(To read the other parts of my NYC trip, click here.)

Well, I’m out-of-order again.  This should be posted after the Voli guest blog post with the details about lunch with Melissa Gorga.  But since I’m not sure how long it will take them to review what I wrote and since it has been two weeks since the trip, I’m going to go ahead and wrap this story up!  (Don’t worry, I will still post the link to the Voli post when it is published!).

After lunch with the Jersey girl, we spent the evening with the Jersey Boys (after a nap to re-charge, of course!  Sorry “city that never sleeps” – you may need to change your name after my visit!)!

The Broadway show was all I hoped it would be.  Loved it!

After the show, we had a late dinner at John’s Pizzeria (yeah, we made sure we got our fill of NY pizza) which was recommended by George (Melissa’s make-up artist).  I actually preferred it over Lombardi’s.  Both were fantastic, but I liked this crust a bit better.  And yes, Jim is sticking his tongue out.

It was freezing cold that evening, so the 5 block walk back to the hotel seemed very long!  I was happy to get under some warm covers.

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The next morning we woke with a lot still left on the “want-to-see” list.  Unfortunately my pillow won for the “must-see” list.  I thought we’d leave the hotel long before the noon check-out time but I think we left the building at about 11:57.

Luckily our flight was late in the day, so we still had several hours.  By this point of the trip, my joints were rebelling from all the walking and the frigid temps made matters worse.  We ate lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., mainly because we had eaten at one in Florida years ago.  I was hoping mind over body would transport me to Florida so I wouldn’t feel chilled to the bone for a moment!

FYI, I could live on nothing but the “Seafood Hush Pups” for at least a month!  Of course I had to get a photo on the bench with the “Life Is Like A Box Of Brown Stuff Chocolates” box.

I must have been missing the kids a lot by this point, because most of the stops we made the rest of the afternoon were kid related.  Souvenir shopping, naturally, and a pit-stop to see the amazing Toys R Us store.  A ferris wheel IN the store.  Wow!

Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory in Toys R Us was just as Wonky as the movie.  I got stuck in the endless tunnel.

After seeing the New York Toys R Us photos, my kids will never want to step foot in our local store again.  Just one story and no carnival rides??  Just look at how boring it looks…

The busiest store we visited was the 3 story M&M store.

We witnessed a turf war.  Elmo vs. Elmo.  Luckily Batman was there to resolve the territorial dispute.

No trip to NYC is complete without a Naked Cowboy sighting.

We didn’t want THAT to be our last memory of the city, so our grand finale was a trip to the Top of the Rock for a bird’s-eye view.

Time for Hugh to take us back to the airport.  Good-bye NYC.

When we arrived back at Dulles airport, I took all necessary precautions to make sure no paparazzi recognized me.  (Yes, those are Voli sunglasses that were in my care package.)  My disguise must have worked because not a single photog recognized me.  Glad I dodged THAT bullet!

We didn’t know what to do after we left baggage claim.  I mean NO ONE had a sign with our name on it.  NO ONE offered to carry our luggage.  Gawsh.

We had to walk ALL the way to the parking garage and then the worst thing of all happened.  We had to DRIVE OURSELVES HOME.

Not impressed.

Fairy Tale is over.  Back to life. Back to reality.

But I think we just may live happily ever after anyway!

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Thanks for following along with my Housewife Hero journey with a Real Housewife.

Don’t forget to follow Momopolize by email (upper right corner of this page).  Any heroes you read about from here on will most likely be of the submarine sandwich variety.  My glamorous real housewife life may be over, but my HUMOROUS real housewife life will continue on and on and on!

But – JUST IN CASE – don’t be surprised if you see me around town incognito…