Yoo hoo! Psst. Over here. No, not there. Down the coast a bit. Here I am, in NYC. I'm stretched out on the foldout sofa bed on the 27th floor of a hotel with the glow of Times Square seeping through the sheer drapes. My parents are in the next room + I'm enjoying hearing one of the sounds of my growing up: laughter from their room as they watch the Tonight Show (in fact, one of my brother Chris's first phrases was "Here's Johnny!" True story.)

I was born here a few dozen blocks away and several decades ago. I think my cells remember my Big Apple beginnings because I love to make the pilgrimage and soak up the city. Even the stinky summer sewer smells don't dampen my love of this place. This time I'm here with my parents for a few days then we'll head back up to Boston for the 4th of July weekend with the fam.

Yes, this is a kid-free (thanks to G for holding down the fort at home), just-me-and-my-parents getaway. Evidence: I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. Funniest moment today: watching my mom be interviewed by CBS News for a man-in-the-street interview about travel. Don't know if she made it to the broadcast, but if you see someone on that show ask about boutique hotels, that would be my madre. Besides that brush with fame, we walked around, ate dinner at a cafe (delish) in the West Village with my sister (who lives here) and her boyfriend, and saw the movie The Visitor (very good).

Tomorrow is a theatre-packed day: August, Osage County for the matinee and South Pacific at night. I know, lucky am I. I'm thinking I need to find some way to pay it forward to balance out this trip. Does anyone need their toilets scrubbed? Their wallpaper stripped? Let me know.

[I wrote this last night but, in my sleepy haze, forgot to post.]