Pudding!! If you have seen Hello Dolly you may recognize this word and if you have not…you may be wondering why I am starting the blog with this word??? Pudding was a phrase used between Cornelius and Barnaby, two characters from the show Hello Dolly. PUDDING was declared to one another when they were having an adventure…and ADVENTURE was had on our trip to NYC to play, visit National Historic Parks/Sites, and see Hello Dolly on Broadway!!

Adventure was immediately declared as the trip from Boston started on a Friday afternoon. It was a warm day and the car had no A/C. So, all windows were down for most of the drive to NYC. We were all a bit wind-blown by the time we got there. But no complaints were made, as we were excited it was a beautiful spring day and we were ready to play in NYC.

The adventure continued on Saturday as we visited our first site: the Hamilton Grange. Like so many others, I love the musical Hamilton. So, I was really excited to see this site. Naturally, I couldn’t help but sing (to myself) the soundtrack to the musical as I toured the home…especially the song ‘It’s Quiet Uptown.’

Here is a little about the Grange:

‘Hamilton Grange National Memorial preserves the home of founding father Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton commissioned architect John Mccomb Jr. to design a Federal-style country home on a 32-acre estate in upper Manhattan. This house was completed in 1802 and named “The Grange” after his father’s ancestral home in Scotland. Unfortunately, Hamilton was only able to enjoy his home for only two years. On July 11, 1804, Hamilton was fatally wounded in a duel with his personal and political rival Vice President Aaron Burr (nps.gov).’

After visiting the Grange, we went to lunch at the Shake Shack. When I visit other cities I usually try to eat at a restaurant that I cannot eat at home. Boston has many Shake Shacks and I am truly grateful for this. So, it would seem, I would not have chosen to eat to there. But Cristi or Tauna mentioned Shake Shack and I was immediately sold on the idea. And the ‘Mothership,’ the original Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, was only minutes away from our next site…so it seemed only fitting to eat at a ‘historic’ place on our historical tour!!

After being happily fed, we made our way to Theodore Roosevelt’s Birthplace.

A little information on Teedie (what he was called as a boy):

‘Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, lived at this site from his birth on October 27, 1858 until he was 14 years old. The reconstructed house contains five period rooms, two museum galleries and a bookstore. Roosevelt’s original birthplace was demolished in 1916. After Roosevelt’s death in 1919, the site was purchased by the Women’s Roosevelt Memorial Association, rebuilt and decorated with many of its original furnishings by Roosevelt’s sisters and wife

‘During Roosevelt’s administration, the National Park System grew substantially. When the National Park Service was created in 1916 – seven years after Roosevelt left office – there were 35 sites to be managed by the new organization. Roosevelt helped created 23 of those (nps.gov).’ Thanks Teedie!!

We all know I love visiting these historical sites…but I absolutely adore Broadway. The adventure continued as we made our way uptown to Times Square.

It was especially great to be with Tauna, as she was experiencing her first show on Broadway. Hello Dolly was a perfect show to see with these ladies. The show was full of fun, laughter, and amazing dancing!! The crowd went crazy and I mean crazy for Bernadette Peters. I was obsessed with the movie Annie as a child and all I could think of Bernadette as Rooster’s girlfriend…Lily St. Regis…so again I found myself singing songs in my mind to the soundtrack of Annie. I seem to never stop singing in my mind!!

The last stop on our adventure was General Grant’s Tomb. Thank goodness Cristi mentioned wanting to see this site because I completely missed it in my NHP guide book. I was SO happy I got to see this amazing place and also get another cancelation stamp on this trip!

A few words about the tomb:

‘Grant’s tomb is ‘The final resting place of President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia, is the largest mausoleum in North America. It testifies to a people’s gratitude for the man who ended the bloodiest conflict in American history as Commanding General of the Union Army and then, as President of the United States, strove to heal a nation after a civil war and make rights for all citizens a reality (nps.gov).’

There are so many important reasons to be grateful to President Grant, but another reason to like him even more is…he signed the act that established the first national park, Yellowstone, on March 1, 1872!!

Thank you Tauna and Cristi for the amazing adventure to NYC! Love you both!!

Rooms in Hamilton’s Grange


Madison Square Park


A few quotes of President Roosevelt

A couple of rooms in Teedies’ house