Carl and Marc

Chuck E. Cheese was a childhood favorite of mine. And lucky for me and Jesse, my dad loved the place, too. My mom would sit on the sidelines, guarding our pizza as the three of us ran around with our pockets full of tokens, playing the games we thought might give out the most Chuck E. tickets. To a kid, those tickets were like gold. And because it probably took an average kid about $20 to accumulate 100 of them (for what might get you a small carnival-style stuffed animal), they were pretty valuable to parents, too. Candy, T-shirts, Chinese finger traps, we came home with all of that. But you know one thing that definitely wasn't a prize option? Grillz. That's right, grillz, those bling-blingin' jewels for your teeth. As we wandered around the NYC Dave & Busters ticket redemption area, however, there they were, shining from inside their glass display cases. From then on, there was no question. We needed them. Well, we needed them for Carl and Marc, our visitors for the weekend. The outcome: see below.

All of these...

For these...
Nelly would be proud. So yes, D&B was part of our NY/NJ visit with Carl and Marc. Not something I'd normally recommend in the middle of the NYC entertainment mecca, but it turned out to be one of the weekend highlights. Other adventures: a visit to Canal Street, where Abbey and I bought "Tiffany" necklaces, Carl and Marc bought matches designer shades and Adam just stood on the sidewalk, looking like an undercover cop. Of course, we ate at Burritoville...a hit, again. And later, we headed back to Hoboken for dinner and drinks. (Sidenote: Michigan lost again!)

On Sunday, after finally getting up, we drove back out east, eating at another of my favorites, Hummus World. Next, we made a quick, but efficient, visit to the wineries. Efficient, because we still managed to do numerous tastings and "sip" two bottles of wine.

After a quick stop at Stony Brook and breakfast, I dropped the boys back at LaGuardia on Monday. I expect to see some creative Halloween costumes that incorporate their new metal gear.