It's Over Now the Music of the Night

 

Owen has always been a big fan of the Phantom of the Opera, so when he heard it was finally closing after 35 years on Broadway he really wanted to see it one last time. Nora on the other hand, while a huge fan of musicals in general, is not a Phantom fan. So when we saw that Owen had a random Wednesday off of school – the one weekday with matinee shows on Broadway – we scooped up the last two seats available and bought a couple train tickets for a quick father/son trip to the Big Apple! After Nora went to school and Elaine went to work Owen and I biked over to Union Station and before we knew it we were eating fish & chips for lunch in Times Square. 

After lunch we walked over to the Majestic Theater for the main event. From the moment of that big opening chord and the chandelier rising up over the audience, Phantom didn't disappoint. After the show we took advantage of a break in the rain to walk over and have dinner with some aspiring broadway stars waiting tables at Ellen's Stardust Diner. Then with a little more time to kill before catching our train home, we checked out the Lego Store before walking back to Penn Station in the pouring rain. We were home before midnight, a great NYC day trip in the books.

(click here for all the pictures.)

Driven

Continuing his momentum from the holidays, Owen got behind the wheel again, though this time with Allen riding shotgun. While Grandpa Don took Owen along the Outer Banks scenic highway, Allen opted for the less scenic, more brutalist parking lot of RFK. Both sessions went well, though Owen seemed to prefer his time with Don, who suppressed his urge to document Owen's the actual driving experience far better than Owen's father did.