The “Practically Perfect” Birthday Weekend: Day 1 – SURPRISE!!

I’m going off a bit with this blog but there are definite Disney-related references so I think I’m okay with everything you are about to read.

Last weekend I was taken on a mystery birthday adventure. I did not know exactly where I was going or what I was going to do. It was going to be a surprise.

I’ve learned over the years that when someone goes through the effort of putting together a surprise for you that you DO NOT pry or try to guess the surprise because the person who you will disappoint the most is the one who put the surprise together”¦so I was careful”¦very careful.

Friday morning, 3:30 A.M. to be exact, I was taken to South Station in Boston.

I was told I was about to go on a train bound for New York City.

Aha! So I was going to New York City”¦The Big Apple”¦”The City That Never Sleeps.”

I arrived at Penn Station around 10:30 and arrived at my hotel some 30 minutes later. I happened to pass Times Square along the way.

While unpacking and trying to figure out what was next on the agenda I heard a knock on the door.

“Housekeeping!” I heard from the other side of the door.

I looked at the room”¦spotless and fine”¦and puzzled, opened the door and started to say “We just checked”¦.”

I was welcomed with a loud “Surprise!” and the next thing I knew Deb Wills and Linda Eckwerth were grabbing and hugging me and laughing and saying over and over again “Surprise!”

Yes I was shocked”¦yes I had tears”¦and yes I held on to these two dear friends of mine for minutes saying, “Oh My God! Oh My God!”

My best friend Michelle Scribner-MacLean, the mastermind of this mystery birthday trip, had arranged with Deb and Linda to surprise me.

It was only the day before I had spoken with Deb about some things and mentioned the mystery trip and she said, “I have no idea what could happen this weekend!”

Haw!

We went down for lunch at the hotel restaurant and I was in Heaven”¦as much as I have been doing the Weight Watcher’s thing, I felt I could ease up a bit”¦especially since the restaurant had a salad bar with anchovies.

Did I tell you I love anchovies? Not on Dole Whips mind you but certainly on salad”¦and pizza.

After dinner Deb, Linda, Michelle, and I strolled over to Central Park and walked around for an hour or so. I had never been to Central Park before and was not aware as to its size.

It was a warm day and it was already a long day for all of us so we headed back to the hotel where Linda and Deb went in to freshen up. Michelle and I caught our second wind and decided to explore some more before dinner.

Later that day, about an hour before going to dinner Deb called to say she and Linda had changed their room and to meet them at their new room en route to dinner.

When we got to the room, which by the way was huge, Linda and Deb raved about the huge rooms and especially the bathroom and encouraged me to check them out.

I walked into the bedroom and said to myself, “Wow this room is really nice.”

What I forgot to do was look in the bathroom. If I had I would have seen another surprise”¦Steve “Mr. Hidden Mickey” Barrett and his wife Vickie.

Holy cow. More hugs and greetings and more shocked expressions from yours truly. Of course Michelle was in on this and Deb and Linda, as well as Steve and Vickie, enjoyed springing yet another surprise on me.

I was stunned and honored that not just Deb and Linda had come up from Maryland to surprise me, but Steve and Vickie had made the effort to fly from Florida to NYC and surprise me on this mystery birthday weekend.

We all had a great time laughing and talking about the surprise before leaving for the restaurant.

I believe the restaurant’s name was Thalia’s and the food was very good. I think I had some gnocchi’s”¦heck I was too stunned to even know if I was hungry.

Dinner was very enjoyable. We had a leisurely dinner and took our time, told stories”¦does it get any better”¦good food”¦good friends”¦awesome.

As we were about to leave the restaurant Vickie mentioned how she had always wanted to see Central Park from the back of a horse-drawn carriage.

I absolutely love Vickie Barrett. There is no one more fun to sit and break bread with than this lovely, funny woman. She makes the time go by so fast with her wit and charm and her company at dinner in unparalleled. Someday I need to have her let me write her biography.

When that biography gets turned into a motion picture I want to be the one to choose who plays Vickie Barrett. There’s only one person who could do her justice…and that’s Vickie herself.

So the next thing we know we are hailing a couple of taxis and Steve and Vickie Barrett are treating us all to a carriage ride around Central Park on a very, very, special evening.

I wish I had taken pictures because one of the sights we saw was the fountain that you see at the beginning of the sitcom “Friends.”

What a great night.

When we got back to our hotel Michelle told us she had made lunch reservations at Sardi’s for Saturday.

I thought, “Wow! Sardi’s!”

Another surprise”¦I had heard of this restaurant but had never been to it”¦what a cool thing.

Linda, Deb, Michelle and I made tentative plans to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Fine art in the morning before our lunch at Sardi’s.

We all said goodnight and although I was tired, it took a while for me to settle down and sleep”¦it was an exciting day”¦and the weekend was just beginning.

Next: A Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Saturday

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