A few months back, we decided to take the leap and buy some tickets to New York. Bringing 3 kids to a gigantic city that I personally have never been to made me a little nervous. We planned and searched and hoped for the best!
The journey East made for a long day, but the kids did great! Backpacks full of movies, games, and snacks helped keep things happy, and thoughtful flight attendants who create crowns from bags of pretzels were a nice bonus. Upon our arrival we found that the airline had misplaced our stroller, which was a real annoyance. Carrying a two year old from the airport to the subway to the hotel wasn't in the plans. We finally made it safely to our hotel, the Best Western Premier Herald Square. The hotel served breakfast in the morning which we decided was a MUST with the kiddos in tow. Once we dropped off bags and regrouped, we decided we should make the best of our first night in town. There was a Target (opening day as luck would have it) right across from Macy's...and we knew our stroller woes would be over and we'd be saved! Next on the agenda was food so we tried out the Shake Shack down the street (oh my yum), and ate it outside in Herald Square. Then we checked out the Empire State Building, which was conveniently only around a few minutes walk away. The views were fantastic and the boys were in awe of exactly how many stories high they really were!
Our first full day in the Big Apple was loaded with new sights, sounds and tastes. Our morning was spent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I knew it was large and world famous, but I was totally wowed by its' grandeur and spectacular exhibits. It was one of my favorites of the trip, and I look forward to seeing more of it the next time around. In the afternoon, we planned to explore Central Park (another favorite). The leaves were just starting to turn color and everywhere we walked it was stunningly beautiful. The kids played on a playground while we ate lunch and had a great time. While in the park, we made our way to the zoo, which was a perfect way to end the afternoon. Oh, and as a side note...we did see our first NYC rats there, which are indeed large. Apparently they love the free food they can snag in some of the animal enclosures. Ew. That evening we had our first glimpse of Times Square. Loads of lights and hoards of people. We maneuvered it well with our crew but getting thru it with a stroller added an extra challenge for sure. Especially when D fell asleep. I was dodging people on packed sidewalks with a stroller propped back on two wheels. Exciting stuff. As a whole, our day was a success! I had been apprehensive about using the subway to get around, but it proved fairly simple and dependable. Yay!
The next day we started out with the 9/ll Memorial and Museum. The ride over was fairly easy and after arriving at the Oculus (a huge, ultra modern and all white mall where the subway lets you off), we discovered that the security in the area is amazingly good. Corey and I had taken turns in restrooms, and the kids were alone for about 20 seconds. A very nice security/police officer was standing by the kiddos when I walked out. She said they just like to be sure nobody gets lost. Crazy! The Memorial was beautiful and somber. The fountains they've built are a stunning tribute to the buildings that once stood there. The museum was also worth a visit. I had an especially hard time seeing a firetruck displayed with a marred and somewhat melted in the front end. It was all that was left of the group of firefighters that had gone in and continued moving up into the building until it collapsed. Heartbreaking. All of it was, and the memories of that day flood back so easily still, so it was an emotional morning. For the afternoon, we had tickets for the Statue of Liberty. Even a couple of months ahead of time, we weren't able to get reservations for the Crown, but we did snag some for the pedestal, which was still up high enough for some great views. Lady Liberty was awesome to see up close. The tour includes Ellis Island as well, so we were able to go thru the Immigration Station. That was fascinating also. The idea of so many people coming thru there in hopes of joining family, starting a new life and achieving dreams is pretty inspiring. Sad too, though, when I realized half the island was a hospital for sick people, some who never recovered, and then there were some who were denied entrance altogether and were sent back on ships to their homeland. So much history, so little time. The kids didn't like the latter part as much as The Statue itself, but the redeeming moment was getting their Jr. Ranger badges! Even Dawson was sworn in. The ferry rides were a boon for the boys too. The number of people they pack on them was a little crazy though, and Corey and I started wondering if herding us like cattle onto packed boats was a part of the experience. Right off the ferry in Battery park was another Jr. Ranger opportunity at Castle Clinton. The boys needed our help bigtime on this one because they were closing so soon, but the rangers let them do it, so we helped. On our way back to our hotel, we stopped and bought a couple of tickets to a show at TKTS. Asher and I went to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that night and it was really spectacular. The show was funny, well done and we loved indulging in some fun chocolate bars during intermission. No golden tickets though, bummer. I was a little nervous maneuvering the subway and Times Square alone late at night, but all was well and the night was just perfect. Asher made for a sweet, fun and enjoyable date!
