Date #15 - Slow Dancin'...Swaying to the Music

We can't dance.
Not together anyway.

There I said it.

Pretty embarassing, but our dancing together consists of maybe getting up once or twice during a slow song at a wedding, after many adult beverages, and moving together in a circle, round and round and round. The white man rotation dance.

I do love to fast dance, and I will do so with my female friends all wedding long, and while I'm not quite as bad as Elaine Benis (Watch her here), I will admit that my husband married the only girl with Latin blood who cannot shake her booty.

While I have no desire to replicate the moves on Dancing with the Stars... I never even watch the show... it would be nice to get on the dance floor with TH and actually move around without completely embarassing ourselves.

So date #15 was a private couple's ballroom dance class. Such a deal, only $25 with a Buy With Me voucher. So off we went to Ballroom in Boston, which happens to be neither. It is a mirrored dance studio in a non-descript brick building that also houses a gym, karate studio, and bakery....and it's in Newton.

It was just a 45 minute class, where we learned the Rumba. The owner/instructor was a young girl who really did a great job....given that she didn't have much to work with. It didn't take long for us to master the basic Rumba box steps,  however I can't imagine we'll ever do it in real life without counting out loud LOL!

Because we were so advanced and at the head of the class, our instructor threw in a Rotation, and a Sway. Whee....watch us now! We were without a doubt, the best couple in the room. Okay, we were the only couple in the room...it was a private lesson, remember?

All too quickly our class was over and, of course like most of our dates, it ended in the souvenir shop. Not really, but the instructor did produce our exit card with prices for future lessons. You know, in case we need a refresher course. Our class was a bargain at only $25 and well worth the investment. But I think I can safely guarantee that we won't be shelling out $85 for the next private lesson.

Of course we still haven't done any of our homework, which was to practice for 5 minutes a day. But TH has been showing off his dance skills to anyone who will watch.

So now, for the next 35 years, catch TH and me on the dance floor as we dance in a box (no longer in a circle going round and round), with the occasional rotation and sway. We'll be the couple counting out loud 1,2,3,4,5,6!

Because our voucher was set to expire and I had already cancelled once before, our class was scheduled for 5:15pm. But as early as it was, date #15 unceremoniously concluded at 6:00 because I had another date waiting. (I always wanted to say that)!

My BFF (MC) and I had tickets to the Wilbur Theater later that evening to see Frankie Valle in concert. Now there's a white man who can dance. Well maybe not so much anymore. The concert was two days after his 77th birthday, and old Frankie did not move too well on stage looked great. He stayed in place and swayed, often holding his back, while his new and improved quartet of young studs replicated all the old Four Seasons' signature moves including the finger snapping and popping on their toes.

The concert was lots of fun singing all those old songs and walking down memory lane. And, even though Frankie still has his amazingly high falsetto singing voice, I don't think he can yell out the loud notes anymore. The audience may not have noticed, but everytime a song needed a loud shout-out, he would hold the microphone towards us and let the audience sing out phrases such as I Love You Baby, or Walk Like a Man, or Rag Doll.

And though the younger generation may possibly only remember Frankie from his character on the Soprano's, the Wilbur Theater audience (with an average age of 70) knew every word to every song in his repertoire. And  more power to Frankie for riding the coat-tails of the Jersey Boy success into concert sellouts in his 60th year in the business.

Here's a photo from his official website.

Date #14 - Come on Down

Two days after our exciting Date #13 at The Ellen Show, it was back to Hollywood...

...this time to the CBS Studios for

The CBS Studios are directly next door to The Grove, the trendy outdoor mall in Hollywood where you are sure to spot a celebrity or two. From The Grove's parking garage, you can look right down into the CBS Studios back lot

and, if you are there on taping days, you can watch the prizes for the show as they are wheeled in and out of the studio. On many of our past visits, we'd also seen the long lines for the contestants and I'd made a mental note to someday apply for tickets. The 35 Dates project seemed as good a time as ever. 

Several months before our trip to L.A. (and before I knew we were going to see Ellen), I went to The Price is Right web site and discovered they were having a special Mother's Day taping on one of the days we'd be on the west coast. I called the number to see if my son J and I could be contestants, but they already had a full audience. However, the woman I spoke with offered me guaranteed seating to the following day's taping for the three of us. It was that easy!

I received an email with all the rules/instructions:

we would have to arrive no later than 12 noon;

look for the employees in red jackets and tell them we are on the 'guaranteed' list;

no cameras, cell phones, or computers allowed anywhere on the studio property;

and all potential contestants had to present their social security cards and go through an interview process.

