Georgia Peach, Big Apple and Beantown

A few weeks back I offered some insight as to what to do in Provincetown to make it through the winter. Well, this past weekend was a whirlwind of events that included a visit to Boston and New York. I was able to get away with Troy who came back for another visit from Atlanta. Since he lives in the “New York” of the south, I figured he should get to the big apple and take you along for the trip.

It started Thursday night in Boston. We went to Club Café, the true Boston “stand and pose” club, then Fritz and ending at The Eagle. After a piece of pizza from Emilios, we crashed at friends Frank and Tim’s place on Union Park. A fun filled first night in my old stomping grounds, the South End of Boston.

We awoke at 5AM and boarded the 6 AM Amtrak to New York City. Troy had never been on the train before. The sky was dotted with clouds which led to some beautiful colors in the sky as the sun rose over the Atlantic. The trip down to NYC went quickly and we arrived at Penn Station around 10AM. We dropped our bags off at friends Wayne and Gary’s loft in Chelsea. We socialized a bit and headed to Elmo’s for lunch with Wayne and Alex.

Afterwards, Troy and I headed off to The Statue of Liberty, where surprisingly enough, we took the Provincetown 2 for a ride. For those of you that don’t know the significance…this big lumbering boat used to be the ferry service to Ptown from Boston. Lady Liberty stood tall and the view of Manhattan from the island was awe inspiring. As I boarded the Ptown 2 and headed back to the mainland, I felt at home in many ways. Memories of my youth in Provincetown collided with my memories of Manhattan. I felt I was heading to a new beginning on many levels as this Provincetown “townie” I was riding, had found a home as a working girl in New York.

We took the “1” train to Times Square and bought last minute tickets to A Chorus Line. After indulging in some truly New York style pizza, we watched the show. It seemed to drag a bit. At one point I asked Troy if it had an end…he couldn’t stop laughing which caused me to laugh. Kind of like laughing in church…once you start forget it. However, there is a part in the performance where eight actors are cut from the show. When this happened, members of the audience actually cried. We saw that the show had impacted them differently than us. We stopped our snickering...as best we could.

We walked 7th Avenue back to Chelsea after the show. The air was cool but the city was, as always, alive. Troy and I ran into some of New York’s finest…and snapped a photo.

The next day Troy and I woke up early and walked to Rockefeller Center to watch Lester Holt deliver the news. It was freezing but pretty cool watching the Today Show. Troy’s mom, watching back in Tennessee, saw him waving to the camera. We met Wayne, Gary and their two children, Brennan and Juliet, at Cafeteria for a scrumptious brunch before heading back to Boston on the train.

This was one of my best trips top New York. No pre-clubbing drinks at “G”, no dancing at Splash or stops at that leather shop in The Village where they sell electric paddles. There was something in the air that I couldn’t put my finger on. I talked business with clients, shared laughs with friends and recalled the past in the secret of my heart. New York felt good, the company felt better. I realized that I have a history in this remarkable place.

Back in Boston, Troy and I met up with my friend and Playwright George Sauer…who surprised us with comp tickets to see his new play “Crab Legs” being performed at the BCA. What fun. Here’s a plug for his play that I concocted for him….”The plot thickens like a bowl of chowder as Tanya Harding, her manager and bodyguard, meet for lunch in a seafood restaurant.” Check it out if you’re in the area. It is worth it.

We drove back to Provincetown after the play and had two days of fun at The Porch Bar, watching Auntie Mame and taking in the scenery.

Unfortunately, we missed the American Heart Association’s Monument Crawl on Saturday …a fundraiser to help fund the study of the prevention of heart disease. In fact the monument was illuminated red for the past two weeks in anticipation for this event. It was quite a sight.
Once again, I got my dose of civilization and breathed a sigh of relief when the monument came into view.