Family Reunion Written by Mike, Illustrated by Jen

Since we've been out here, we've gotten to see Jen's parents and both of our sisters, but my folks hadn't been able to make the trek out here...until last week. Yep, Barb and Jack rolled in on Thursday and were here until Sunday night. Mom had never been to NYC and Dad hadn't been since the early 80s, so they (and we) were in full tourist mode.

One of the funniest moments happened right off the bat. Jen had the day off, so she had gone down to meet my parents at the airport and ride the subway back with them to Inwood. I got off work early and beat them home, so I took Cooper down to the subway station to wait for them. Well, when they came up with their luggage, he noticed Jen...noticed the luggage, backed up (probably thinking "oh my God these bags are going to kill me"...thats our dog)...then he stopped for a minute, looked at my folks, REALIZED who it was, and flipped out in joy. It was hilarious to see him recognize them and then get really excited...Cooper loves his Grandma and Grandpa Watts!!

Where did we take them first? Well OF COURSE it was the PIPER'S KILT! Gotta love that, "Hey Mom? Dad? I know you want to see a bunch of stuff, but first you gotta check out the bar that Mike spends way too much time at..."

After that on Thursday, we took them down to the World Trade Center Site, then we came home and rested before attending Thursday night's Yankees-Blue Jays game at Yankee Stadium. Unfortunately, the wrong team won that night ($#^% Yankees!) but a good time was had by all.

Friday morning I had to work my normal shift, so the folks went down towards Jen's work and she got them into the Museum of Natural History. They then proceeded to spend about five hours there (can't say I blame them, I could spend five DAYS in there) and then took themselves (look at the parents, figuring out the subway!!) to Times Square and wandered around there. They returned to Jen's work to watch George Stephanopoulous (or as Mom likes to call him, "George Snuffleupagus") fill in for Charlie on the news, then I met up with them outside of Jen's work and we headed to Carmine's for dinner. Dawn was able to join us, which was great, so Mom and Dad could see that we do have friends here in this town. All five of us had a splendid meal.

Saturday was the big touristy day. Beginning with a walk pretty much through the entire lower half of Central Park. We then proceeded down to midtown, where Mom expressed a craving for a "genuine New York deli pastrami sandwich." Not a problem...we took them to the Carnegie Deli, where we proceeded to eat about 3 cattle worth of meat. After lunch, we headed down on the "1" train to the bottom of Manhattan and rode the Staten Island ferry out and back so they could get a good look at the Statue of Liberty. From there, it was back up to midtown and the Empire State Building. Jen and I sat that one out, and we decided to go drink while Mom and Dad were up there. Jen managed to run smack into a wall mantel (I swear, that girl could get injured in a padded room) but other than that, all went well. After the folks were done, we met up again, Jen and Mom did a little Macy's window shopping while Dad and I had an extra drink, then we came home and ordered in food following a long LOOOONG day of sightseeing.

Poor Dad, I think we tried to kill his bad knee with all the walking he did Saturday. As you can see, he's getting some sarcastic sympathy from his son.

On the other hand, he'll be in great conditioning spirit for his hockey tournament in Florida later this month, so...you're welcome Dad!!

Sunday we made it easy. Brunch at our favorite place up in our neighborhood, plus a wander around Inwood Hill Park with Cooper, then we headed up the hill to the Cloisters museum, where Mom and Dad wandered around for a bit before coming back to the house, and then waiting for the car to come pick them up and take them to the airport.

All in all, a really nice time, and it was so good to see my parents after six months of not viewing their smiling faces. We can't wait for their next trip out, and we can't wait to see them when we RETURN to California for vacation (36 days and counting!!)