Now I haven't watched The Price is Right in years, and never since Bob Barker retired, but I did remember that contestants often wore tacky T-shirts on the show. So I ordered a set for TH and me, in bright tangerine, to maybe increase our chances of making it up on stage. I included the url for this blog on the back and, since I didn't want Th to see the shirts in advance, I had them delivered to our son's home in Santa Monica.

As always, TH was a good sport about wearing them (remember, this is a man who wears velour in April...not a fashion plate) and, when we learned we had tickets to Ellen in the same week, we decided to wear the shirts to both shows.

Here's a photo of us wearing them in the waiting area for Ellen.

While sitting there, TH happened to read the back of my shirt and could not figure out what the small print said. Finally it dawned on him that it was a web address for this blog. He asked for a pen and paper, but of course I ignored him. When we finally made it across the street and into the studio, however, one of Ellen's production assistants came over and told us we couldn't wear the shirts in the audience. Really??? I asked. He just repeated that we couldn't wear matching shirts, and I wasn't going to argue with him. Luckily we both had other shirts underneath. I quickly stashed the shirts in my bag out of site (and out of TH's mind).

Two days later, we donned them again and headed for CBS. Our son had to work, so it was just the two of us. We parked at The Grove and made it to the studio gates about five minutes before noon and saw a line that stretched down the street. However, with our guaranteed seating, we were able to bypass the line and were immediately ushered onto the lot where we were given numbers 111 and 112.

From there we were directed to benches where the employees in red jackets had us fill out a brief form, checked our identification and social security numbers, and issued our Official Name Tags. It was a young man who handwrote each and every name tag and I was very impressed by his neat printing. TH was really perturbed that they used his full name, but that is one of the requirements (for tax purposes, I guess).

After that we waited. And waited. And waited.

Like The Ellen Show, CBS also had a food cart on the lot so TH was happy that he didn't have to miss lunch. I was happy that I'd brought Tina Fey's book with me...and I read the ENTIRE book in one sitting while we waited. That's how long we waited.

I think there were ultimately about 350 of us waiting to enter the studio. There were several large groups, all with matching shirts, and there were quite a few show-offs in the waiting area. Apparently they thought if they were excited and energetic in the waiting area, that they would be selected as contestants. They danced in the aisles, they raced down the rows high-fiving everyone, they danced down the rows with their ass sticking out for everyone to pat them, they hooted, they hollered, and some of them made damn fools of themselves. And you know what....not one of those bafoons were asked to 'come on down.'

They moved us around quite often during the wait process, to different areas outside the building, so that occasionally we stood up and actually thought we were going somewhere. One of the stops was a photo session.... where they took photos of every group against a green backdrop. Finally, after more than 3 and 1/2 hours, we made it to the interview process which consisted of one man walking behind a barricade while his assistant took notes. They lined up about a dozen of us, called us out in order by the name on our tag, and asked us each our occupation. That was it....didn't ask where we were from, didn't ask why we were there, didn't even ask about our silly tangerine shirts.

But that was the final step in the wait process as we made our way around the back corner of the building and into the studio. Once inside, I was shocked to see how small the seating area actually was....it always looked much larger on TV. And once again the seat fairies were kind to us as the ushers escorted TH and me all the way down to the front row....directly next to the money seats! Wow...that was (almost) worth the wait.

From there, everything moved very rapidly. The seats were filled, we were given instructions for cheering, applauding, running down the aisles, etc. The announcer was introduced, and then it was showtime. The announcer started to call the first four contestants, but it was so loud in there you could barely hear him. Luckily, there are two producers on stage with giant cue cards that they revealed every time a new name was called. That's why the contestants look so confused on TV. You are trying to hear your name above the noise and read the cue cards in all the excitement. Very surreal.

And then it was time for the host's grand entrance. I was quite shocked to see this tall, skinny gentleman appear. I think the last time I saw Drew Carey was when he had his own sitcom and he was a fat slob of a guy with plump overly made-up secretary. This Drew Carey was almost anorexic. They are not kidding when they say the camera adds pounds! And our seats were so close we could easily reach out and touch him (but we didn't).

The show moved along at a rapid-fire pace. There was absolutely no down time. As soon as one game ended (and they broke for commercial) there was a frenzy of activity on the stage as they set up for the very next game. I always presumed the process took much longer, but they move along at an amazing clip. And Drew Carey stays on stage the entire time chatting with the audience. He was really funny and personable, and didn't require any touch-ups to his make-up or any bathroom breaks.

