We checked out of the Marriott and headed over to the Navy Yard for a tour of the D.S.S. Barry battle cruiser where the kids had been sleeping for the past couple nights. The young Navy airman with a slight Irish accent who conducted our tour shared that he used to be assigned to Arlington Cemetery. Not too long ago, though, he had to hand a flag off a coffin to the soldier's 7 year old daughter and interacting with her really affected him. He asked for leave and was reassigned to doing the tours of the Barry. It really hit home the price so many men and women pay to secure the freedoms and privileges of this country we live in.
After the tour and a trip to Starbucks, we headed to Costco for groceries and pizza for lunch. Then we were off to New York City! We arrived on the outskirts of town at sunset and were wowed by the lights and dazzle (and traffic and fast pace) of this metropolis. Little did we know that our GPS would steer our bus with trailer and two vans smack dab through the middle of Manhatten. Weaving through traffic, with taxis turning left in front of us (from the right lane), we all made it through by relaying directions via cell phones. As soon as we hit the city, the kids started scrambling to get their homework done, because they knew they'd be grounded to the hotel until it was all finished.
By 10:45 PM we were checking into the hotel, but the kids hadn't eaten. J.J. desperately needed sleep and nourishment, so I did my best to get him food and tuck him into bed (after a dose of cough syrup). We handed out Cup-O-Noodles to the rest of the kids and they really did a much better job of settling into their rooms than at the last hotel. It was pretty squished with one person on the floor and our huge luggage bags everywhere - there was no space to walk. But we didn't care much - we were in NYC and the girls were already looking up Broadway show times and prices and availability! WooHoooooooooooooo!
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