Chim-chim-i-nee…

Chim-chim-i-nee, Chim-Chim, Cher-ee

We had a great weekend with my family!

For those of you who have forgotten the majestic tunes of Mary Poppins from your youth (or are too proud to sing along to the title of a blog post), the above is a tribute to the lovely weekend we shared with my family.

As was noted in detail in previous posts, the weekend actually began a bit early on Thrusday night as Tracy and I joined my parents and sister Kelly in Piscataway, NJ for the demolition of Rutgers by the UNC football team. It was a fantastic way to kickstart an action-packed weekend.

Friday was unfortunately still a work day for me, so the fam came into Manhattan mid day and met Tracy for lunch at one of our favorite Mexican spots (Blockheads).  Unfortunately, the weather was not in the mood to cooperate with our plans to hang out in the city, as Gotham was covered with clouds all day and a steady drizzle by mid-afternoon.  The good news is that we had secured tickets to see Mary Poppins on Friday night, which was a perfect respite from the rain.

I honestly had no idea what to expect with the show - sure, Mary Poppins was a classic story from my childhood, but would I be blown away by the theatrical production?  In short, yes.  It was thoroughly entertaining, and I’d highly recommend to anyone looking for a quality show that won’t cause you to have to take a 2nd mortgage.  The songs are familiar and fun - yet the thing that hit me (and was something I’d forgotten in the years since I’d last seen a big-time show) was the precision and breadth of talent on display.  I’m not usually one to appreciate the costumes or set, but both were noticeable and top-notch.  And, of course, the use of wires to fly Mary (and Bert) through the air was a perfect extra touch.

To cap off the weekend of events, we all took the L train to Queens and the quite dingy dump that is Shea Stadium to take in a Mets-Braves game.  Before heading off the isle of Manhattan we grabbed burgers at a hole-in-the-wall joint in Midtown - an Insider alert for anyone looking to visit NYC and looking for local fare.  Go to the Parker Meridien Hotel on 57th street.  Walk through the marble lobby and turn right just before the check-in desk.  There you will see a neon sign in the shape of a hamburger.

Just behind the curtain is the most out-of-place hamburger dive you’ll ever see - but know what you want, because like the Soup Nazi, they’ll send you to the back of the line if you’re not on top of your order!

The Braves didn’t disappoint at Shea, by coming back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Mets 3-2 while also keeping my sister’s winning streak alive.  Every team she’s rooted for this fall at a live sporting event (and she’s been to a ton thanks to her job in the Wake Forest athletic department as well as some Heels games) has won.  Let’s hope the streak continues on Saturday when the Heels take on VaTech!

After an authentic NY pizza dinner on Saturday night it was time to say goodbye to my family as they were flying out early on Sunday.  While it was sad to part ways (especially after such a fun few days), the amount of quality time we were able to pack into such a short period left all five of us with huge smiles as we hugged goodbye - or perhaps more appropriately, until next time.