It turns out that the day we were at the taping was April 20th, and the show started to tape at 4:10pm. When the first game ended about 10 minutes later, Drew Carey asked the audience if we all knew what the date was. Then he looked at his wrist, asked if it was really 4:20, and pretended to take a toke. He pantomined smoking during several of the breaks in the show....but I don't think half the audience got his joke. (TH didn't until days later when we were on the Venice boardwalk and he saw the 420 signs everywhere).

I'm sure you figured out by now that we were never called to 'Come on Down' but it was still a fun date. Other than the excessive almost 4-hour wait to get in, it was a great experience. It was fun watching the big wheel and the showcase showdowns, and fun yelling out prices even though absolutely nobody could hear us. But truthfully, as I watched the prizes up for grabs at each game, or even to get up on stage, I decided I wouldn't want to take any of that crap home with me (other than cash or cars), especially if I had to pay taxes before I could enjoy them. It was the thrill of the win that provided the excitement.

I won't tell you if there were any big winners on our show. But you can watch for yourself this week. Our episode airs on Wednesday, May 11th, so set your DVRs. I'm guessing that TH and I will be on camera as we were sitting directly next to the money seats (that's where the bidding contestants sit while they wait to make it up on stage). If you are looking down from the stage, we are to the left of those seats, wearing our bright tangerine shirts.

Remember those group photos we posed for in front of the green backdrop?

Date #13 - Ellen de Generous

Date #13 was our first official 'group' date. It was also our first 'west coast' date.
And it was, hands-down, the BEST date we've had so far.

The Ellen Show.

We were in Santa Monica for two glorious weeks visiting our younger son (J), his lovely wife (K), and our precious 6 mos grandson (M). We also hung out with their great friends and family members.

J has a fabulous female friend and former roommate (D) whom we absolutely love. J&D went to college together, and they were born in the same week which has meant years of celebrating birthdays together.

D works on one of our favorite TV shows that is filmed at NBC Universal. One of her co-workers went to high school with Ellen's brother, Vance. So, despite the months-long wait list that even studio employees must sit on for tickets, this friend-of-a-friend-of-a-brother scored us four VIP passes to a taping for the Ellen Show.

Unfortunately our daughter-in-law had to work and couldn't join us, but her mom (B) was kind enough to keep our grandbaby so that J and TH and I could attend the taping with D.

Our day started at the Universal Lot where the guards actually had our names on their clip-board and gave us passes and reserved parking.

How cool?

(I covered D's name with a straw wrapper.)

After we picked D up at her office, we toured the lot a bit (right past all the tourists on the Universal Studios Backstage Lot ride) and then we drove over to the Warner Bros. studios where The Ellen Show is taped. The show wasn't taping until 3:30, but we had to arrive two hours early. Fortunately, we were able to sit in the area reserved for VIP guests while we watched all the other audience hopefuls (with guaranteed or stand-by tickets) wait in maze-like lines that snaked through the holding area.

That's J's hand giving the thumbs-up!

While in the holding area, we learned that the guests on the show were Tina Fey and Mike Posner. Now I didn't have a clue as to who Mike Posner was, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVE TINA FEY! This was too cool. Two of my favorite ladies on the same stage in living color....Ellen and Tina. I knew that Tina would be promoting her new book, Bossypants, and I secretly wondered if maybe Ellen gave her guests freebies (like Oprah) and maybe we would score a copy of the book.

From the holding area, we moved across the street where we had to pass through security and metal detectors. They confiscated all cameras and Ipads, but strangely enough allowed everyone to keep their cell phones. From there we went into the lobby of the studio, which also happened to be the gift shop, where they sold all things Ellen. We had another wait period there...apparently they wanted to allow sufficient time for everyone to buy souvenirs. And then it was showtime.

We filed into the studio in order, with VIP guests leading the way. The assistants took our VIP passes, verified our names on the clipboard, and then escorted us down the stairs towards the stage. And they didn't stop until we'd reached the second row. We couldn't believe it....awesome seats. And sitting directly behind us was....Ellen's mother (we had better seats than she did, tee hee)!

And although we had great seats, we actually spent very little time sitting in them. We were on our feet dancing constantly...before the show started and through every commercial break. Reminded me of Mama Mia (the stage play) where the entire audience dances through the final number. It was such fun! Even TH, who never dances, Mr. Rhythm himself, was on his feet and swaying.

