Not So Dumb and Dumber

Last week I was lucky enough to tag along on a trip to NYC with my sister. (Note to all: if someone offers you a bed in NYC for a few days, don't think, just go! 'Specially if you're an artsy fartsy type)

Anyway, my sis called wondering why photos of our big night out on the town weren't already posted on the blog. To be honest, it was a pretty special night. We had goofy grins pasted on our faces the entire way back to our hotel room. But..... the whole trip was a lot of fun. Much needed recharging for the challenges back home.

Took the train into town on Sunday when we met at the hotel...I was starving, so we headed to John's Pizzeria, a tradition....then we headed to Soho to see Sunshine Cleaning (nice, quirky film) at the tiniest little theater that reminded us of a theater we went to as kids (all that was lacking was a jar of pickles and a machine that dispensed Dixie cups of syrupy soda for $.25)....

The next day, I stopped by Tinsel Trading which was mobbed because there was a stationery show in town, but this was the first time I had been to their new location and I still managed to come away with a fun bag of goodies....I also had to go ride all the wooden escalators at Macy's....and spend some quality time in a huge Sephora....then peruse all the beading and trim shops in the fashion district....

But what sis and I couldn't stop smiling about was for later that evening! We had hemmed and hawed over shows; never got around to finally choosing until it was a late hour indeed. Just a few days before we were to meet, I saw that Jeff Daniels (who is also doing a play on Broadway called Gods of Carnage, Tony nominated) was doing a small concert at City Winery. I checked the website thinking surely it'd be sold out, but lo and behold there were still choice seats. After some consulting together, we went for it.

After a nice dinner at a small treasure called Bruschetteria (great panini, yum), we made our way to City Winery where we were escorted to a table that was a mere few feet from the stage. At that point, before we had any wine, we started to get a bit giddy. I know, some of you are thinking "why are they getting worked up over Jeff Daniels?", but you've got to remember from my old blog the time I stumbled all over myself when walking down the street with Richard Thomas of The Waltons fame. And I've always liked Jeff Daniels, just have. Sis and I shared some City Winery vino and desserts while we waited for the show to start.

I will say this, if you get the chance to see this man doing a small show anywhere you can get to, sign up immediately. Not only is he a fine actor, he has a fine voice, plays a sweet guitar and writes all of his own music; much of which will make you either laugh hysterically or have you crying into your hankie. And witty, gracious, good humored. We were entertained, charmed and touched.

What moved us the most though was when he told us about how critics have asked him if regrets doing Dumb and Dumber. He likes to tell this story...

As a public figure, sometimes when you're in the DC area, the USO might call you to ask if you'll visit Walter Reed Hospital to spend time with wounded soldiers. Mr. Daniels told us how you'd see young people with various wounds, not quite knowing what hit them, just kids really and to the last one, all they want to hear about is Dumb and Dumber. They want him to quote lines from the movie, ham it up, talk about it, makes them smile and laugh. So, whenever a critic asks if he regrets doing Dumb and Dumber, he'll reply, that no, he has no regrets, but feels honored to be a part of something that can bring joy into the darkness.

Everything after that was the frosting on top of the cake. The next day I went to the Gagosian Gallery where there was an exhibit of many of Pablo Picasso's works and sketches from later in his life. I'm not an art major, but the tone of the exhibit was interesting with the hushed reverence of those walking throughout the gallery. I'd like to read and study more on him now that I've seen these works. His bold brushstrokes, copious use of thick layers of paints and even use of different substrates has me interested, but not reverent. I want to understand why he rose to such prominence while still living; what magic he seemed to possess.

After Picasso, I wondered over to Greenwich Village because that's where I'd live in my imaginary Bohemian city life (my real life is Mayberry-like small town Aunt Bea more often than not complete with my own Barney Fife personality). Spent way too much time and money on cool little things in cool little stores and caught back up with sis later in the evening for more yummy NYC pizza at Lombardi's. To finish up our last night in the Big Apple we caught up with the Dessert Truck where we got our Goat Cheese Cake to go and hustled back to our hotel room to watch the American Idol finale in our pajamas. Another lovely few days of adventure with my sister. Now when do we go again???? I'm ready!