Day 12 - New York City

Our second day in the city we were unfortunately parentless. My mother had fallen in Orlando and badly bruised her knee, making it very painful to walk each day. But then she slipped and fell in the bathroom again in NYC and hit her head on the toilet (swelling/bruising), dislocated her finger (my dad, a graduate of WebMD University popped it back in and Rich made her splint), but on the upside? She also somehow popped her knee back into place! Nevertheless, my dad suggested she take the day off to rest/recover, so he of course stayed with her.

So it was just three siblings, three kids and a white guy that day. We took the subway down to the Chelsea area to see the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (something we've never been to before).

However, on the way to the pier, we stopped at Carlo's Bakery and attempted to duck in for a quick stop. But it was so packed, it took Rich 45 minutes to get the boys some of their famous cannoli.

The line to get into the Intrepid was a like a popular Disneyland ride. Even though we were in the expedited ticket line, I'd say it took a little over an hour to get through security and then buy our tickets. But the boys absolutely loved the aircraft carrier, the space shuttle and the submarine! I wish we could have sprung the extra $10 or so per child for the simulated ride, but we were trying to stop the bleeding. :-)

After lunch at Chipotle, buying a few small treats for Joey's dog from a cool little pet store, we were hoping to find some trendy clothes at a thrift store we passed (since it was Chelsea, after all), but no such luck. They did have some gorgeous furniture and this lovely hat though!

If the shoe fits...

After an early dinner at Five Guys near Times Square (the boys new favorite place to eat), we had to hustle back to the apartment so that we could get the five boys ready for their special treat from Rich later that evening at Madison Square Garden.

A WWE show!!! A certain someone I know (a Caucasian male with no hair who works in the healthcare industry) used to be quite the WWF fan back as a child. He thought it'd be a hoot for the three boys (my dad and Jon went along too) to be able to experience the insanity of a show. I wasn't nearly as enthusiastic, especially since the boys had NO idea what professional wrestling was and I thought they might be bored.

I needn't have worried. Because at midnight that night after the show, Ryan angrily poked me awake with a look of fury on his face (the show was from 7:30-11:15pm). "Mommy! I hate, and I mean I HATE Bubba Ray (Dudley)!!! He called everyone in the audience 'brainless idiots'! I so want to beat him up!" And I swear, to this day, if I even mention the name Bubba Ray (which I do frequently, just to see his reaction), he snarls and growls and rolls his eyes. He is truly, genuinely insulted by whoever this Bubba Ray character is, and I find it absolutely hysterical.

Rich also has a few videos he took of a match, and all I could hear, even over the roar of the crowd, was my son hooting, hollering and screaming at the top of his lungs. For who? I have no idea. I don't think he does either. But apparently the nearly at-capacity crowd helped him figure out who to love and who to hate.

Even better? My father texted me that night from the stadium and said that despite trying to convince Keni for the better part of 1-2 hours that it was all just a show, that Keni was adamant that it was real. (I'm dying here! I'm dying. Kids are hilarious.)

I specifically instructed the boys to bring snacks and water so they wouldn't need to pay for the pricey drinks and snacks there. Clearly my brother Jon and the children heeded my helpful advice.

So needless to say, Rich was 100% right on the money in getting the tickets! I'm mildly embarrassed, but mostly amused they all had such a good time. :-D