Hello, friends. While I enjoyed taking a month break from blogging, I’ve missed all of your posts, engagement and comments. But I’m back!
Wow!! July was a whirlwind. I have a lot to catch up on and this post may be a little longer than I normally write. But I have so much to tell you. 🙂
First of all, how is everyone? I do hope you are all surviving the summer heat if it’s the season for you. Here in Texas, the temperatures are in the triple-digits daily with no relief in sight. But we know it and expect it, so no surprise. Just trying to stay hydrated and as cool as possible.
When I left you, I had shared that my granddaughter, who is the dancer and theater kid, had severely injured her right foot, which resulted in a full cast and crutches. And then…
We flew to New York City on July 7th for her to study with Broadway dancers. It was too late to back out and get a refund. To say it was challenging is an understatement. From maneuvering through airports to Times Square, we alternated between Sydney in a wheelchair and on crutches. This picture is of her cousin pushing her down the street. It says it all.
I will say everyone was very kind and gracious. You hear stories about how rude New Yorkers are, but we did not find that to be true. Myth debunked!
Because we were locked into the dance group, we didn’t get to see and do everything, but we did a lot. There were SO many people in Times Square, it was hard to squeeze through.
I’ll try to remember everything we did. Sydney attended all the dance workshops and met some great girls from different parts of the United States that all hooked up and created a group chat to stay in touch. This is all out of sequence, but here are most of the dancers on the last night, which was a cruise on the river that took us past the Statue of Liberty.
On the first day, we did a bus tour, which was so interesting as it allowed us to see things we would otherwise have missed. Our tour guide was a native of Manhattan. He was in his sixties and had never had a driver’s license or owned a car. Can you imagine? We went to Central Park, where the bus dropped us off and picked us back up on the other side. That was a really challenging day for Sydney as she was on crutches. She fell once and by the time we got back on the bus, she was exhausted, but what a contrast to see this beautiful park in the middle of such a huge congested city. I loved this statue of Hans Christian Andersen in Central Park.
We ended the tour that day at the site of the 9-11 attack. The heaviness of it all made it hard to breathe. Such a huge tragedy. The memorial is quite something to see.
My older daughter and two of the grandsons also came to New York, and while they were doing their own things separately, we got together a couple of times for meals and one day, Sydney and I went with them to Chinatown and Little Italy. We had the BEST ice cream in Chinatown!! My other daughter and granddaughter went to different places that day.
Two things really stand out to me from the whole trip. #1 – The Broadway shows. I saw Wicked, Aladdin and The Outsiders. Aladdin was phenomenal! And The Outsiders was second on the phenomenal scale. Below is us at Wicked. But besides the shows being amazing, I LOVED watching Sydney’s face light up. She wants to be on Broadway. And who knows? Maybe she will make it.
The second most wonderful thing to me was touring Radio City Musical Hall. What an incredible place. One of the reasons I would ever consider going back to New York would be to see a Rockettes show in this theater. There is no way to describe it. Our tour took us behind the scenes where we saw all the working aspects that make it amazing. And we all got to meet one of the Rockettes. A bit of an interesting connection with all of that. My first mother-in-law was a Rockette. She met my father-in-law in New York when he was stationed there at the naval base and he fell SO in love with her. He married her and brought her back to Texas. 🙂
Anyway, I digress. Here we are with one of the Rockettes.
Our entire family got together for a fun meal at a fabulous Italian restaurant.
Oh and I got to see the infamous New York Naked Cowboy. 🙂 Well, the picture didn’t come out too good, but what a goofball! 🙂
It was a lot. And we got back home on the 13th. Everyone made it back safe and sound and no one was sick, so we call it a win.
The very next week, my daughter had to fly out for a week-long work trip and I spent a lot of time running the girls to all their appointments plus Sydney’s new dance season has started. School resumes here August 12th and things will fall back into a more normal routine.
One more pretty awesome thing happened in July. As you all know, my husband was a Texas singer/songwriter/musician. I have hoped for years to run across one of the band’s old posters, so when someone contacted me out of the blue saying they’d found one, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I drove two hours to meet them and get the poster. What they gave me was a replica, but I still couldn’t have been more thrilled. I estimate this poster to be from around 1962. I’ll treasure it! Because of the interest this find revived, I’ve started re-sharing some of the Stories From the Road posts on social media.
On the writing front, I finally stepped far enough back from the story to see what I needed to do to fix it. Folks, we talk about this stuff all the time, but the problem was I hadn’t taken the time to really flesh out a character, to find out what her dreams were, her goals, her fears, secrets, etc. Once I did that, I got moving again. Now, I’m in the wrap-up phase of the story. Another lesson in writing. I’m starting to think about a book cover and scrolling through images on DepositPhotos and IStock. So far, I haven’t found anything.
I read a lot of books in July and will posting my reviews soon.
I’ll leave you with this quote for thought.
I feel like this tarot card sums it all up quite nicely. 🙂
Victory after a battle. And remember that swords represent the mind or intellect. There is no bloodshed. Sometimes a victory can be hollow or leave us feeling unfulfilled, but for me, it signifies winning the battle with my mind over writing this story. 🙂 Move forward and let it go, are the words I hear.
Thank you for hanging in there with me for this long post. How are you? Tell me. I sincerely want to know what I’ve missed. I’ll be making my way around to visit your blogs. Stay hydrated!
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Wow! What a wonderful month, Jan. I salute the courage and resilience of your granddaughter and wish her a speedy recovery. I know she’ll cherish these memories, despite the discomfort. Lovely pics. Thanks for sharing all the awesome stories.
Great pics from your trip, Jan! I hope your granddaughter recovers in quick fashion.