But that was only the beginning of the excitement. Before Tina Fey came onstage, Ellen did a segment called 'Tweets and Asks' where her fans ask questions via Twitter. One of her assistants read the tweets using the new Blackberry Playbook which was going on sale the next day. And since the show she was taping was going to air the next day as well, Ellen announced that she had bought 400 playbooks for every member of the audience. WHAT!! This really was like Oprah. That's $200,000 worth of technology the audience just scored. And all I had been hoping for was a book.

And then it was time for Tina. She was hysterical....and so talented (and pregnant). She did not miss a beat. Both women are comic geniuses and it was truly entertaining. Together they did an improv skit that was hilarious. I can't imagine a better guest I would have preferred to see with Ellen. And then, YUP, my wishes came true when Ellen announced we were all getting our very own copy of Bossypants. I was almost as excited as I'd been about the Playbook!

The musical guest was Mike Posner. I didn't recognize the name, but I knew his music and he serenaded Ellen with a rousing performance of his hit, Bow Chicka Wow Wow. Once again we were up and dancing....the fun never stopped. Watch his performance here.

And then to top it all off....Ellen announced that each member of the audience would also receive a copy of Posner's newest CD. Wow, this was like Christmas in April!

But wait....Ellen wasn't finished giving out freebies. Turns out that the next day (when the show would air) was also the day that the King's Speech would be available on DVD so, Yes, you guessed it, as the credits were rolling Ellen let us know that we were all taking home a copy of the Oscar winning flick.

And then it was over. What struck me most about the show was that Ellen was truly as genuine in real life as she appears on television. Not once during commercial breaks did she have her hair and make-up touched up. Neither did Tina Fey. I'd been to tapings of the David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel shows and the hair and makeup folks were constantly hovering around the show hosts and their guests. But not Ellen and Tina.

As the audience members filed out, J snapped a photo of the set. He was immediately reprimanded by a production assistant, and for a minute I was afraid they were going to confiscate my cell phone, or at the very least ask me to erase the shot. But they didn't, so here it is.

As we left the studio, we were handed our loot. 

And nobody complained that we didn't get a bag to carry all our swag.

We took home a lot more than memories from this date....lucky #13.

...Special thanks to D for making this date possible, and for taking these photos.

She makes it to our list of Angels Among Us

Date #12 - The Quest Eternal

For Date #12 we went ...

on a Scavenger Hunt.

While researching ideas for dates, I came across this Boston.com recommendation of things to do for under $25.  A company called Stray Boots (very cute) has created a unique, fun way to sightsee by turning it into a scavenger hunt called: The Game. It's played entirely via text messaging on your cell phone. They started The Game in New York, and expanded into Vegas and now Boston.

When I clicked onto their website http://www.bostonthegame.com/ I discovered that the first 300 players in Boston would get to participate for FREE. This was a no brainer. When purchasing our free tix (regularly $20 per person), I had to designate the neighborhood to explore: Back Bay or Beacon Hill. When I asked TH if he had a preference, he immediately responded Back Bay. And his reason....less hills, of course. Heaven forbid we have to do anything strenuous on a date!

We had planned to play The Game a few Sundays back, but it was too cold to be outdoors for 2-3 hours (see date #10). The good thing about the tickets for this event is that they are good for up to one year, and you can play on any day, at any time (although many of the stops won't be accessible if you decide to play at odd hours, say on your way home from a pub crawl). And if you're a really slow player, they give you up to seven days to complete the scavenger hunt.

On the Sunday we finally played, it was sunny, in the high fifties, one of those rare glorious spring days in Boston....we only get about a dozen of them in this season that never lasts more than 10 minutes around here. A perfect day for a scavenger hunt.

Of course, no adventure starts without a 'discussion'...and this discussion involved HOW we would get to the starting point at Mass. Ave and Newbury Street. I proposed taking the bus to Copley Square....but TH reminded me just how FAR that would leave us from the starting point. (I checked, they are three-quarters of a mile apart...and that's driving - you can take far more shortcuts when walking.) So TH prevailed in the discussion and we took the car. Because it was a beautiful Sunday, and meters weren't in effect, of course there weren't any open parking spots so we drove around, and around, and around for a good half hour before TH finally found a parking space. And Yes it was right on Newbury Street, but it was over behind Kenmore Square....a quarter mile away. So maybe TH was right. Maybe not. We'll see.

Once we were at the starting point, I activated our account on the cell phone and we received our first instructions that took us around the corner to an ice cream shop on Newbury. We answered the question correctly, but didn't stop to sample the wares.

