I Confess...A Catholic girl's guide to life: Day 12: Spy Games

I'm not going to lie, the day started off rough. We had done so well the night before preparing ourselves for the big day in the city that lay ahead. However, I could NOT for the life of me fall asleep. For four hours, I lied awake. I tried reading, I tried surfing, and I felt so tired. I felt like I could sleep for an eternity. But, I just couldn't drift off to the ol' shut-eye theatre. Around 3 am, I tried to sleep in another room of the house. There, I wafted in and out of sleep for three hours. At this point, I was so anxious about how I was going to get through the day on so very little sleep that it was impeding my sleep even further. I could not believe this was happening. I mean, I sleep everywhere...and always. Why, tonight? Why could I not just rest? Why couldn't my brain stop whirling? I just wanted quiet, peaceful, restful sleep and I was in tears that I couldn't achieve that.

Before going to bed Friday evening, I had told Tom to wake me at 8:30 because we needed to get the 9:30 train. Well, while I was still awake at 6 am I pretty much threw that plan out the window, unbeknownst to Tom. Sure enough, he woke me at 8:30 like I had asked, and I told him I had only slept for about five hours, so I'd like to sleep for at least thirty more minutes. He was more than happy to let me sleep longer, but we had to catch the 10 o'clock metro to Chinatown because our first task was scheduled for 11. At 9 o'clock I dragged myself out of bed, and tried to shower and get ready the best I could. I was so fearful that I would not make it through the day on such little sleep. I can't remember the last time I did anything on that little sleep! I was emotional that morning because I wanted this to be the very best day we had together! I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and I knew it. Tom definitely knew it and reassured me several times that it was all going to be fine. We were still going to have fun and it was going to be a great day. After a shower, I felt a bit better and was more willing to believe in these crazy ideas of his. We made the 10 am metro and exited the Chinatown metro station around 10:30. Then, we walked up the block to The International Spy Museum. Okay, now I got really excited! Once the museum was in view, I was sure that we were going to have a fun day. But, first we needed food. We had completely skipped eating in the morning due to rushing out to catch the train. I thought we should go pick up our tickets so we headed to the museum (after taking pictures of course).

Metro Ride to Chinatown - An extremely sleepy Judy but damn if my makeup doesn't look good!

First sight of the SPY MUSEUM!

A very happy Tom. Happy birthday, babe!

An extremely nice woman helped us as we walked in the door. We obtained our tickets at the will call box and she informed us that our first mission would be starting at 10:55, instead of 11:05. She went on to tell us that this mission would require us to jump, run, dodge, and duck. We were eyeing each other like, "Uh oh. We have no fuel." I looked at him and said, well....do you think we can make it? He was instantly like, "Absolutely not...." and asks the lady, "Where's that Starbucks?" She gave him a face that said you're not going to have enough time. Next thing I knew he was out the door jogging across the street. He had less than 15 minutes to get there, get us something to eat, and head back. I was probably more nervous than he was. I didn't want to end up having to go on the mission alone! I meandered around in nervousness and texted him panicked messages which I'm sure were super helpful to him. :o) He got back right at 10:55 and we scared down our fruit and cheese plates. I was very pleased with the selections he brought back for us but I'm certain neither of us really tasted the food because we literally ate in five minutes. Then, we went to the waiting area for our mission. There were a few other families that were on this particular mission with us. I don't want to give too much away because I want people to go do the mission for themselves! But, there was one family with two younger children who were probably eight or ten years old, another family was comprised of a mom and her son and they looked exactly the same right down to the haircut and the eyeglasses. Then there were a few other couples. Our group represented a diversity of ages. At the beginning of the mission, they give you some information of the place that you're going and what you're going to be required to do. They make it sound really intense. Once inside the secret location they give you more information about the problem and they take you through a series of guided activities. The kids were absolutely hilarious to watch during this! Of course, Tom and I were participating but I was cracking up because I truly believe the kids thought we were on a real mission, solving a real case. It was awesome! The whole mission lasted about an hour and it flew by. It was really, really fun. The whole time I was wishing my nephews were there. They would have gotten into it, I think. After the mission, it was right about lunch time, so Tom and I went next door to the Shake Shack. Neither of us had ever been to this place, but how can you go wrong with a burger? We grabbed a couple burgers and then tried to find somewhere to sit. The place was packed. People everywhere. I practically had to throw down with another man to steal us a seat. Maybe it wasn't that dramatic, but it felt like it. We rushed through lunch just because of how crowded it was, and because we wanted to get back to the museum.

Sometimes Tom likes to sneak attach pictures on me.

Back to the museum we went. I had to find The Americans exhibit! We actually found it at the very end of the museum tour, but it was still awesome.

This show is so, so, so good!

The museum is LOADED with information and cool artifacts. There was a ton of James Bond stuff, there was a bunch of information about spies through history, and tools and gadgets spies use/have used. The place is just stacked with awesome. The very first thing you come upon though is a room full of identities plastered all around the walls. The tour guides tell you to find one that appeals to you and to memorize all the information on the card. This is your new alias. I was Gretta Schmidt from somewhere in Germany and was going to London for 4 days on a business trip. Tom was Vasili someone or other (I think? I'm honestly drawing a blank) who was a fisherman and he was going to Boston to visit his cousin. Later in the museum, there are computer kiosks that ask you to remember the information about your alias. Once you answer all of the questions, you get more information about your alias. By the time you get to the end of all of the exhibits (which is a long time!) there is another guide posing as some sort of border patrol. She sits behind a desk and has people come sit in the chairs in front of her as she tries to grill them to make them lose their composure. She decides if you get to continue on and cross the border, or not. Of course, Tom stepped right up. She started by asking him questions, starting with his name, and Tom totally got into character. He busted out his superb Russian accent and soon a crowd began gathering behind us. The woman continued to ask him questions, some repetitively, because I think he rattled her a little bit! She asked him several times about his job as a fisherman and went so far as to ask where he sold his fish. Without missing a beat, Tom says, "Sell zee fish? I do not have time to catch zee fish and sell zee fish!?" Finally, she said she would allow him to continue on with his trip. Everyone behind us was completely awed by his performance. Then, someone heard Tom talk to me and they were aghast, "OH! He's not really Russian?!!" It was hilarious. I wish I could have had it all on video.

Lastly, we had one more mission. I had signed us up for the Spy in the City mission. During this mission, you receive a tablet which transmits clues, videos, directions and tasks to complete so that you can solve the case. I liked this part the best. I felt like we were on the Amazing Race! We didn't go through it super fast because we wanted to be accurate and thorough. The mission leads you around different parts of the city around the museum but it takes you on a pretty good walkabout. In the end, we did successfully complete the mission. However, at the end of the mission you are asked if you'd cut a deal and make a little money off the top, and I said we'd consider it. This was the wrong answer, of course. The mission leads informed us that while we did complete the mission successfully, they were not convinced they'd work with us in the future because our ethics seemed a little shifty. :o) It was all in good fun. I can't think of two more ethical people!