Waking Up in the City That Never Sleeps

The HB's birthday went great. He had a very whiny friend over for lunch and then some glow-in-the-dark mini-golf. His aunt then took him on a $50 shopping spree at Target. My parents and my wife's family came over for dinner and the HB was showered with all kinds of presents. He had a very good day.

The flight here to NY was typical for this type of year: Crowded and a little bumpy. The boys did great. I thought their eyeballs were going to fall out of their heads from all of the Gameboy they played. Since we flew Continental (the only airline that has gone bankrupt and actually came out of the mess as a better carrier) we got a meal (yum...cheeseburgers) and it was all good. After an e-ticket cab ride (you have to be of a certain age to get that) we got to our hotel, The Affinia Gardens. This place is the shit. We chose it because of the location in a relatively quiet neighborhood. We got a suite and it must be at least 800 sq ft! The wife and I have our own room with a door (almost, her emphasis, enough privacy to have sex) and the boys have plenty of room to spread out. It has a full kitchen, so we won't have to go out for every meal, especially breakfast. That'll save us a bunch. And, as you can tell, there high speed access (I even found someone's free unsecured network).

Today we're off to the Met so the boys can check out the mummies and armor. We'll then meet up with my aunt and uncle from Philly for dinner before we see Spamalot. My nephew's getting into Monty Python (same age I was) as is the HB. My wife and I saw the show with the original cast (I'm sorry, but I can't see Tim Curry sing without imagining him in a corset, fishnets and red fuck-me pumps--again, a joke for those of us of a certain age) and it was great.

More tomorrow after we hit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.