Just over the bridge from the sleepy seaside village of Brigantine Beach, New Jersey, lies the shore of Atlantic City’s Beach and Boardwalk.  It’s an American classic, Atlantic City, one of those places that most everyone has either visited, or is curious about doing so.  I can now say we’ve done both.  We’ve been curious and we’ve been there.  We’re good.

Books.  In a day and age when electronics reign supreme, it’s good to know people still pick up a book.  A real book, possibly even a library book, and not just open their Kindle or device of preference, but rather hold an actual book.  The smell of the pages.  The feel of a faded dog-eared page marking a stopping point. And illustrations. Old-school illustrations with captions.

The house itself has a story to tell; if only walls could talk.  The townhouse, completed in 1914, at 1048 5th Avenue, was originally built for William Starr Miller.  It is a work of art in it’s own right and once thought to be one of the most prominent buildings on 5th Avenue.  Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt III also lived in the stately manor for a number of years after the passing of her husband forced her to leave their 5th Avenue mansion.

“I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, “There’s no place like New York. It’s the most exciting city in the world now. That’s the way it is. That’s it.” Robert De Niro

Here’s the story of how we saw a live taping of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and how you can do the same. Aside from being a part of the live show, just being in the Ed Sullivan Theater is priceless. Ed Sullivan introduced the Beatles to America on February 9, 1964 and Elvis on September 9, 1956 – those were historic moments in entertainment. And then it was David Letterman’s roost for all of those years.  One theater; if those walls could talk.

I really had no expectations of Savannah; having absolutely no inkling of what the city was like.  After spending several days in Charleston, I suppose it was natural to think Savannah would be quite similar to Charleston, but nope, that’s not the case at all.

As I write this post we are in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Myrtle Beach, not Asheville, North Carolina which is where we’re supposed to be, where it’s about 36 degrees and where the rain has been falling in torrential buckets for the better part of the day.  We spent over two hours this morning in a nearby coffee house nursing cups of hot steamy goodness while watching the downpour.  Now back in our hotel room, we are basically here in Myrtle Beach to wait out the storm.

I can’t be 60-years-old.  I simply cannot be 60.  Six-oh-no!  When did it happen?  How the hell did it happen?  I remember my mother at 60.  Sixty was my mother, not me.  Sixty sounds so old. But, the day has arrived. No matter how I fought it. It arrived. Today.  My birthday.  Can I just skip this day?

I caught the gist of the phrase based on what I was hearing on the news, but I have to admit I still went to everyone’s back-up source and Googled the term.

To tour or not to tour?  It’s the question we find ourselves asking more and more often as we travel.  Maybe it’s because we have officially retired and are a bit more selective as to how we spend our money, or maybe it’s because we’ve seen a few too many museums and castles.  Whatever the reason, we are more discriminating these days.