Over this long holiday weekend I paid my friend a visit in the great city of New York. While a day session at the US Open was in the cards, most of what else we decided to do was planned fairly last minute, but we sure stumbled upon some gems.
The first was a drag brunch at Astoria’s Kween Cocktail Lounge & Kitchen. Admittedly, this was my first drag brunch experience, but not my friends. Both of us can agree that it was a hell of a show! Three Queens Freeda Kulo, Chetan, and Adrena Lin were the performers, and they were very, very talented. The songs were fun, the dancing was epic, and the comedy was top notch. These ladies knew how to have fun and get maximum audience participation. I know there was a smile on my face the entire time. On top of the stellar performances, the food was great, too. Look, if all drag shows are this good, then I can’t wait to go to the next one!
Also a fly by the seat of our pants decision was to get tickets to see Luenell perform a comedy set at Carolines on Broadway. This place has apparently been a frequent spot of comedy legends, and I would say Luenell is right up there with them! The show was pretty well packed on its third and final night, and the show opened with former news anchor, Rolonda Watts. For someone who did public television for a long while, she really impressed me with her comedic chops! I thought she was delightfully hysterical and she really seemed to be enjoying herself, too. Luenell was as every bit funny as I expected her to be and could totally relate to her flight tales, along with New York being deceptive in its “walkability.” She absolutely slayed her set, and I’m really glad my friend and I were able to find out about it in time.
Sunday my friend and I headed to Flushing Meadows to attend the first Round of 16 day session at the US Open. It largely reminded me of my time at the Cincinnati Masters for all those years, but at a larger scale. Seriously, just Centre Court alone holds double than that of Cincinnati’s! I knew Rafael Nadal wasn’t playing a match that day, but he was for sure practicing, so as soon as we entered the grounds we bee-lined it for a good spot at the practice court. After watching Victoria Azarenka and Casper Ruud for a little while, Rafa made his way out, and it was just as entertaining to watch as all the other times I’ve seen him play in the past. From there we watched Ruud win at Arthur Ashe stadium, saw a brief bit of Coco Guaff’s match, and checked out bits and pieces of some doubles matches around the grounds. Overall, a very exciting and slightly overwhelming experience. Definitely a bucket list goal achieved.
All in all, it was an eventful Saturday and Sunday in the Big Apple. More importantly though, I got to catch up with my friend in her home state for the first time since before the pandemic. I can’t wait to go back!