Day Two-The BIG One!

Well, day two started out fairly calm. Once everyone was all clean and ready to face the day, Don, Seven, Don's Mom & I headed into NoHo to pick up TN & her Mom for breakfast. For some odd reason Don & TN's Moms chose to sit at a different table from Don, Seven, TN & I...can't quite figure out why.

Does TN look like she's plotting revenge to you?

TurtleNinja & Don, after breakfast. I believe this was before I found the windup purple dinosaur toy and threatened to attack <G>. If TN looks like she's plotting revenge, it's very possible. Turns out she raises 'being ticklish' to an art form and Don managed to tickle her right off of the bench at one point. Seven, being ticklish as well, was thankful to be on the other side of the table with me. Heh, try as she might, Don could NOT manage to tickle me.

Ok, on to the Museum...this was it...our raison d'etre. (no, that's not some funky fruit snack...it's french for "reason for being"). We parked around the back of the museum (near a dumpster, which was repeatedly showing off its pleasant odour in the summer heat...I still think the guy that opened it up, did it on purpose 'cause we were there <G>). Anyway, the shot on the left is the back entrance to the museum (aren't panoramic cameras fun?). The larger shot on the right is a panoramic shot of the front of the museum from across the street. The smaller picture is the front of the musuem, but from close by on the sidewalk.

Or...you can go in through the front, if you prefer

<-- Look closely and you can see the footprints of the lost turtle civilization.

Two views of the front of the museum. Hey! Let's play a game of "Where's Raphael?" ---->

Back to the trip...this is it, folks, after hearing SO much about it, I was here! Snapped the smaller pic while the others darted inside, meeting up with Savanti, Brent, PG & Lacitar. The pic doesn't really do the place justice, each window has a different silhouette, which is lit up at night. There's also a kewl gargoyle on the roof. Inside, the first thing you see is the lobby/store. Books, books and more books, comics, toys, magnets and other sorts of comic related stuff (technical jargon, I know...) can be found here. Walk through a cave, past an artistic rendition of the history of comics, then take the elevator to the 2nd floor...the INTERACTIVE floor.....

Now, the Interactive floor is, well, as the name suggests, 'Interactive'. Comics and books to read, an electronic chalk board (hooked up to a computer & printer), drawing tables, chalkboards for drawing on, a TMNT pinball machine & a TMNT arcade game. All very well received by our crowd. But, I'd say the thing that catches your eyes the most...are the 5 TMNT figures that are suspended from the mock-wall.

Another shot...just of Mike, Raph and the later-added Venus. Venus looks like she was made out of different materials than the guys were, that's why I say "Later-added".

Didn't get as good a shot of Leo as I would have liked, but I DO like the look on Don's face. Hard to say if he's smirking or giving you THE LOOK <G>.

A shot of Mike & Raph, taken from the third floor. Was hoping to get a better overall shot of all of the turtles, but this was the only one that really turned out.

Ok, once those of us who'd never been to the museum stopped gawking in awe, things settled down and we all got to know each other a little bit better, while we waited for the 2:00 signing to begin.

Don & Brent begin to square off, for the match of the century. Actually, the REAL match of the century was that both showed up wearing the same t-shirts. I think that really worried them. Heh heh heh

Don temporarily gets the upper hand on Brent. It was not to last, however. Sadly, I do not have a picture, but Brent eventually managed to get Don on the floor. (no, wait, that didn't sound right....)

While we waited, we were blessed with a visit by the one and only Ria-angelo! Unfortunately, yes, you guessed it, I didn't get any pics. However, let me tell ya, you KNOW when Ria's visiting. <G> I believe the comment made after her arrival (as she & Donatello said hello, in true Michaelangelo fashion) was: "Ohmygod, there are TWO of them!".

Once again, we all settled in for a little waiting, a little chatting, a little photo taking. I decided to snap a shot of Krang (who was donated to the museum by Donatello's family!). Originally, I was going for Krang, but the look on Seven's face kinda made me decide not to crop it as much as I'd planned.

Did ya ever get the feeling you was being watched?

Ok, the time is finally here...the signing. Don & TN had rushed upstairs and were first in the line. I hung back with PG, Laci, Savanti & Brent (who were just planning to complement the artists and take pictures, as they had nothing to sign). Ria ended up hanging well back, she had a ton of stuff for herself, Kim & Wendy. Got Dan to sign my shirt, moved onto Jim, who was busy doing a sketch, so I went to Peter. Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic of Jim.

SEE?? I told you Peter actually and for real DID sign my shirt! I explained the reason for the painting of the shirt in the first place (not to make money, but because Adult TMNT clothes are/were dang near impossible to find around here). He seemed to understand AND he said I did a good job.

Heh, this was after the signing. Savanti, Seven & Don had gone to our hotel, so Don could grab a few more things for signing (not to mention getting stuck in a traffic jam that delayed their return by nearly two hours...). Phistar & her hubby had popped in, Ria had met up with some friends and gone for Sushi, while TN, her Mom and Don's Mom went to the nearby mall for some shopping. Laci crashed and Brent & I took advantage of the situation by snapping pics of the sleeping dragon.

After the signing, things settled down. *snort* Yeah, right.... Laci had gone back to her room to get a well deserved nap, TN & her Mom had gone to their hotel, Don's Mom stayed at the museum, Ria was still off having Sushi, and the rest of us just hung round. Well, Savanti, Seven, PG & I hung around...Brent & Don RAN around, as Don tried to torment the bejeebers outta Brent. How they didn't end up with heat stroke or something amazes me, it was so warm out. They were very grass covered by the time they settled down.

Y'know, there were so many 'bad' captions I coulda put here...

<-- It's Abominable Grass-Don and the Grinning Brent-Monster

Next, we trudged down to

pay homage at Mirage. Well, the others trudged, thanx the the previous run in with the toilet (who'd a thunk that something could be so danged immobile when kicked???), I was doing a fair bit of hobbling by this point in the day. First, we all walked reverently around the front and side of the building, Savanti tried to get a picture of himself, kissing the building, then Savanti, Brent & I went across the street and took a picture of the building. And I took a picture of my fellow photographers.

The last part of the day...the Words & Pictures Reception. Quite a turnout (at least to someone who has no idea how many USUALLY come to these sorts of things). Ria had returned, with her friend Sarah, Laci was feeling well enough to join us, Phistar showed up, songs were sung (and not just by me!), the others made the really bad mistake of getting me started on music trivia, food was consumed and conversation was made. Heh and a lot of it was made between Peter & the online crew (well, realistically, it was Ria and Peter for a good chunk of the night, until the rest of us

joined in. (only after Ria invited us! We didn't just barge in)). Soon, we all were crowding around displays on the third floor, and getting a huge group shot done. Sadly, my 'loaner' camera got fooled by the natural lighting, and the flash didn't go off. I'm putting the pic here, anyway, sorry for the quality. Ok, my attempt to name all of the people:

I believe Jim was telling us to 'cheer for beer'.

Ok, the long day behind us, we all parted ways for the night. Well, for the most part. Savanti came back to our hotel, so we could get in a little 'rehearsal' for Don's party the next day. They rehearsed, I video taped parts of the rehearsal and that was it. Except that I'm now getting to really know the 12:30-1:00 schedule on Nick At Night (Happy Days and Bewitched, if you must know <G>)

Day Two - Signings, Receptions and other fun stuff