Go BIG or go home!

My friend and I came up with the idea a year ago to take our kids to NYC this summer.  The husbands thought we were crazy and couldn't believe we'd want to tackle something this big.  We did it!  From Sunday, June 21st to Wednesday, June 24th we showed our 5 kids a most excellent time.

I kept everyone updated through my Facebook page on each day's events.  Here are my posts:

That moment when you get so excited and want to video the kids' reaction to being in NYC for the first time as soon as you exit Penn Station and realize you are standing over a heating grate and your skirt has been blowing up above your waist the whole time (a la Marylin Monroe but I didn't even have my hands holding any of it down). Yep, welcome to NY people, we've arrived.

********************************************

Go BIG or go home, day 1 has come to an end. The train ride was easy and I was able to finish watching OITNB season 3. Yay!

Got off the train and promptly flashed everyone my derriere at the corner of 8th Ave and 31st street for about 2 minutes.

Had lunch at a place called Cosmic Diner. The owner took a liking to Ian, shook his hand and thanked him for coming all the way from Burke, VA. I am sure the guy has no idea where that is, but it sounded far.
...

Took the kids to their first Broadway show. "Matilda" was excellent and I am not sure who loved it more; me or the kids.

Ended our day at the Stardust Diner (where all the waitstaff sings and longs to be discovered on Broadway.) We ordered dessert to make the time at our table last longer. Funny highlight was when it rained for about 20 minutes while standing in line to get into Stardust. We ran for cover in the nearby parking garage and Ian attempted (and was successful) to hail down a cab to get the heck out of the area. Ha! We don't give up so quickly. I shared an umbrella with a guy from Canada and kept our place in line.

Random highlight was meeting the woman who played the mom in Matilda (she was standing at the street corner as we were walking to the hotel and stuck up a conversation with Susanne). And then we met the guy who plays the wizard in Wicked.(He was eating at the restaurant we had lunch at and struck up a conversation with me.) What are the odds?

So far the biggest negative the kids have had to deal with is the smell. The littlest ones are finding it hard to breathe with all the walking we've done and keep making gaging/vomiting sounds.
Lots of firsts for the kids today (train, show, being in NY). Looking forward to seeing what Day 2's adventures bring.

***********************

Go BIG or go home, day 2: We may have met our match in NYC.
Started the day by taking the Hop On, Hop Off bus (complete with open air double decker). This is like an attraction in itself. We did it in Philly 2 years ago and loved it. It's a win-win in my opinion...you get to where you need to go and you enjoy every minute of the route along the way. We have the best time riding on the top deck, with the wind blowing in our hair and seeing the city unobstructed.

Our first stop was the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Wow is all I've got to say. Its beautifully done and an emotional experience. Tried to explain to the kids the importance of what we were seeing but I am not sure they got it. Ian said he was bored and if he had been around14 years ago and lived it, it might've made more of an impact for him.

Next up, we walked to Battery Park to get the ferry for the Statue of Liberty. Along the way, we stopped at Chipotle for lunch. I think a sure bet and cost-effective was key. Continued on our walk and arrived at Battery Park.

The Statue of Liberty and the walk up to the Pedestal went well. We all enjoyed it. However, the long wait for the ferry back in very hot weather was starting to take its toll. We finally made our way to the Hop On, Hop Off bus stop by Battery Park. We planned to go back to the hotel, have some downtime and then go out for dinner and possibly do the Empire State Building or a horse & carriage ride through Central Park. Ha! I am sure G-d was laughing at us.

The wait for a bus with available seating was not fun. Not at all. By the time the 4th bus came up (and not nearly enough people got off to make more room for the long line of people waiting to get on), we were given the opportunity to get on the bus and sit on the lower level. We were told there was no AC and the windows can't open. How bad could it be?!?! We lasted 15 minutes. We couldn't take it anymore and got off the very next stop. We ended up in Chinatown. Took out a map, got our bearings and walked to Little Italy. Just getting off that bus felt like we landed in Iceland. It was such cool weather with a breeze (in reality it was 86 degrees, but we just came off at bus where it had to be 120 degrees inside).

Dinner was an Italian restaurant in Little Italy, complete with gelato afterwards for dessert. Totally not on the plan to do anything like this, but we took lemons and made lemonade when we realized where we were. After gelato, we got in 2 cabs and headed back to the hotel. Forget trying to do anything more. We called it a day before anyone started melting down. Showers to get the grime and sweat off of us couldn't come fast enough.

We are pooped. Today felt long. And it felt hot. Very hot. Lines and heat are not a good combination. Bring on American Ninja Warrior. Kids and I are in for the night and the kids are thrilled they can watch their favorite show.

We did get some really cool pictures with a very cool Statue in the background.  :)   Kids are doing well. Susanne and I feel like we've been to battle with that whole bus thing trying to get back to the hotel.

Tomorrow brings us a whole new day of adventures. A good night of sleep will get me recharged and ready to go.

*********************************************

Go BIG or go home, day 3: When all else fails, go shopping.

Susanne noticed that a pretty big storm was supposed to come this afternoon, so we revised our day and became very flexible in our plans. In reality, it turned out to be an amazing day.

