NYC

 I guess it does seem that we did a lot on our afternoons off while in Philly, and I guess we did.  The highlight of our time off was to go to New York City.  We left Philadelphia early one afternoon and rode in the van to the city.
 We were on the New Jersey Turnpike, when our van driver decided he was getting tired.  He didn't want to pull over, because we were following another vehicle and didn't want to get lost.  So, as we were going 70mph, another guy in the front seat said he would switch with him.  The second guy got on the lap of the driver as the driver inched out from under him.  The switch was made while all of us passengers thought we were going to die.  We all had to promise never to tell anyone in the other car what we had done.  We were too speechless to say anything to anyone.  I do not recommend that procedure to anyone.
 We got to the city and began to look around.  One of the sites we went to was the World Trade Center.  This was 1980, and the WTC had not been up for very long.  We went up to the top of one of the towers to their restaurant.  We got to look out of the windows, where one could see several states and the harbor.  We stood on the railings to look straight down on the city below.  After 9/11, I have wondered if anyone working there was killed some 21 years later.  I hope not.
 We left there and went up towards Broadway.  We went to a Theatre shop, and I got an order form for Broadway t-shirts.  After I got home, I ordered 3 shirts.  I still have them today, although one doesn't fit anymore.  The shirts were:  NYC Shakespeare Festival, Beatlemania, and I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road.
 Then, we went to dinner at Mama Leone's in the Theatre District.  It was a beautiful Italian restaurant complete with violins.  We had a 22-course meal over a 3-hour period.  Granted, most of the courses came in small bowls surrounded by the entrée, but they just kept bringing the food.  After it was over, I could barely walk.  If someone had a hand truck, I would have gladly had them wheel me back to our van.  Just as we were leaving the restaurant, some boys tried to rob us, but we told them we didn't have any money, and they left.  Instead, they just ran away knocking over garbage cans.
 We got back late to Philly from our NYC adventure.  Sleep was easy.  Getting up the next day wasn't so easy.  I hope the kids didn't mind so much.  The puppets were very sleepy, too.