Here is the day 3 summary of my 40th birthday adventures in NYC!

Slept pretty good again, I’m waking up early, but am not fully rested – I think because too much light comes into my room once the sun comes up. So I finally slept a bit again and then was running a tad late from what I had planned. I had breakfast and then headed out up to the Bronx to go to the zoo. It was a nice MTA (won’t say subway, because part way we went above ground) ride and some of their lines have better announcing and displays in the trains than others.

The Bronx Zoo was very nice, although I think I’ve preferred some of the other ones I’ve gone to more. Also, today was a popular day for school field trips, so at points it was a bit too loud and hectic with so many school kids there. Hard to be really annoyed at that though, since getting students around animals and science is always a good thing. The most interesting part of the zoo was the monorail that goes through their Asian areas. It was nice to just sit and watch while riding and having the wonderful (and darn good looking) driver/guide talk about the animals and the zoo. You can tell he really knew his information and wasn’t just reciting a memorized script.

It is a decent sized zoo, although if you ever go, make sure to get the all experience pass, otherwise half the things in the zoo you have to pay extra for. This took up all of my day, and I did feel a little guilty eating meat during lunch, since it just felt wrong to eat animals while in a zoo. But it was still delicious! 🙂

Just before the zoo closed, I was done with seeing everything and headed back on the MTA to my hotel to rest a bit and clean up and get ready for the evening. I again didn’t have time for a true supper – too much to do, and I get stressed out about picking a restaurant, because that is how my mind and personality work when making a decision.

Tonight’s show was “The Boys in the Band.” The play originally came out (no pun intended) in 1968, so this was a revival in celebration of the 50th anniversary. This was a ground breaking play in that it dealt with the lives of gay people at the time. As someone who is still dealing with “what it means to be gay” and how to handle it in this world, it is sobering to realize that people have always been struggling with this. We’ve come a long ways in some standpoints, while in others we haven’t moved at all. Reminds me of “Medea” a play I saw at CMU a few years back, but that play was written in 431 BC, and still resonates very true to today. So, there seems to be some things in life that will never change. Gives me hope to be reminded that I’m not alone, while a bit of sadness that things don’t change.  I did remember my Kleenex tonight, but alas didn’t need them. I loved the staging of the play and the acting was great! Didn’t take me too long to get “Sheldon” out of my mind while seeing Jim Parsons in the show.

I ended the evening with some wonderful cookies and a milkshake at Schmackary’s Cookies which is right around the corner from my hotel.

Now time to rest up for day 4 (and the 1/2 point already!) with the Museum of Mathematics, Once on this Island, and the crown jewel of my trip The Phantom of the Opera!!!!!!!

My day 2 summary of events and other random thoughts for my 40th Birthday NYC trip!

I slept quite well overnight and woke up feeling mostly rested – which is a good thing, because that doesn’t always happen on the first night in a hotel. Went down and had breakfast. It is your standard Comfort Inn breakfast setup.

I then got ready and walked north looking at the sights and making my way to Central Park. I walked around there for about 5 hours or so – it is a large park, but I saw a good portion of it, just not every single trail :).  It took me a bit to figure out the map and get oriented so I didn’t keep going the wrong way and ending up back where I already was.

It is a nice park with lots of different settings for different types of activities. I did chuckle a little at their Quiet Zones so that people can relax, get away from the city, and enjoy the sounds of nature. Well, no matter where you were in the park, you could still hear the city a bit. I just find it funny because back in Michigan, especially da UP – we just call being away from the city and hearing nature “every day life.”

When I was done walking around, I was quite hungry, as I only had a small lunch in the park. So using my Swagbucks Local app, I found a nice Mexican restaurant nearby and went there for a late lunch/early dinner. Perfect time to eat, I was the only one in the place – and it was a great meal. I then hopped on the subway to head back to my hotel – I needed a break from walking, and I was at the very other end of the park from where I started.

Got back to my hotel to relax, get off my feet for a bit, and get ready and dressed up for my first ever Broadway Musical! I went out and headed the block or so to “Dear Evan Hansen”, had my picture taken outside, and then went in. Waited in line for a little bit before they opened the house.  It was a wonderful experience. Interesting mix of people and outfit styles – but that is what I was expecting. The show was AMAZING! I just had this gut feeling about the show that I would relate to it and that it would be powerful and wonderful – and I wasn’t wrong. I sure hope it goes on tour and that Wharton Center brings it – I would love to see it again. I’m also excited that I get to see my shows in June, Pride Month, because the Playbills are Pride-Themed – they have a rainbow banner at the top of the cover instead of the normal yellow.

I then came back to my hotel for a brief break and to allow me to decompress emotionally from the show. Yup – I cried a bit and was emotionally exhausted. I did forget to bring my Kleenex with me – I brought it on the trip, but it was sitting on the desk. Someday I’ll remember to always bring it with me – never know when I’ll get really wrapped into a show. I then headed out to go to Pinkberry for a much needed snack and to make the Ottinger’s jealous, but they closed early (or Google was wrong?). So I found another frozen yogurt place that was past Times Square. So I got my frozen yogurt and went and sat in Times Square eating it – a nice way to end the evening.

Some other thoughts I’ve had:

There are two Gentleman’s Clubs near my hotel and whenever I walk by them – they seem to want me to go in. I haven’t had the heart to tell them yet that I’m no gentleman – I’m a Fabulous Gay Guy!

I must say – I think I’m enjoying walking around the city with all the foot traffic. My brain gets to constantly analyze the patterns of people and where they are moving and what is the best possible path I can take to maximize my travel while minimizing disruption to others. I do tend to still walk faster than most people.

If anyone has great skills at playing Tetris or other games of moving shapes to fit into the correct spots – you can get a job as a parking attendant in NYC. I have a parking lot out my window and just watching how they shuffle cars around to fit as many as they can in the tiny lot is amazing.

Someone needs to fix the New Year’s Eve Ball – there is a section on it that is flickering on/off or different colors than it should. It is ruining a wonderful site for me, because my mind instantly focuses on that small spot.

Well, that’s it for day 2 – time to rest and be ready for day 3 – Bronx Zoo and The Boys in the Band!