We've given up on the Hop on, Hop off bus. It has been one our big regret on getting a 2 day ticket/ all loop pass. We've decided it was good in theory, but its much easier to get a cab and be on your way. Not standing around waiting for the bus has made it a better experience for all us. Hailing two cabs at once is much easier than you'd think it would be!

We started out at the Sony Wonder Tech Lab. We had called in advanced and reserved tickets, which were free. They said it will take approx. 1.5 to 2 hours to visit. We were there for 2 hours, 20 minutes and the kids would've been very happy staying longer. There are 4 floors of all interactive technology for the kids and adults to play with; from video, to animation, to music, to games, to things we didn't even know existed yet, we got to play to our hearts content. It was a spectacular find on Susanne's part.

The plan for lunch was to hit Carnegie Deli. I was so excited to show Ian this restaurant. Unfortunately, we got there and a sign on the door said they were closed for repairs. I was so not expecting that. We didn't stand outside longer than 10 seconds in disappointment before going to the deli right next door for lunch. It fit our needs and got us on our way to our next destination.
It was too hot for the horse and carriage ride through Central Park, so we took a cab and went straight to Dylan's Candy Bar. When I die, I hope this is what Heaven is like. It was everything you could ever wish for in a candy store and then some. We had FUN and I quickly forgot about how bummed I was that Carnegie Deli was not open.

Our shopping continued and we hit 5th avenue for FAO Schwarz and the American Girl Store, both are the flagship stores and a sight to behold. What a trifecta we had with those 3 places. And yes, the kids played on the piano from the movie "BIG".

Susanne's husband recommended a great pizza place near our hotel. We are experts now at walking and navigating our way through the city. A quick stop to buy a Yankees shirt for me and we arrived at the restaurant just in time to miss the rain. You couldn't ask for better timing. The food was delicious and it was like they were expecting us with a table for 7 ready!

We made it back to the hotel, had about an hour of downtime and let the rain finish falling. We rallied the troops and headed to the Empire State Building. Coolest thing ever was watching the sunset (we had minutes to spare in making this happen) and then we watched the buildings light up all over the city. It was awesome! We seriously had the best of both worlds of twilight and night time. Doing the Empire State Building at this time of the day was a definite highlight of the whole trip for me. Bonus was that it was not crowded, we didn't have any lines and sailed right to the observation deck.

Today was mostly filled with making it up as we go along and I've got to say, it was a home run (other than that carnegie deli thing).

We have two items left on our list of things to do -- The Today Show outside plaza (our signs are ready!) and the horse and carriage ride through Central Park. The weather will be substantially cooler and hopefully can make it happen.

While we did take a few cabs today, I am most impressed with all the walking the kids have been doing and being able to keep up. 15,000 steps today. Yowzer!


*************************************************

Go BIG or go home, day 4: Ending it with a bang!

We woke up super early and made our way to Rockefeller Plaza to be at The Today Show outside area where they film the show. MAJOR SCORE in getting picked to do a shout-out on air. Plus, Ian shook Al Rooker's hand and got to pet Wrangler. AND, if that wasn't enough, we met Hoda Kotb and got a selfie with her. I am pretty sure the smile of all this happening before 7:30am stayed on our faces all day long.

Afterwards we hit Starbucks, got a snack and took a few minutes to chill. We made our way to Central Park and did a Horse & Carriage ride. After spending 3 full days getting around NYC, the kids were pretty delighted to see open space with green grass, lots of things to climb on and no smell. :)   The horse and carriage ride gave them a glimpse of what Central Park has to offer. We let the kids climb on the rocks and explore a very small section.

We started the walk back to the hotel, stopped in a tourist gift shop for the kids to get t-shirts, picked up some lunch and headed to the hotel.

It was time to check out and make our way to Penn Station for the train to head home. WOW! What a trip! I loved seeing NYC through the kid's eyes.

Funny highlight -- When we first arrived at Union Station on Sunday, Sam was not able to navigate the escalator with her rolling suitcase. By the time we arrived back at Union Station on the return trip home, Sam was an expert getting her suitcase on and off the moving escalator and didn't even hesitate. Having to get on multiple escalators in Penn Station with tons of people around made her learn very quickly.

I've wanted to take the kids to NYC for some time. Jeff thought I was crazy and was very concerned that something that would happen to the kids. However, my friend and I are fearless when it comes to doing things with the kids. I do believe we took it up a notch by doing our NYC trip. Once we got back on the train headed home, I looked at my friend and said, there is absolutely nothing we can't do now. We made it. Because if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.

Sam loved the cabs! She couldn't believe how many there were driving around. She never did get used to the smell of the city. And the horse & carriage ride was her favorite thing.

Ian was in awe of the buildings and how tall they were. He was quick to chat to the people we came in contact with and fortunately they were very nice back to him. His favorite thing was the broadway play "Matilda" and Dylan's Candy Bar.

As for me, I loved being at the top of the Empire State Building as the sun was setting. And this morning accomplishing what we did at The Today Show made me happy that we got our troops up early and moving.

We had dinner at Union Station before getting in the car and I asked everyone what their most favorite thing was we did. I find it fascinating that almost everyone one of us had a different answer. Its so neat to see what made an impact on these 5 kids. It has been a jam packed 4 days. We will all be sleeping well tonight. :)

Pretty awesome.