Next stop was the firehouse on Boylston where we needed to find the year it was built. Of course we asked the first firefighter we encountered, and he confidently told us 1888. When I sent the text, it came back as incorrect. The firefighter insisted he was right, and even handed us his business card with a link to a website. Apparently JM is the firehouse historian. He even took us inside where three of his co-workers were gathered around a TV set and they all confirmed the date was 1888.

When I sent this information back to The Game monitors, I had apparently missed the next clue which sent us over to Berklee...and they recorded that answer as incorrect as well. But just when I started to think that this was a completely pre-recorded game with no actual interaction (we were planning on quitting at that point) the monitor responded and told us to check out the north wall of the firehouse. Lo and behold, just to the left of the front doors where these firefighters log many hours sitting, we found a plaque that sure enough said 1887. Firefighter JM was so stunned he took a picture of it and retreated inside to update the website. LOL....we weren't off to a very good start.

But those were the only two questions we missed. From there we went to a bar on Boylston, over to the Prudential Center where we had to find several clues and then back out again and over to Newbury Street once more. Some of the stops involved taking pictures of team members posing with certain statues, etc...and you had to send them in to earn points. I'm not crazy about providing pictures that this company now owns and can publish wherever they like...so I made them as vague as possible. It helps that I have a crappy cell phone camera and that I was the one taking the photos, so only TH is visible. I doubt these pictures would help anyone pick him out of a police line-up.

From Newbury we traveled down Exeter, to the Commonwealth Mall, down Comm. Ave to Dartmouth and back to Newbury. The last 11 clues were all in Copley Square, which was really a great place to hang out on this gorgeous spring day. Many of the clues were found in the architecture of the buildings we visited. And may I add that we just don't construct buildings the way they used to. These buildings are works of art and built to stand the test of time. A great part of our history.

The best thing about this scavenger hunt was that we learned quite a few things about Boston that we never realized.  We've walked/biked/driven the Commonwealth Mall many times, but never really understood what many of the statues represented. And who knew that the names of the Boston Marathon winners and their race times are engraved on the sidewalk in the square?

I was shocked to learn that Trinity Church actually charges $7 admission just to go in and look around. It was surreal visiting the Old South Church (which was free by the way) where there was someone up in the loft playing some eerie church music on the massive pipe organ that really is a thing of beauty in itself.

Three of the clues to this game we solved very easily. Instead of visiting a specific site to find a clue, players are instructed to ASK A BOSTONIAN. I'm proud to say that we aced those 3 questions.

The very last challenge (there were 31 all together) was to take a picture of your entire team in the reflection of the infamous mirror windows of the Hancock Tower. This tallest skyscraper in Boston was completed the year after we were married and, despite the windows not being structurally sound when it first opened...it's still standing intact - and so are we!

When we sent this picture as the last text...here was the message we received:

Congratulations! You just finished the Copley Square & Back Bay zone! Your score is 330.

Really?? That was it? I'm not sure what I expected, but it seemed pretty anticlimactic after we'd just spent almost three hours exchanging text messages!!  But wait....one more text message did arrive. Had we maybe beat out other teams playing that same day or week? Did we win dinner at Legal's?

No sireee. Indeed not.

Like all good tourist attractions that make sure you exit through their gift shop so they can pluck some more money out of your pockets....this is the final text we received:

To purchase another ticket, visit www.newyorkthegame.com or call 877-787-2929.

So even though we received free tickets, they weren't sent to me in exchange for a blog review. Therefore, here's my unsolicited review that reflects my opinion alone.

First: this is a great date idea. We scavenged for almost three hours, but could have spent much longer had we stopped for ice cream, drinks, or dinner at the food clues, (but we had just enjoyed a wonderful buffet brunch that morning with our Supper Club). Or we could have shopped in the Pru Shoppes or on Newbury. We did hang out a bit at the Hempest where the clerk actually knew that they were a stop on the scavenger hunt and readily provided the clue for us (Grassachusetts). At all of the other places where we mentioned it, however, well let's just say...they were clueless.

Second: This would probably be more fun with more people. But if you are doing this with a bunch of friends...save your money and just have one person buy the ticket. You only use one cell phone (team leader) during the entire game....so how would they know how many are in your group? For all they know you could be a lonely businessman with nothing to do and want to see the city. Okay, I know this is dishonest...but really?? Just remember not to text pictures of your entire group if you only paid for one or two.

Third: and about those pictures..I don't believe they'll deduct points if you don't send them in, as long as you text the clue that's supposed to accompany each picture. And if they do deduct points....who cares? There is no grand prize. For that matter, there is no teeny prize either. Just be wary of sharing your photos.

