for the 3-hour ferry boat ride around Manhattan (“Full Island Cruise”) starting at 10:30AM. It was already getting hot and humid, just like the day before (96 degrees, probably 80+ % humidity). The cruise boat was open-air (no air conditioning), but there was a nice breeze most of the trip, so we enjoyed the commentary from our NYC native tour guide who had a vast knowledge of the city. (Fact: Pier 83 is located at 43^rd Street; for all of the piers, the pier # is 40 higher than the Manhattan street #.) The tour included beautiful close-up looks at the Statue of Liberty, 7 major bridges connecting Manhattan to the other 4 boroughs, Yankee Stadium (our boat was just going by the park when ballgame traffic had backed up for the day game) and Shea Stadium and old Ebbets Field. After the tour, we ate at an air-conditioned restaurant and took our sweet time. Eventually we had to go outside, and so we went to TKTS to get discount tickets for the 8PM Broadway show that night. By 3:30PM, we had good seats for ‘Avenue Q’, an R-rated musical comedy using a combination of puppets and actors.We had 4.5 hours to kill before the performance, so we bagged the Museum of Modern Art idea and just walked along 5^th Avenue up to Central Park, walked through part of the park, and then back to the Times Square area for the play. Long walk; we were ready for AIR CONDITIONING and comfortable seats in which to rest our feet. Again, we saw an enjoyable show and left immediately for bus back to motel (back at about 11:30PM).