DAY FOUR
Thursday morning, and it was finally time to leave for Tarrytown. Sunny had
suggested we go to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery first since it was right near the
Marriott, so we agreed to do that. First, though, we had a nice, big breakfast
of eggs and sausages. I decided to eat breakfast that day for a change since I
knew we probably wouldn’t be eating for a while for the rest of the day.
We pulled out of the driveway but had to stop at the bank on the way. I
needed cash to bring with me, and so did Sunny. Fortunately, we both use the
same bank. I used the ATM, but Sunny went in and cashed a check at the teller
window. As she did that, I fiddled around with my GPS to put in the address for
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. It took a bit of doing because those things can be
tricky, but I finally got it.
My GPS is pretty new, and I hadn’t "named" it yet, so as we drove and "she"
talked to us, we threw around various names. I wanted something related to Dark
Shadows, but Sunny came up with the perfect name! Christine! I had mentioned the
voice was similar to the computer’s voice on "Star Trek," which was voiced by
Majel Barrett, Gene Roddenberry’s wife. She had also portrayed Nurse Christine
Chapel on the original series and Lwaxana Troi on "Next Generation." Thus, Sunny
thought of "Christine," and we "baptized" her.
Actually, the GPS is pretty neat. I had made a wrong turn somehow on the way
to the cemetery, and it tells you, "Calculating route," which means it’s picked
up where you went wrong and will tell you how to correct it. So, finally, we
were at the cemetery.
It was a kind of cloudy day with the threat of rain, but we lucked out. It
wasn’t actually raining yet. At the office, Sunny picked up some maps for us,
but that thing is like a maze! It’s a good thing Sunny has a decent sense of
direction because she got us to Washington Irving’s grave and to the Headless
Horseman Bridge. We took some neat photos of both sites. As we drove around, we
ogled other graves, and there were some famous folks there. I saw Sophie
Tucker’s grave, as well as Joseph Lister’s. Andrew Carnegie is buried there, but
we didn’t see his grave. So many more that one of these days, I’ll get back
there to really tour around when I have more time.
Sunny spotted one grave marker that said, "Barny," spelled without the E, but
it made her giggle, and soon, we were all laughing. It really would have been
the perfect graveyard for Barnabas, too. There were lots of very old graves and
pretty spooky mausoleums there. In fact, the mausoleum used in the movie, "House
of Dark Shadows," in which Carolyn was "buried," is in that cemetery. Too bad we
didn’t get to see it, though.
After Sleepy Hollow, we got back on the road to go to the hotel and check in.
Although it was a Thursday and the middle of the day, traffic was horrendous.
Still, we inched our way through it and made it to the Marriott where we checked
in.
Sunny had room 351, and Lali and I, along with Judy, who’d arrive later, were
in 324. Thank goodness we were on the same floor! Sunny was rooming with Di
(dlfoxy) and Mary Wassner, but they weren’t there yet. Our rooms were nice but
not as big as Brooklyn. Still, who cared? We were only going to sleep in them
after all.
I realized I’d forgotten something when I packed, so we all went down to the
desk and asked where the nearest CVS or whatever was. The concierge told us to
make a left out of the hotel and there would be a drugstore on our right, along
with a Stop & Shop. Okay – sounded simple enough. The problem was, you
weren’t allowed to make a left out of the hotel, so I was forced to go right. We
ended up in a small town, probably part of Tarrytown, and there was a CVS there,
but it was impossible to get to it. It was kind of catty-corner to something
else, and you weren’t able to turn into it because of the one-way streets. So,
we turned back around and went in the opposite direction.
Again, although we passed the Stop & Shop, we couldn’t get into it, so we
just drove and drove for a while. I kept saying we had to hit something
sometime, but no. There was nothing around for miles. Once again, we had to turn
around. Finally, we decided to stop at the diner across from the Stop & Shop
to eat. We were tired and hungry by then. The waiter was so funny, and the food
was good and plentiful, not to mention affordable, so it was a great choice.
While we ate, I played the jukebox, which was neat. It had "our" kind of music
in it, too.
At Stop & Shop, I got the item I had forgotten, as well as a jug of water
since water’s so expensive at the hotel. Lali got some flavored seltzer and some
water, and Sunny got some other items. Thus armed, we headed back to the
hotel.
We decided to hang around in the lobby to see who was there, and we did run
into some friends we see every year. We also wanted to wait for Di, but we were
worried. She had told us she was leaving Pennsylvania where she lives at 6 in
the morning, and she should have arrived before we did. She hadn’t. Luckily,
Lali had her phone number, so I called her house. It turned out she had left a
lot later. Funny thing was, almost as soon as I hung up, she walked through the
door, and hugs were exchanged all around.
We spent most of the time in the lobby after that, drinking the great water
they had available for guests. It was flavored with fresh lemons and something
else which I thought tasted like cucumbers, but Lali said it was honeydew melon,
and she’s most likely right. Whatever it was, it sure hit the spot.
That evening, we decided to try one of the hotel restaurants, The Tavern, for
dinner. It was a great choice, kind of pricey, but not too, and fabulous food!
Then, it was back to the lobby to hobnob with people who were arriving in droves
now, a lot of whom we knew.
As we sat in the lobby, I got myself a glass of wine from the bar. However,
Sunny and Di wanted to go out for a smoke, so I went with them for a few puffs
myself. While outside, Nancy Kersey went up to Lali, who was guarding my wine,
and she and Lali decided to play a joke on me. Nancy put an empty glass of wine
next to Lali and hid my full one. When I got back, Lali was sprawled out on the
lobby couch, seemingly out of it, with the empty glass of wine in front of her.
I guess the expression on my face said it all because all of a sudden, I heard
these howls of laughter, and there was Nancy, laughing hysterically. By then,
Lali couldn’t keep a straight face. It was really funny since Lali’s not one to
drink anything, and it was a shock.
At 10 p.m., I was scheduled to meet with the Collinsport Players for a late
rehearsal, so I was waiting in the lobby. The time came and went, and still, I
waited. I went outside for a smoke, and as I was smoking, up drove Judy in a
cab. She had flown into Westchester Airport, very near the hotel. Hugs were
exchanged, and we went back into the lobby, where Lali and Sunny greeted her as
well.
They all went up to their rooms, and still I waited. Finally, I bumped into
someone who was with the production people at the fest. I asked him if he knew
where the Collinsport Players were, and he told me that they were at Ruth’s
Chris Steakhouse, a restaurant in the hotel. He said Lara Parker was also
looking for them, but she’d given up and gone to bed. (Lara was in the skit with
us.)
I was about to do the same thing, since by now, it was about midnight, when
rehearsal should have ended. No such luck for me. I ran into my fellow
thespians, and off we went to rehearse for about an hour.
Exhausted, I went to bed around 1:30. We were to be up early the next day
because we were taking the trip to Lyndhurst, where "House of Dark Shadows" and
"Night of Dark Shadows" were both filmed.