Fourth: Make it more of a competition. On the website it mentions competing against other teams....but are you supposed to provide your own challengers? You really don't have to work very hard to solve all the clues correctly (assuming you don't ask those firefighters), and making it a timed event would probably take some of the fun out of it. But there should be some incentive to get it right.

Would we do this again? Yes definitely, if it was available in another city we were visiting, or if they were giving away free tickets again! The organizers did select great locations to stop at and they provided fun facts. It's a great way to sightsee and learn about the area.

So the scavenger hunt ended and guess where we were? At Copley Square.

Remember that 'discussion' we had before we left home? About how long a walk it would be from Copley to the starting point? So instead of boarding a bus home right from where we were standing in the square....we now, after already walking for close to 3 hours, had a ONE MILE walk back to the car. (I just hate that I'm always right)!

But did I say, "I told you so?" Nope. Instead I said...."we're stopping at Pinkberry's on the way back." Needless to say, on such a great day, Pinkberry had a line out the door and up the stairs, but it was worth the wait. And there wasn't any guilt attached to those calories after all the walking we'd done. A perfect ending to a perfect date.

And what, you may ask, is the quest eternal? That's the name of the statue in front of the Prudential Center. I worked at the Pru when we were first married, and I used to walk by this adonis every morning. Great way to start the day!

One of the photo ops for the scavenger hunt asked a player to replicate the statue's pose...

so TH did the honors.

It's a remarkable resemblance, don't you agree?

And so the quest continues!

Oops, I almost forgot....one more thing I need to share....

There has been yet another blue velour sighting.....TH donned the blue once again on April 12th.

Do you think he's done yet?! 

Date #11 - Who invited Rita?

I interrupt this post about Date #11 for a very important update about the Blue Velour Shirts:

So here I am thinking that TH read this blog, or somebody tattled, and that he had retired the shirts forever...or at the very least for this winter. TH had not worn either shirt at all since I'd returned from the west coast at the end of February.

Winter turned into spring and the shirts stayed in hibernation. I was so shocked that I even questioned TH as to whether he had read this blog or had learned of it's contents...but he swore he had no idea. This was the first March in 15 years that the Blue Shirts did not leave the closet...not once...Farewell, Bon Voyage, Good Riddance and Halleluiah.

Until this week...

when the blue velour came out of retirement. Four days into the month of April.

Are you kidding me? But wait, it gets far worse. TH also wore blue velour on April 5th and April 6th.....three days in a row!

I was so relieved when I arrived from work today and TH was wearing something other than blue velour. But the shirts are probably biding their time in the hamper waiting for a chance to make another appearance. I wish I knew how to put a counter on this blog...because I'm going to start counting the days until they resurface again.

Any bets? Will they reappear again this spring or will they stay out of view until the fall? I'll keep you posted.

Now back to our date.....

Car Talk, The Musical.

TH and I don't have similar tastes when it comes to most things...but we both love Car Talk. My Dad was an auto mechanic, but none of his knowledge filtered down to me. And TH is not mechanically inclined either. We don't set an alarm or go out of our way to listen to it, but if it's Saturday and we're in the car, you can bet NPR is on the radio and we're laughing out loud at Ray & Tom Magliozzi. I've even taken my car to their garage in Cambridge, just around the corner from our son's home.

I recently received an alumni mailing from Suffolk University that advertised this musical to be performed by students at the university's new stage at the Modern Theatre. Now as much as I love musicals, I usually go with my best friend, M, because TH has been known to sleep through the few that he and I have attended together. I'd never heard of this musical, but when I mentioned that the show was inspired by Car Talk, TH expressed immediate interest.

So off we went. It's so exciting being on the lower end of Washington Street in the evenings now, with the Paramount, The Opera House, and the Modern Theatre lined up in a row with their brightly lit signs. Who would ever have believed that Suffolk would have its own modern theatre someday? Unfortunately, I'm embarrased to admit, I never contributed one penny to any development fund that might have made this possible. But I will try to be a patron for future theatrical events.

There was general seating for this show and, when we arrived, the front three rows were unoccupied. The seats in the 2nd and 3rd rows all had Reserved Parking signs on them...but the front row was wide open so that's where we planted ourselves. In retrospect, maybe not such a good idea (more on that later).

The show was great. It was a cute love story that lasted just over an hour, with no intermission. While there was some original music....most of the songs were hilarious parodies of well known and beloved show tunes from just about every hit Broadway musical. Click n' Clack never made an appearance, but their recorded voices boomed from the role of the Wizard offstage. The students did a fantastic job, and I do hope they get the opportunity to perform the show beyond the six scheduled productions. It was a lot of fun.

