Day 3 - New York City

Our third day in the city was all about Ryan, and not so much about touring the city. Since it was so cold, most of the parks were out...and we were tired, so we slept in again and made it a tourist day back at Times Square again.

First, we hit this place so Rich could get his beloved Soupman (from Seinfeld's the soup Nazi) lobster bisque.

Someone had to take a picture with The Rock since he loved him when he was younger...and no, I'm not talking about Ryan. :-|

Then we spent a few hours at Dave & Busters. I know, I know...who goes to one of the greatest cities on Earth to play video games? But remember, we're from the sticks. We don't have any large arcades here (just a small one at our bowling alley)...so whenever we travel in the US, we nearly always hit a Dave & Busters with Ryan (it's his idea of heaven).

Walking the red carpet into Dave & Busters and posing for the paparazzi.

Ryan hit the jackpot on his second try (which we tried to replicate a dozen times) and won 1,000 tickets. He was over the moon! He used it to get a jar of wildly overvalued kinetic sand (that he fell in love with at FAO the day before).

We splurged and had dinner at Bubba Gump's since the location overlooking the square was so amazing. The restaurant was about ten times the size of the one in Kona...and slamming busy at like, 6pm. I asked the manager what their monthly lease was and he said it was about $500,000 a month. Yikes. Sure wish I had gotten in NY real estate about 30 years ago. If I did, I'd be retired, fat and well...fat right now.

I loved just sitting there and gazing at all the billboards, lights, people, buskers and characters on the street. Though the Square is very touristed, it's part of why I love it. It's still a quintessential part of the city. I mean, I much prefer the warm, fresh bagels smothered in cream cheese, the comprehensive subway system and incredible mosaic art within (though the stations are mostly pretty stinky and gross and not quite as cheap as it once was), the diverse communities, amazing stores/restaurants (that we can't really afford to shop in, but are still fun to walk through!), the talented artists on the street and just being able to walk everywhere (and have it be mostly flat)!

You can see that a certain someone was definitely happy in NYC!

After six visits to the city, I still hope/believe that I will live there someday, if only for 4-6 months in winter/spring (summer is so NOT happening). I'd love to sublet a cheap studio in Harlem and find menial work at night waiting tables so I can cruise the city on foot in the day with Rich. :-) So someday...maybe. :-)