Thanks so much, Beem!!
Sounds like a busy month, but well worth the effort.
It was for sure, Craig. Worth the effort? Guess time will tell. Thanks for dropping by!
I am sorry that Sydney injured her right foot. However, it seems like she and the rest of you still had a great visit to New York. I hope Sydney will get to perform on Broadway and that Sydney will recover and be off the crutches soon. The photos were great and fun to look at.
Thank you for all the good wishes, Thomas. I’m glad you enjoyed the post!
Wow! What a fabulouse experience for all of you, but particularly for Sydney. She would have been so bummed out if she wasn’t able to attend. Isn’t it the best feeling when you see someone passionate about their dreams?
Yes it is, Pete. I’m sure you saw that look of passion on the faces of some of your students through the years. And yes, it was a wonderful experience for us all. I was proud of Sydney for powering through it all, and mostly with a good attitude. Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment!
Hi Jan, and good to see you back. Sounds like you’ve had a blast of a time in NYC with the family, good times with ice cream and Radio City Rockettes and the more serious at the 9/11 memorial. Great for Sydney that she got there, plaster cast and all, and wonderful that you came home to the replica poster of Rick’s career. Plus you’ve got a fix for your writing problem, which is brilliant. One great summer for you! Hope the autumn is as good. 🙂
It has certainly been a busy summer, Laura. Now that the kids are about to start back to school, we can all take a breath. I appreciate you stopping by and leaving a comment!
😊😊
We’ve always enjoyed our trips to NYC, and I’m glad your granddaughter was still able to go. Looks like you guys had a fantastic time – what a month you had, Jan!
Thank you for stopping by, Teri. We did have an amazing time mixed in with the challenges. July was a whirlwind for sure. Glad to be back in blogland!
Sounds like a great month. I lived in Connecticut and loved going to New York. Always fun and interesting. Glad Sydney got to do her workshops even though she was on crutches.. Thanks for sharing your trip.
Thank you, John. Yes, even though Sydney couldn’t participate in the workshops, she could watch and learn. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by!
Hi Jan, a lovely chatty post. It’s nice to see a post from you and hear all your news. Your trip to New York sounds fabulous despite Sydney’s injury. Central Park sounds amazing.
Thanks for stopping by, Robbie. New York was a mixed bag for me. I loved some of it and hated some of it. 🙂 But Central Park was absolutely amazing! I could have lingered there for hours!
I have read great things about Central Park and seen lots of photographs.
It’s great to see you back, Jan. What a wonderful trip to NYC you had. I enjoyed it with you. Thanks.
Thank you, Darlene, for meandering with me today!
Welcome back, Jan! That was a jam-packed trip to New York City! Thank you for sharing all the photos. Hurray for figuring out what the problem was with your new story!!
Thank you, Liz. It was a jam-packed week for sure. And yes! I am so happy I figured out what had stalled me in the story. Happy you stopped by!
You’re welcome, Jan!
It’s nice you had such a visit to NYC with all the good entertainment, Jan. I sure hope your granddaughter’s injury heals well.
Thank you, Tim. I’m happy you stopped by!
My pleasure, Jan! 😍
Looks like a fun trip, Jan 🙂 Seeing a play on Broadway is on my bucket list as is seeing New York. I hope your grandaughter enjoyed it and heals quickly! What a wonderful find with that poster too. Xo
I truly enjoyed all three of the Broadway plays. It’s so iconic for New York. Even though the trip had lots of challenges, it was filled with amazing things too. Yes! I was thrilled to get the poster. I still need to get it framed. It’s on my to-do list. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Denise!
Loved the recap, Sister! That was quite the exhausting trip. No downtime much. This Tarot card sure came through loud and clear for me. I had a very unexpected windfall that really surprised me. Love it! And I finished my Christmas book and got the ebook version up. YAY! Really moving forward. I have to say, I sure do love how your Christmas story is progressing. Can’t wait for the ending. I know it’ll be super! Love you, Sister.
Thank you, sister. Yes, the trip was definitely exhausting and one we’ll always look back on. I loved that Deva and the boys got to go too, even though we didn’t do a whole lot together. Glad you related to the tarot card and congratulations on your windfall, AND finishing your Christmas book! Glad you are liking my story. I already know what the next scene needs to be and I’m going to try and write it before I have to leave today. Thank you for dropping by!
So glad that was a fun time. Everyone will remember the dancer with the broken leg! I went to a writers conference once with my just-out-of-surgery arm wrapped in a soft cast, wearing a hat because I couldn’t wash my hair. Everyone knew my hat and cast.
Lol! That’s a great story, Jacqui. You are right, though. Everyone will remember Sydney. Thanks for dropping by!
It’s so good to have you back, Jan. The trip looked fun, even with the bumps along the way.
Thank you so much, Kymber! And thank you for helping support the Stories From the Road posts on Facebook! Much appreciated.
It’s my pleasure, Jan.
Looks like you had a great time ☺️ I love the quote and tarot card today.
Than you, Jeanne. I’m glad you stopped by!
I’m so glad Sydney got to go on the trip despite her cast. It looks like you all were having a blast!
Despite the challenges, we did enjoy ourselves, and luckily the weather had cooled down and was in the eighties. For us, that was a blessing. Thank you for stopping by. I do hope all is well with you and you are staying cool!
What a fantastic trip! Your granddaughter must be so talented – I hope she makes a quick recovery.
Thank you, Toni. We are crossing our fingers that she gets the cast off before school starts next week. I can’t imagine her trying to maneuver crutches and a backpack. She has a doctor’s appointment Wednesday. Have a great week!