And why weren't our front row seats not the best seats in the house? For two reasons. The first being that we were directly over the four-piece orchestra, and their music quite often drowned out the song lyrics.

The second reason...

ummm.....someone started to nod off in front of the performers.

and No it was not TH ...it was your truly. Me!

Oh the mortification. I never really dozed, but it was a struggle to keep my eyes open as I did my best to not imitate a bobble-head doll.

Full disclosure. Before the show we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant with our son's family, B-L-C. And I washed down my salad with an extra large margarita. LOL. I was sauced after just one drink!! I just cannot drink tequila...and I actually tried to order my drink with champagne instead of tequila because I knew it was dangerous, but Jose Cuervo (or one of his relatives) got the best of me.

When we first sat down at the theatre, I sent my son this picture of the stage and bragged about our front row seats. It wasn't until the next morning I realized he responded with a text to tell me that the picture was blurry and remind me that I was drunk.

My sincerest apologies to all the talented performers who might have witnessed the old lady with the nods in the front row. The show was great, and you were not responsible for putting me to sleep...it was that damn waiter that messed up my drink order!

Date #10 - Down by the Sea

For our tenth date, we went to visit an old familiar place....

the ocean.

We actually went to dinner across the street from the ocean, at the Fairview Inn Restaurant at Brant Rock in Marshfield. We had a gift card that was a Christmas present from our favorite six-year-old triplets (and their parents). We've been hanging out with these boys since they were born but, unfortunately, we don't get to see them as often since they left our neighborhood. They are so well behaved and we enjoy every opportunity we get to spend with them. In fact, we had hung out with the boys just the day before.

On Sunday we had an outdoor activity planned for our 10th date. However, even though the calendar said we were one week into spring, the thermometer reminded us that winter keeps a stronger hold on us than even that groundhog predicts. Since it was still so cold out, and rather than spend the day at home, we opted for a dinner date instead.

The restaurant was about a 40 minute ride from our home, but it was well worth the trip. We had cozy seats near the wood burning fireplace, with a spectacular view of the Atlantic from our table, a split of champagne for me, and Merlot for TH... a great place to while away a Sunday afternoon.  

For dinner, I ordered  two appetizers: the lobster quesadilla and the lump crab cake. while TH had a steak dinner. We pretty much licked our platters clean...the food was fabulous. Unfortunately, we didn't save any room for dessert. After draining our wine glasses and paying the bill, we crossed the street to sit on the sea wall and reminisce.

Nothing bad ever happens when we're near the ocean. We could stare at it all day long, in every season, and all sorts of weather, and still be awed. The novelty never wears off. And we never, ever, bicker when we're looking out to sea...it's like sacred ground. While there may be mountains, forests, and lakes that are every bit as majestic... nothing is as breath-taking as the ocean.

When we were dating we spent many hours at the shore, walking along the beach, riding our bikes, and making plans for our future. For some odd reason, we used to dream about one day living on a house boat. Of course, that was long before children and careers, when we were carefree and thought the future was endless. The reality is that we are not boaters, and have never owned a boat.

But the sea still calls to us after all these years together. We still love to take long walks, ride our bikes or drive road trips along the coast. Together we've driven the Pacific Coast Highway from San Diego to San Francisco, the intercoastal waterway from Florida to Virginia, the Maryland and Jersey Shores, and the entire New England coast from New Haven to Bar Harbor. It just never gets old. And how lucky are we to now be able to share walks with our grandsons along both the Atlantic and Pacific shores?

Unfortunately, as the sun started to go down on Sunday, the cold quickly chased us off the sea wall and back to our car. But we made one more stop on the drive home....for dessert, at Pinkberry's. So while it wasn't one of our more exciting, or original dates, we had a great time together...and that's really all that matters. You can't beat a day of good food, good wine, and good conversation with your best friend. It's what great memories are made of!

And all too soon we were home, where we are fortunate to live just a block from the beach. It makes me sad to think that there are millions of people in this world who have never seen an ocean. I pray I never have to live away from the coast and I count my blessings every day.

Date #9 - You Gotta Have Art

Before I start to tell you about our latest date, I have to comment on an earlier blog post.

While I was in California, I took a moment to whine about TH having worn the same blue velour shirts for 15 years. Well, I've been home now for 19 days, and TH has not worn either shirt since my return....not once.

