Random Gripes: Cool Venues But Room For a Little Nitpicking

I’m usually not one to complain (more like express opinions :) but within the past week, I attended two events that gave me real reason to gripe. When I arrived at these events, my sole intention was to have a good time and for the most part, I did. But in both cases, my opinion about the venues dimmed a little at the very end.

First, I participated in a beach event organized by relatively new group, Urban Escapes, in partnership with Crunch Fitness. Urban Escapes motto is “get out of the bubble” and for the most part, they organize trips for young professions who are looking for adventure outside the city. As far as I’m aware, they function in Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and NY. Recently, I participated in the Crunch Surf Trip which consisted of a bus ride to and from Long Beach, LI, lunch, yoga (not very practical on sand), volleyball, and anything else you would want to do on a beach. At $40, this was a reasonably priced trip (considering transportation alone) and for an additional $40, they even threw in surfing lessons for beginners. Since I have yet to master the art of swimming, this was not an option for me but I spent plenty of time hitting volleys (or trying to) back and forth on the volleyball court and splashing around in the surprisingly cold ocean on such an awesomely hot day.

Our guides were pretty cool, fun, friendly people and I could definitely see myself going on another trip with the company but they almost got on my bad side when my friend and I returned from washing the sand off to find the area where our group had set down our towels deserted! We’d hustled to make it to and from the restroom within the 10 minutes that they said that we had before our departure but alas, we were too late! We didn’t know where the bus was parked but we didn’t worry much. Not too much anyway. We retraced our steps to the parking lot where the bus had parked that morning but once again found that area empty. So we did the only sensible thing that we could think of, we wandered around hoping to catch sight of the buses while we rang the numbers that were provided in the confirmation email. No answer and no buses! And, just as we were about to despair that we might have to figure out how to get to the nearest LIRR station, we turned a corner and saw them…pulling off! Apparently, our guides hadn’t noted our absence and were not intent on looking for or waiting for us. Not cool! I had already notice that organization was not the company's strongest suit when I boarded the bus the first time but the thought never crossed my mind that I would be stuck in Long Island. In any case, we flagged down the bus as it passed us and was able to board with little more effort. Crisis averted!

Shakespeare in the Park was a slightly different but no less dramatic experience. I was fortunate enough to be given a pair of tickets to see The Winter’s Tale which starred Jesse L. Martin (Law & Order), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without A Trace) and a slew of others. The performances were inspired but it took all of my concentration to translate Shakespearean English into Modern English. Still, I laughed, I gasped and generally had a good time…until the show ended and the actors took their bows. I positioned my camera to take a picture of the cast and as soon as the flash went off, an usher was at my elbow calling me “ma’am” and demanding that I delete the photo. She was very serious and came across aggressively so I played along pretending to delete the photo. I was cool until she asked me to hand over my camera so she could check that I had in fact deleted the photo. She walked away without further protest after I told her that she would not, in fact, be touching my camera. But of course it did not end there.

At the exit, I was accosted by a security guard but this time, he saw that I had my phone in my hand and asked to check it to see if I had any photos. I grudgingly complied and opened up my album, although, I couldn’t help but wonder what they would have done if I had refused. But it was late, I was tired and my camera was safely tucked away in my bag. I didn’t care enough to put it to the test. I did end up deleting the photo because it was dark and out of focus but as I relive the experience, I wish I had kept it. Just because. If I manage to get tickets to see Merchant of Venice who knows what will happen…