The Benores in Texas

If a picture says a thousand words, then this one says it all. Garth Brooks is coming out of retirement. If you don’t know (then you’ve been under a rock), Garth is the #1 selling solo artist of all time in all genres. In fact, when you include all bands … he is second only to The Beatles. On October 26, 2000 he announced he would go into retirement until his children were out of school. He wanted to be available for car duty, all events, and everything else they have going on as a family. When Steve Wynn courted Garth to come out of retirement Garth responded, “You can’t afford me.” To that Garth has since declared “I was wrong.” Wynn bought Garth a jet, negotiated a weekend only schedule (Friday-Sunday), and gives Garth the flexibility to get out the 5 year deal whenever he wants. Garth will be able to announce his shows is stages so that it never conflicts with his kids’ schedules. So Garth gets to do what he loves without sacrificing the lives of who he loves.

So, why am I writing about this? Garth is why I listen to country music. His rock influences, storytelling/thought provoking songs, and pure entertainer abilities has turned Country music into a completely different art form. He announced the first 5 weekends which went on sale yesterday. As you can see in the picture, he sold out of the 20 shows quickly. His last weekend of shows in this batch is the last weekend in February. So Sunday, February 28, 2010 Shantell and I will see Garth Brooks in concert. This is the very last show announced. Tickets went on sale 10:00am central time, but we did not have the opportunity to purchase them until 12:35pm. They wait time was horrendous but we got our pick of weekends. And since that is the weekend before my birthday, we thought is would we a great venue to celebrate! We are hoping to fly in late on a Thursday or early on a Friday and then return Monday evening. That will give us 3 1/2 days in Las Vegas. Although Shantell has been as far west as California, I currently live as far west as I have ever been. So going to Las Vegas has always been a dream. With all of the shows, hotels, restaurants, etc. it’s going to be a lot of fun.

There are still a ton of cities on our first time “to visit” list. Domestic cities: Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle. International cities/countries: Paris (and/or southern France), London, Dublin, Jerusalem, Madrid, Tokyo, and don’t forget Australia! We also want to re-visit Miami/West Palm Beach, go to a game in Tallahassee (okay maybe more me than Shantell), New York City, Nashville, and Washington D.C. This list is not all inclusive, but it’s a start. But for now, we will soon get to cross Las Vegas off the “to visit” list … and see one of the best entertainers in any genre of music!

(That's “Hello from Rome”) News and stories from our Roman trip will come later, but for now … go to our Picasa Photo page to see all the pictures we have taken through Saturday. And since it is 1:07 am Monday here in Rome, it is way past my bedtime. Chow!

Edit:
I forgot to include a link to the Picasa page … http://picasaweb.google.com/kevinbenore.

Here are the pictures we took of our New York trip. Enjoy!

Click on the picture below to see the entire gallery.

Thanksgiving in New York – 2006

Well tonight is our last night in NYC. But first let me back up and tell you about yesterday. Yesterday we spent hours walking throughout the city. First we a breakfast at Pigalle (pronounced Pig-all-lee). It was a fabulous French bistro whose breakfasts were divine. Then we began our walk. We did far more walking that I am used to, but it was a great way to see the city. We ventured into a few stores, but mostly we just enjoyed Rockefeller Center, 5th Avenue, and Central Park. Our lunch was a quaint little roadside diner in Central Park where we had gourmet pretzels and hot dogs. OK, so it was a hot dog cart. After lunch and the miles of walking we went back to our room to prepare for dinner. We ate at an authentic Cuban restaurant called Havana Central. Then we saw one of the best musicals ever to hit Broadway, Les Mis?rables.

That leads us to today. Two musicals (a double header). We saw both Tarzan and Wicked tonight. And in between all that, we ate surf and turf (lobster and steak) at Bobby Van's. Fantastic! Some theater snobs (aka 'the critics') don't like the Disney/corporate sponsorship of Broadway, but I am in favor of whatever brings Broadway to the masses. Then again, I am just a big fan of all things Broadway. Tomorrow marks our departure from this great city. Hopefully we will not have to wait another five years before we see her again.

Today was the coolest day ever. Shantell and I are spending the Thanksgiving holiday in New York City. This city is very special to us. In February of 2001, I brought Shantell to NYC and asked her to marry me! 5 years later we return as an anniversary trip celebration. (Our 5th anniversary was November 17). We flew in late last night and after settling in our hotel, we ventured out into Time Square. We are currently staying at the Mayfair Hotel, in the heart of the Theater District. The hotel is between Broadway and 8th Avenue on 49th Street. Needless to say, the location is fantastic. Although the weather is rainy and cold (40s), who cares?! We've walked and walked and walked … all over the place. Somehow we are keeping warm and dry.

This morning we watched (with a few thousand others) the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Finding not else much to do on an afternoon, we grabbed lunch and headed back to the hotel. Watched some football, took a nap. Next we headed to the site of the World Trade Center. We went by subway and when we got off the site was ground level with us. We ventured above ground but it was not as impressive as being on the subway level. It stirred those same emotions we all felt on 9/11. After that we went to dinner at Salmon River. Yes, they had turkey at that seafood restaurant. It was fabulous. Finally we made it to the Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular … and spectacular it was. The Rockettes were both beautiful and talented. The live nativity scene at the end, reminded all of the true meaning of Christmas. Now, I write to you from the hotel room of today's adventures. When we get back, perhaps some pictures will added. But for now, it time for bed. Tomorrow should be another adventure.