Day 3 we visited the Intrepid air and space museum. Beckett was beyond excited to see a Blackbird up close and personal, and all of us were wowed by the space shuttle displayed there. It was amazing!! The boys really enjoyed the hands on displays and exhibits they had and loved our time there. We ate our lunch under the belly of a Concord jet sitting there on the grounds, so cool. The boys couldn't understand why they'd stopped making an aircraft that cut travel time so significantly.
After the Intrepid (which was the boy's hands down fave I believe), we took a bus out to the start of the Highline and walked it back to the pier, where we caught an afternoon Harbor cruise. The views of the city did not disappoint and we loved being outside on the water. It was a fantastic day for it too, the weather was perfect. A nice Anthony Bourdain look alike sitting behind us gave us some great tips for things to see and places to eat. We took him up on his suggestion to check out Eataly, by the Flatiron Building. What a cool place! Totally packed with people, this one is not a secret, but it was like a really classy enormous food court with authentic Italian food and markets. We had focaccia pizzas and gelato and a few pastries for the road. There's a Shake Shack across the street and Corey couldn't help himself...he had to have another strawberry shake. As we headed across the street again, and couldn't believe our eyes when our friendly fellow Harbor Cruise friend and his visitors ran into us! Seriously, I can't imagine that the chances of running into someone twice in the same day in New York City are good at all. We let him know that his recommendation was perfect and wished them all a great night. Too funny though...and very surprising.
The next day was Sunday, and with rain threatening we traveled to the lovely little part of Manhattan where the Temple is. What a strange thing to walk into a building, go up in an elevator, and when the door opens it looks just like a normal church building inside. So strange, but really cool. It's always fun going to church in different places, but this one was the coolest by far, and sometime I'd love to go inside the actual temple. After church, it was pouring rain, so we pulled out the raincoats and headed to the Natural History Museum. When we arrived, there was a line out and around the block...it just kept on going, and the rain was more of a deluge by then. We also found out that Dawson's jacket was not in fact a waterproof one. The poor kid had fallen asleep and woke up soaked completely thru. We decided to forgo waiting in the line and getting wetter. Instead, the kids played some games at the hotel, watched a little T.V. and we all rested up as we dried off. Later on, to be sure we didn't waste our day away, we went to Rockafeller Plaza and went to the top of 30 Rock. The funniest part was that NOBODY else was there. I mean nobody except for the people who work there. They even tried to dissuade us from going up because the views "would be awful." But, we decided that fog could be cool too, that, and we didn't want to miss out on anything on our CityPass. It was foggy, and the views were awful, but it was so eerie being up there in the fog, all alone. There isn't anywhere in the city where you're alone, but I'm telling you, that the 'Top of the Rock' on a rainy day is the place to be if you needed some alone time. For the record from the 68th floor did have some limited visibility, but not the normal spectacular views that would normally be had. Next time!
On our last day in the City we had breakfast at the hotel (which was surprisingly good, by the way), packed everything up, checked the bags with the hotel and headed out the Natural History museum, which had eluded us the day before. After a nice 45 minute line to get in, I asked the guy at the register if this was normal. Yes, it is. Wow. After we were finally allowed to get in, we were able to see some really amazing exhibits. The boys really wanted to see "Dum Dum" from the movie, Night at the Museum, so we were sure to find him. The dinosaurs did not disappoint...what a collection. All three boys enjoyed that part. Corey's must see was the life size blue whale hanging from the ceiling, and it was impressive! The museum was awesome. The lines and crowds, not so much, but I think we'd do it again. Lunch before we let was Halaal food truck eats and more Shake Shack. The street food was surprisingly yummy. Now I want to try making some Falafel at home, and I think the strawberry shake at Shake Shack is a fave for Cor (their burgers were delish too). The trip home was great, and fairly uneventful. The boys were very well behaved and nice people always seem to end up by them, or maybe it's that only nice people would be willing to sit next to two kids sitting alone. On the final leg of the trip, it was getting pretty late and while Asher was talking to a very nice lady, Beckett fell asleep on her shoulder. Sweet, I just hope he didn't drool on her. Dawson didn't feel well the last couple of hours, but we made it home without too much trouble.
Some things I learned while in NYC: Episodes of Super Why on your phone with some headphones can get you thru the Met with a 2 year old, people in NYC smoke a lot, NYC rain is the real deal, Shake Shack lives up to the hype, the subway isn't too bad, subway panhandlers are extremely creative with their methods (rather talented
singing male quartet begging for money while walking thru subway cars), rats have very long tails, New Yorkers aren't into smiling or making eye contact but are totally helpful and friendly when it comes down to it, Times Square is full of crazies, there are lines for everything, it's hard to find a place to sit and eat because all the seats are already taken, French tourists are everywhere, Central Park is wonderful, and NYC with kids can be done. Oh, and
after the trip you might need a good nap!