Which can only mean one of two things. Either TH has finally figured out how to read this blog (doubtful), or one of you faithful readers took pity on me (or him) and squealed. Either way...it has worked. No more blue shirts.

And let me tell you what else this fashion plate did while I was away. We have a guest bedroom and, when it is unoccupied, I store my bulkier coats and suits in that closet. TH will sometimes stash his sweaters in the bureau drawers in that room. However, since our younger son and his family were visiting from the west coast, we cleared all our stuff out of the spare room before they arrived and crammed it back into our own closets.

When I returned home and unpacked my suitcase, I tried to make room in my closet once again. But lo and behold, there wasn't any room in the spare bedroom closet either. While I was away, TH apparently cleaned out his own closets and drawers and pretty much filled the spare closet and all the guest bureau drawers with his stuff. And this isn't off-season clothes, either...that gets stored down the spare room in the basement.

So I suppose that could be another reason why I haven't seen the blue shirts since. TH finally realized how much more casual clothes he owns that he doesn't have to wear the same thing over and over.

Okay, we now return to our regularly scheduled post....date #9. This was TH's choice and you'll never guess where he took us. This man continues to surprise me. We went to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.

Now TH and the arts aren't usually found together in the same neighborhood, or even in the same sentence. This is a man who has never shown any interest in music, acting, photography, writing, drawing, painting, dance.....Not creating it, or admiring it....NADA!

I belong to the South Boston Arts Association and, when I was more involved, I would often drag TH along with me to open studios, poetry slams, gallery events, and other displays/performances. TH usually came along willingly (because there was almost always free wine and cheese available), but while there he would mostly commiserate with the few other non-artistic spouses and so he decided to create a club just for them. He quite appropriately called it the ASSES, although I never quite figured out what the acronym stood for...something about artists and their supportive spouses. Needless to say, they don't meet regularly.

And in thirty five years of marriage, TH and I have been to exactly two art museums together. One was the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. We stopped there to break up the long ride back from Buffalo one summer. The other was the Getty in Los Angeles that we visited with a large group of family and friends. I loved both museums. As for TH....well, he was along for the ride. And he has NEVER, EVER, been to the MFA...not once in the 60 plus years he has lived in this city.

So imagine my shock when TH suggested we visit the MFA as one of our dates. (And NO....he didn't get the idea from the POTUS. He actually mentioned this about two months before Obama attended a fundraiser there last week.)

The shock subsided rather quickly, however, when TH brought home the tickets. He handed me two VIP passes. Correction: two Complimentary VIP passes. TH had scored a pair of FREE admission passes, with free parking included. THAT's the reason we were going to the MFA. The only reason. LOL.

Although it was yet another Saturday morning date, with no alcohol involved, we both had a nice time. Because the museum is huge (it would take weeks to explore fully), we arrived when it opened at 10am. Our first stop was the current exhibit by our DIL (or someone with the exact same name LOL).

Then we moved on to Nicholas Nixon's exhibit: Family Album. It's a fascinating collection by a local photographer, and features a series of photos that he took yearly of his wife and her three sisters, starting in 1975, the same year we were married. It was very moving to see the progression of time reflected on the faces of those four women and really hit home just how long a span of life there is in 35 years.

From there we dedicated the next couple hours to the Art of the Americas Wing. Wonderful...that's all I can say. We were in awe to see such national treasures. We are truly fortunate to live in a world class city with so much history. My favorite collection was the folk art....there's something about that medium that warms my heart and makes me very nostalgic.

And I was introduced to a new favorite artist: Scott Prior. I was entranced by a self-portrait of the artist and his wife in their bedroom...could barely pull myself away from it. It was an oil on linen, but looked so lifelike, almost like a photograph. Even TH was impressed. See it here. 

We had a late and leisurely lunch in the Garden Cafeteria overlooking the sunny courtyard...where we even discussed some of the impressive artwork we'd just seen. After lunch, we took a quick stroll through the gift shop. I'm always amazed that these gift shops sell fine jewelry. Now I can understand someone purchasing an expensive work of art at an museum gift shop...but jewelry? We didn't buy anything, of course. At this stage of the game, we just don't need any more 'stuff' in our lives.

Before leaving the museum, we stopped at one of my favorite galleries, the Egyptian collection in the Art of the Ancient World. TH was just as intrigued as I've always been to see the mummy cases and artwork from the burial tombs. Amazing craftsmanship that has stood the test of time.

And then we were ready to call it a date.

Indeed, it was not a bad way to spend the last day of (this seemingly never-ending) winter.