chuckography

A very full birthDAY celebration.

You start a full day of birthday celebration with a hearty meal.

Hyman's was an easy choice because they are wise enough to send a birthday greeting - along with a free meal coupon.

Owner Eli Hyman told me years ago that he targets locals.

Oh, the tourists have found the place, hence the crowds out front, but residents go there as well and take their visiting friends.

Many places sell crabcakes but those at Hyman's draw me back, again and again. And the shrimp and grits is done perfectly.

Coffee, boiled peanuts and hush puppies make a fine Southern appetizer.

Denny's also offers a free birthday meal but a Grand Slam would have meant an earlier start of the day.

So after a fine meal, and a little walkabout, we went to the Dock Street Theatre to watch the final dress rehearsal of a "new" opera that Spoleto unveils tonight.

New because although it was written 350 years ago, it was performed only twice. Yikes.

This is the third time for the 1652 opera and before a highly different audience than the first time.

One thing was the same - you had to understand Italian.

There was no English translation so we had to guess what was going on.

This scene featured one of the comical characters who was showing his appreciation of the Amazonian soldiers.

Or, it could have been something entirely different.

Oh, the birthday boy had obtained free tickets for the preview show. I have no idea where??

Seated in a balcony box, we could hear thunder booming that grew louder and louder.

Hmm, it didn't match the action on the stage so we realized there was quite a rain happening outside.

We stayed dry getting back to the car but soon pulled into the MUSC parkade for shelter.

My phone had buzzed an alert that heavy hail and 60 mph winds were about to hit.

I watched people with umbrellas - and many without - as they scampered through streets starting to flood.

If puddle-jumping ever becomes an Olympic event, Charleston would win medals.

We have lots of practice, especially on particular streets around the market and the Crosstown.

The hail did not appear so we eased out and slowly wound our way to Highway 17 South.

Ruby Tuesday has an offer of a free hamburger and piles of fries on your birthday.

We have gone there on birthdays before.

It was Happy Hour so the giant beer on tap was our choice.

This is one of the few places that still has an elaborate salad bar. Buy just the salad or - for a much lower price - add it to you entree.

While we were eating the  freebie, I looked over the bar and saw a family seated by the window.

But this was the only one with the man hoisting his baby up in the air. Several times. The baby loved it.

So we finished eating and there was a free movie we wanted to see at the IMAX.

We had about an hour to kill so we stopped at Craft Conundrum, a neat beer place next to Bi-Lo that used to be a Piggly-Wiggly in West Ashley.

I decided to suggest to the bartender that they start a tradition of giving a free beer to someone celebrating a birthday.

They agreed!

Said they already had such a free beer deal.

Wear the Viking helmet while drinking the beer and there is no charge.

I felt very Opera-like with the horned helmet on my head.

The blonde pigtails came with the hat.

Others in the room had seen all this before but I felt it was worth a picture.

From there, it was only a short drive to the IMAX for a 3-D showing of The Avengers.

Oh no, I forgot my ear plugs!

The good news is the 3-D glasses work much better now that cataract surgery eliminated my need to wearing regular glasses.

And, of course, my buddy had earned a free admission.

I pay the Senior rate but for 3-D, there's an additional $2 fee added on. His free admission saved him about $15.

The day was carefully planned to make sure we were back at my house in time to watch the final David Letterman Late Show.

In 2013, we were in New York and secured two tickets so I can proudly say "Been there, done that and have the T-shirt."

And, of course, those two tickets were free.

You had to apply months in advance and didn't really know if you were going to get them until the day before you flew up to NYC.

A bonus that day in 2013, we stopped in the Hello Deli and got a picture of Rupert Jee. And bought my dark blue t-shirt with yellow lettering.

I wore it while we watched Dave say goodbye.

Labels: Amazonian soldiers, boiled peanuts, Craft Conundrum, Eli Hyman, Hello Deli, Ruby Tuesday, Rupert Jee, The Avengers in 3-D IMAX, The Late Show with David Letterman, Viking helmet

posted by chuckography @ 11:10 AM 1 Comments

NYC ...Soaring over the East River!

 So, you've seen the view from the top of the Empire State building.

Or been on the 70th floor at "Top Of The Rock."

Guess you've seen it all from above in New York City.

Hey, not so fast. There's the RIAT.

That's the Roosevelt Island Aerial Tram.

It wil whisk you up, up and away over and above the famed East River.

I think of trams like this at ski resorts but it's June in The City and we tourists are all about getting lots of views.

The Tramway Plaza is at East 60th and the foot of the Queensborough Bridge.

Lots of small children in the "car" when I soared up on cables.

We all were heading past the Queensborough which, I noticed, has two layers of auto traffic.

Hey, when you build a bridge, get the most out of it that you can.

When I walked the Brooklyn Bridge, I was surprised to see it had a wooden pedestrian deck.

Actually, I had seen the green gecko in the GEICO television insurance ads, walking along, talking while dodging bikers and walkers.

It was a quiet day on the East River.

Saw a tour boat come under the bridge while we looked down as we sailed overhead.

Bet the tourists craned their necks and took pictures of us. I would have.

Didn't realize until later that the glass all around us was great for viewing but also reflected back and I had to be careful which photo I selected to visually share the adventure.

You can get to Roosevelt Island by bus and, I suppose, by subway. But why would you?

Walked around, stopped at the Visitors Center and a nice New Yorker told us where to get a cup of coffee and a sandwich.

Both were good and the place was not crowded at all.

The ride back was also delightful.

Here's a link to a video a person put together to share the sights he or she saw. Did a lot of additional shooting as "cut-ins" showing different points of view. Very well done.

Be sure to make a note to take the tram during your next visit to NYC. It's a nice offbeat trip.

Another "different" experience is around the corner from the Ed Sullivan Theater where I saw the Late Show with David Letterman.

"Rupert G." was behind the counter at his  Hello Deli that Dave likes to have pop up on his show.

He was kind enough to pose for this picture so I felt obligated to buy something.

He is bagging the dark blue t-shirt I bought. It's like the one displayed on the wall.

I did not realize until now his name is Rupert Jee.

(Click on the photos for more details.)

Thanks for tagging along today.

Well, J-E-E is pronounced Gee.

Labels: East 60th, East River, Empire State Building, GEICO gecko, Hello Deli, Queensborough Bridge, RIAT, Roosevelt Island Aerial Tram, Rupert Jee, Top of the Rock Observation decks, Tramway Plaza

posted by chuckography @ 2:39 PM 2 Comments