NYC 2019

 

 Manhattan

Though we love Los Angeles, we happily acknowledge that NYC is the center of the known universe and so try to visit whenever we can. Two years ago we took a tour of Manhattan with the South Coast Rep theatrical group and had such a great time that we decided to do it again. We saw three plays—Tootsie, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the Kiss Me Kate revival—danced the night away to the big band sounds of Vince Giordano’s Nighhawks at the Iguana Club, and strolled through Central Park as well as the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Other highlights of our week-long trip follow below.

Tootsie—so much fun!

 

Nighthawks—small dance floor, but we made do!

 

Central Park's Turtle Pond

-->

Santiago de Cuba

Our final stop was in Santiago de Cuba, home of "son" (salsa music), "ron" (rum) and "revolución." Santiago is also the second largest city in Cuba and was the country's capitol until the late 1500s. 

Physically closer to other Caribbean islands than it is to Havana, Santiago's African influence is especially apparent in the local music, which gave birth to what we know as salsa. Desi Arnaz and several musicians from the Buena Vista Social Club were born in Santiago. 

Fidel Castro is buried here, as is his hero José Martí, the "Apostle of Cuban Independence" and author of the poem "Guantanamera" on which the popular (and ubiquitous!) song is based. 

And if that's not enough, San Juan Hill, the site of Teddy Roosevelt's famous charge during the Spanish-American War, is also located here. We took a 3-hour bus tour of the city, but could have easily spent another day absorbing the culture and tremendous history of this fascinating place.

The balcony from which three popes--John Paul II (1998), 

Benedict XVI (2012), and Francis (2015)--all addressed the

Cuban people

Mid-century architecture right next to early European

Shrine to son musicians

And the chair Paul McCartney sat in when

he came to hear the music of Santiago in 2000

Surprise salsa dance performance!

And wonderful live music!! Taken 10 minutes before Tim 

and I got up and danced.

San Juan Hill, where Teddy Roosevelt and the

Rough Riders helped win what the Cubans, by law,

call the Spanish-American Cuban war

Our final fort, El Morro, and final view of Santiago.

Adios, Cuba, y hasta luego!

Throwback Nite at Disneyland

 

Sleeping Beauty Castle in pink and blue, just like the old days

 

When we were kids, it seemed like families visited Disneyland during the day, while evenings were just for adults and couples. In fact, the only time I remember going there after dark was "Grad Night," when I graduated from high school in 1971.

Taking advantage of the recent nostalgia craze for all things mid-20th-century, the resort has started a new series of evening events called "Disneyland After Dark"—named (I assume) after the 1962 World of Color episode where Walt showed us how much fun the park was at night. On TV, Annette Funicello sang on the Tomorrowland stage and Louie Armstrong played trumpet on the Mark Twain riverboat. All very exciting and magical.

This year's first "After Dark" event happened last Thursday and we, of course, were there. Marketed as "Throwback Nite," the evening promised to recreate, as much as possible, the early days of Disneyland, including original attraction posters and characters (the Blue Fairy!) and favorite 1950s/60s menu items, like mac & cheese, chicken pot pie, and dreamsicle beignets (gag!). They even staged "Fantasy in the Sky," the original 1958 fireworks show. Park visitors dressed in their dapper best—all petticoats and hats—and because it was a special ticket event, attendance was limited. Absolute heaven.

Plenty of photo ops in front of original attraction posters

 

But the best part for us: just like the "Disneyland After Dark" TV show, music was everywhere! The Dapper Dans barbershop quartet sang a cappella on Main Street, a small club combo entertained riders on the Mark Twain, a pair of female DJs played 50s/60s rock-n-roll records throughout the park, and a swing band blasted out hot dance tunes in front of it's a small world. So we pretty much danced the entire night away. Every time we started to leave, we'd get pulled back in by a toe-tapping song. At 11PM, we finally made it to the Main Street train station, only to stop and dance to Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire!" broadcast over the park speakers. As you can see below, a Disney photographer loved our impromptu jitterbug and went crazy taking pictures of us dancing. Oh, what a night!

Excellent video of the night's festivities. You can (briefly) see us

dancing 4.38 mins into the video.