Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum

So since I've moved here my brother has wanted to go to the Intrepid. I didn't find this out until after he left here the first time. Then he came around December with our cousin. And a big aircraft carrier is not her idea of fun. Especially since they do not sell fake Coach purses on it. Then the next couple of times, it was closed for repairs. But this time...THIS TIME...it was perfect. Almost like he had planned it because it was Fleet Week and that meant all kinds of extras going on. They just reopened the submarine, The Growler, AND there were navy dudes EVERYWHERE.

So here's the best advice I can give you about the Intrepid. And it is seriously good advice. If you want to go, buy your tickets in advance online. You have to do this at least a day before you want to go. But it will save you hours, HOURS waiting in line (or on line, as they say here). I always try to buy tickets in advance online. I did it for the Statue of Liberty when the afore mentioned cousin visited and it saved us a little line waiting, I guess, but we still did our fair share of standing. I expected something comparable — it would save us the time waiting in line to get tickets, but we'd still have to stand in line for the actual boat. But instead, it was like having a Do Not Pass Go card. But instead of going directly to jail, we went directly onto the Intrepid. We waited NOT at all. The only time wasted was trying to figure out where Will Call was, because we could not believe we could just walk up to the front. This line stretched around the block/pier. So, moral here, buy online ahead of time. Also, if you have a college ID, use it. Even if it's from the community college where you only took a Spanish class a semester. Saved me $5.

The boat was pretty interesting. We spent about four hours there, I think, and we still didn't see everything. Block out a day. Especially if you go during Fleet Week when the bands are playing and there is beer being sold and you can just kick back on a nice sunny day outside and listen to music with friends.

Oh, for those of you don't know what the Intrepid is: "In 1943, Intrepid was commissioned and served proudly in World War II. She went on to serve as one of the primary recovery vessels for NASA, three tours of duty off Vietnam, and submarine surveillance in the North Atlantic during the Cold War." It's now a museum.