iSherri

Our quest to visit Sarah’s recommended sights continued…

I started my day by attending my new PTSA’s meeting (Empire State PTSA. I’m a member, why aren’t you?) After we spent some time in the General Session, Ethan, Sharlene and I headed out to the lobby for a couple of planning meetings.

Ethan assisted with the Reflections Exhibit…

And then it was time for lunch! We headed back out to the city to see what else we could check off the list.

First up was a stop at Broadway Kettlecorn.

Broadway Kettlecorn is a tent outside the Downtowner Motel where hot young guys whip up delicious batches of super sweet corn. 

We were short on time, so we stopped at the candy shop to pick up a pig…

And then stopped back into the wine shop to update William on my travel plans (See Greetings from Saratoga Springs). 

And then it was back to work!

I was copresenting with Laura Bay in the Alabama Room (will I never escape it!?!)

And then we rounded out the evening at the convention banquet. 

We went our separate ways to afterparty. Ethan went to polish his presentation for the next day, I headed to the bar with my very good friend Vito Borello, and Sharlene went to the Convention Party for one last fling with our NYSPTA friends. 

Day two of the NYSPTA Convention trip was actually day one of the NYSPTA Convention. We got off to a great start by attending the state board meeting and talking with some incredibly passionate and talented advocates. Then it was time to break for lunch…

We checked Sarah’s list and headed over to Ravenous, a delightful creperie. Tucked away on a little hill just off the main street, Ravenous offeres savory and sweet crepes that will make you think you are sitting in a small cafe somewhere in France. Or at the very least, Canada.

The fries were the first I’ve had that have EVER compared to the fries Evelyn and I had in Niagara Falls (it’s true, Evelyn, come try them!)

We returned to the convention and continued out work. 

After work, we hooked up with Sharlene’s friend Scott and stopped into the Cantina. We warmed up with a quick pitcher of margaritas and when they closed we popped over to the City Tavern.

They have many different levels and Sarah says the rooftop patio is heated. Sadly, it was closed while we were there, but I take her word for it!

In an attempt to maximize the time we had to visit the locations on Sarah’s list, we headed over to D’Andrea’s Pizza. Sarah correctly informed us that they had many different types of pizza by the slice. And more importantly they have BBQ chicken pizza…

We headed back to the hotel to call it a night. 

Consider yourself fortunate if your job involves improving the lives others AND the opportunity to visit exotic new locations you probably wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to see… And so off we went to the NY State PTA Convention!

My friends (and co-workers) Sharlene and Ethan and I boarded an early flight from DCA to Albany. Thankfully, Sharlene’s roommate Sarah is a graduate of the local University (Skidmore) and thoughtfully prepared an Official Unofficial Guide to Saratoga Springs that helped us identify the venues we really needed to see between meetings!

Saratoga Springs is famous for it’s horse racing, and Sarah tells us the population triples during horse racing season each summer. 

On our way to the Convention, we stopped for a quick lunch at the Local Teahouse and Tavern. The teas were delightful. I had tea sandwiches and soup, which was even better than the tea. Ethan had his first encounter with Bangers and Mash and Sharlene opted for the Banger Butty (google it!)

Walking to the hotel we visited a couple of shops and stumbled across Compton’s, which we were told opens at 4:30 am and should NOT be visited sober…

And the Putnam Market was right next door, so we popped inside to shop for souveniers to take back to the office. That’s where we met William. 

William is from London, which coincidently is where I am headed next week! William was dismayed by my plans to drive from Heathrow Airport to York and said “Well, that sounds bloody awful doesn’t it” (which with his fantastic accent sounded much nicer!) He talked me into rerouting through Oxford instead, which wasn’t hard to do once he made the Harry Potter connection.

Could there be anything more fun than meeting some of your best friends from high school in Chicago for a Rick Springfield show?

I think not!

Rick Springfield looked pretty hot from where we stood, but the rabid fans who arrived much earlier than we did prevented us from getting close enough to throw the thong Jane brought and he sounded like a bit of an asshole.

Afterwards, Bob met us and took us to Boys Town for a drink.

Jane met some nice young Boy Scouts at Sideways, a super hip gay bar.

The next day, after brunch, we went to see Kinky Boots, a new musical based on one of my favorite films (which was based on a true story). It’s heading to Broadway this spring. Go see it, thank me later!

We were invited to stick around for a focus group aftewards, where Andrea met Cindy Lauper (who wrote the score for the production) and we each secured an autograph.

We decided to walk to dinner so we could explore the city and made our way to the Bean.

Then we popped into Trump Tower for a cocktail.

We ended the night at some fantastic Mexican place that had some of the best grapefruit margaritas I have ever had (which probably explains why I can’t remember the name of the restaurant!).

The next morning, Jane and Andrea and I hopped on the train to head home.

My flight to Philly was repeatedly delayed so I stocked up on Garretts popcorn to buy the love and affection of my coworkers. Then the flight out of Philly was delayed over and over, allowing me to stock up on pretzels in case Hurricane Sandy left us without power for an extended amount of time. I arrived home right before Sandy, and since we never lost power, we were able to heat the dozens of pretzels I brought back! Thanks, Philly!