New York City

We went to New York City over Memorial Day with our good friends the Johnsons.  It was a quick trip, three days and two nights and it was just right for our little family.  We decided that we wanted to take the train because not only would driving to NY be 8ish hours, but driving IN NYC would be a nightmare.  We boarded a train that left at 6am from DC.  It was early but the odd hour added to the excitement of the day.  K1 LOVED the train.

 When we arrived, we quickly dropped off our things at our hotel and headed into the city.  First things first, we needed to eat.  We were all starving.  We chose this hole-in-the-wall looking place called Go Go Curry and it turned out to be a real winner.  I'd never eaten Japanese curry before but it was delicious.  PC ordered one big platter for our whole family for $7.  It was awesome!
           
Next Stop: Empire State Building!  It was interesting how the line to get to the top spanned several FLOORS.  Oh man.  Despite that fact, we managed to get to the viewing platform in about 15 minutes from the time we entered the building.  Not bad.  I think it was because we got there at lunch time :) People were staring at us in line because we were singing songs to K1, but I figured our singing was better than K1 screaming...

 Yes, that is King Kong!  K1 wouldn't take his eyes off him.  I don't think he was scared, but purely curious.

 We made it to the top!  It was SO crowded.  It didn't help that we had a huge stroller as well, but we managed to get around.  At one point, a group of Japanese (or at least PC said it sounded like they were speaking Japanese) Women came up to me and were just staring and smiling at Sister.  They probably all stood around me for 3 or so minutes.  I wished I could talk with them, but it was fun nonetheless.

 Here we are taking the elevator down and wanted to get one last shot.We needed to race out of the Empire State Building so that G and I would make our 2pm showing of Mary Poppins.  When I say race, I meant it.  G and I were running down the streets of NY to our theater.  Just as soon as we sat down in our seats they dimmed the lights.  Perfect timing :)

The show was FABULOUS.  This goes to show how behind the times I am, but I didn't know Mary Poppins was a book!  I'd been raised on the Disney movie and assumed that was the only version.  Anyhoo, the story was a bit different than the movie, but, of course, they used the songs from the Disney film.  I really enjoyed seeing the family relationships develop in the play.  We were on the highest balcony near the front, and therefore the actors were quite far away, but at the end of the show, Mary Poppins flies into the crowd and we got to see her close up. Very satisfying.  I'd definitely see it again, given the chance.
 After the show G and I headed back to hotel where our husbands were babysitting our napping children.  After naps, we decided to grab some dinner at the famed Shake Shack.  We couldn't believe the line when we got there.  It was out the door! Still, I don't think we waited more than 20 minutes for our food.  We managed to get table and chowed down.  We splurged and got a shake because we were at the Shake Shack.  It was chocolate icecream with marshmellow swirls and peanut butter filled pretzels (it was the special of the day, don't give me credit for being that creative or zany).  We thought the food was OK, but not worth the raves that everyone gives.  At least we can say we've been there!


 After dinner we walked down to the docks to look at the aircraft carriers that are permanently docked (meaning, they aren't used anymore).  Interestingly, the week we visited was also called Fleet Week where several other currently used aircraft carriers docked in the harbor and all of their passengers (aka: armed forces) roamed the city.  Everywhere we went we saw men in women in uniform.  I decided that I liked the Navy uniforms the best :) We stopped for some groceries since the next day was Sunday and we didn't want to have to purchase food.  It was cool going into a grocery store that was apart of a highrise.  The price of the groceries, on the other hand, were not so cool...

 

One of our main purposes staying out so late was to see Times Square in all it's glory. I remember it being so hard to maneuver through the crowds with a stroller.  I must admit, it was breathtaking.  Not the same way that a scene from nature would be, but breathtaking in its own right.  Note the random gold dude.  It's amazing what people will do for money, eh?

 Sunday morning we attended church.  It was cool going into a church that was spread over several floors.  After church and naps we made our way to Central Park.  I never imagined the park would be so big!  I kept picturing myself inside Sesame Street while walking through it.  We stopped at one point and pulled out our dinner to eat. 

 Take note of K1's leash.  This thing was invaluable in on this trip.  This next photo takes the cake though...

 This woman walks her dog.  I on the other hand, walk my kid.  The faces of the onlookers at this moment were priceless :)

When I look at this picture I can hear the primary song "My Daddy is my favorite Pal".

 

 We exited Central Park right next to Julliard, the NY Ballet, The NY Philharmonic and the NY Temple :)  We couldn't believe how CLEAN that part of the city was.  The place where we were staying had trash everywhere and smelled too.  I felt so much safer in this section.  We walked home through Columbus Circle and past all the major broadcasting companies.

 The next morning we got on the Fenwick Island Ferry (aka the free one :)) to get a look at the Lady Liberty. Honestly, I was surprised at how small she was! A mission buddy, Joe B., of both PC and J's joined us for the ferry ride.  It was great to see them catch up and have Joe give us some inside info about living in the Big Apple.

 Sadly, Sister was quite upset for most of the ferry ride.  She's not a screamer usually, but she was that morning.  Several people picked up and moved after five minutes of her crying.  Oh well...

 Joe took us to see the Bull in the financial district.  I had no desire to touch it's *ahem*.  They says it's good luck... but I didn't want the luck that badly.

 Our last touristy stop for this trip was Ground Zero.  I was grateful that no one was there and it was relatively quiet.  It added to the sense of it being a solemn place.

K1 liked this stop for obvious reasons :)

Our last non-touristy stop was to have brunch with our friends, The Riley's.  They are such a fun couple and treated us to delicious, fruit-filled crepes.  Thanks Riley's.  After that, we hastily gathered our things and headed home on the train.  Our kids thankfully slept for part of the ride home.  Altogether a fun and memorable trip.