When I visited the Museum in high school, it was a very neat but somewhat quick tour. Maybe because it was rainy and cold...which it definitely was NOT this time. Once entering the museum we discovered that the line for the submarine tour was fairly short. It was an opportunity that on day three we already were well aware we needed to take advantage of while we could.
Also a pleasant surprise, there was no line onto the aircraft carrier that most of the museum is in. We did the deck of the carrier first, knowing that the day was only getting sunnier and hotter.
After hydrating we took in the space shuttle, which is displayed in a new building which had air conditioning. This is the second shuttle we have seen (the first at Kennedy Space Center during our Florida trip), and I remarked at how this one was in such good shape compared to the other one. Turns out the Enterprise was the prototype with no engines or heat shield, so it never went into orbit.
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| Ben was so sick of my picture taking at this point. Can you tell? |
There were also other areas of the carrier that were splendidly air conditioned, and there was plenty of silly fun to be had.
Also at the museum is the Concord. You can go on it, if you payed extra....which we were quickly figuring was the name of the game in NYC (along with security).
The Intrepid took much longer than we had planned. Lots and Lots of walking. So, Nate was even less of a fan for the walk back to the hotel. He was a trooper and was soldiering on though, but he just wanted to get it done with...was not at all interested in stopping for lunch. The rest of us were starving though, so we found a great little cafe on the way back. Good food, good service, crabby Nate. It was here that Nate had an autistic meltdown unlike anything he has had in a long time. It involved a slippery table top and his knife. Needless to say I had a napkin over my face and Ben had his head contorted looking as far away from Nate as possible because we were laughing so hard we had tears. Luckily Kyle had some semblance of sympathy for Nate. Nate took SO LONG to eat in his frustration, but we were willing to wait because we knew he wasn't eating enough for all of the calories we were burning with all the walking.
After we had all been fed, we walked the rest of the way back to the hotel, where we decided that Nate deserved a break with his feet up, zoning out in front of the TV for awhile. Ben stayed with Nate, and Kyle and I ventured a few blocks to find a Walgreen's to buy some Ensure for Nate....he obviously needed more calories. I figured I had burned enough to treat myself to some Mike and Ikes too. We also took noted of the brewery across from our hotel that had an $18 lobster meal deal.
Also while resting at the hotel, I began to research Broadway shows. Kyle had encouraged me to go see one while in New York, although I was really the only one super interested in doing so. The price of tickets is a bit shocking though. I didn't want to go alone and I didn't want to pay a lot of money to bring 3 guys who were really not interested. However, our hotel was RIGHT BY Broadway...like less than half a block.
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| I mean...we were on Rogers & Hammerstein Row!! |
I checked on Phantom of The Opera tickets, and decided (after walking by the theater multiple times a day already) it was as reasonable as I was going to get. I almost bought tickets online, until I saw the service fee associated with that. So, being we were literally less than half a block away and the box office was open we decided to buy in person. Nate was totally into doing this at this point (food and an Ensure helped), so off we went and purchased 4 Phantom tickets for the next night. We also tried to get Book of Mormon tickets....but no tickets for less that a small fortune were available. This also provided an opportunity to visit Nate's hole again (Honestly, he will be watching a movie shot in New York now and will state "that's by the hole").
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| The hole. Nate is dropping coins in it, not punching Kyle. |
Back at the hotel we changed into nice clothes again for our evening. Prior to leaving on our trip the other thing that we got reservations for was Jazz at Lincoln Center. There was a saxophonist playing that we new Ben needed to see. We changed into fancy clothes, got the subway exactly right this time, and enjoyed some live jazz. Ben was very impressed with the headliner, and I was equally impressed with the vibraphone musician. Kyle who really enjoys that type of jazz (lots of improve), and Nate had a great time as well. After the concert, Ben was able to meet the saxophonist...and of course I needed to have a picture. We also bought a CD for Ben and his album on vinyl for Kyle and I. We realized afterwards that the album but not the CD was signed.
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| Dapper enough for a jazz club. |
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| Ben and Ted Nash |
Following the concert, we navigated the subway (pros...PROS at this point) back to the hotel, and had dinner at the brewery we had noticed earlier. Kyle and Ben opted for the lobster meal, Nate had pizza, and I had...can't remember what. We did eat there again a second time later on in the week because the lobster meal was so good, and THAT time I did have the lobster.
Despite all the walking on day three, after dinner Nate was very insistent that he wanted to walk over to Times Square. So off he and Kyle went (Ben and I were DONE), where they discovered that things are definitely more "interesting" towards the weekend in terms of people walking around in costume and pretty much nude (they expect people to pay them money to have a picture taken with them). Nate was certainly settling in to everything that New York is. The extra calories helped too.
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