Singing “New York, New York” | Mommy and Me Monday | 792nd ed
Spring Break was partially spent in NYC. Mr. Serious had a conference and since it was our last spring break with all of our duck together, we decided to make it a family trip!
We gave NYC a run and did so many things. (My NYC friend said we did more in 4 days than he does in 5 years!) You have to pack it in! I love a walkable city.
We had the first flight of the morning out to NYC and hit the ground running. We packed lunches and enjoyed a view of Times Square before venturing out and being touristy.
Then it was time for our matinees on two separate stages. The oldest two and I went to see The Book of Mormon. Wild, hilarious, funny!
Mr. Serious saw The Book of Mormon previously, so he took E and B to see Hamilton. (They did much better grabbing a picture outside with the sign!)
Despite being pretty tired, we met up at Ellen Stardust Diner for an early dinner then headed to our hotel because we had runs to do in the morning. We ended the day with about 15k steps.
The weather was less than cooperative, but we did it anyways. The older two had 7-8 miles to run, so we all headed off to Central Park. They did the big loop and a little extra.
E and B had 25 minutes, which we pushed to 30 and then I finished making it a 5k. We also stopped for a couple pictures and read about the Obelisk. Who keeps giving these kids permission to grow so dang much?
The shorter runners headed back to the hotel to grab breakfast for everybody. We ate, showered and headed out on our next day of adventures. Our first trip was to the Staten Island Ferry to get a glimpse of The Statue of Liberty. We decided not to do a trip to get up close to her this time.
We took some silly pictures of pictures of people taking pictures. It was still pretty dang cold, windy and rainy, but the travels don’t stop.
Other adventures that day included going to Trinity Church to light a candle, enjoy the history and see where Hamilton and his family was buried. We stopped in to St. Paul’s Chapel to have a silent moment to all of the first responders that rested there and their recovery efforts. It was also important to us that we stop at the 9/11 Memorial to pay our respects to those that lost their lives that day and subsequently from various health ailments.
We also ventured to Wall Street and stopped for a picture from the front of the Bull.
We ended the day with 27-30k steps and called it a day!
Tuesday Mr. Serious was in conference mode, so the girls and I did our own thing. We all started the day with another run in Central Park. E, B and I did hill repeats (yes, Central Park is not flat) and the oldest two did their easy 4 miles. We took a couple other looks around the park and did some sightseeing before heading out on our planned day.
Our first stop was Grand Central Station to see the amazing building and construction.
We wandered around, saw a man playing a trumpet concert and people dancing as well as several hundred kids on field trips. There was also a side adventure into one of the areas to see one section of the trains.
Then, we were off to Bryant Park (sunshine) and the Stephen A. Schwarzman Library. What another amazing building. There was an exhibit that was basically a museum on the first floor where we spent most of our time. There was one of the original copies of the Bill of Rights and the original Winnie the Pooh. We saw so much history of NYC arts, rights, protests, and communications! What we didn’t really get to see? The books. Most were in closed rooms for people doing research and needing quiet spaces.
We were all pretty tired, so we headed back after lunch and rested for a bit before dinner and going to see Hadestown…a very last minute and welcome addition to our trip. We had to sit 3 and 3 so we swapped seat buddies for the show. I’m convinced there isn’t a bad seat in a NYC theater.
Thankfully, we found somebody to help us get a family picture after the show. It was very good and enjoyable and everybody liked it. We’ve all been singing the songs and pulling up the soundtrack on our music streams.
We ended the day with another 25k steps!
Wednesday was our last day (and a half conference day for Mr. Serious). The oldest two did their runs on the treadmills so we could spend more time in another part of the city.
The girls and I headed to Chelsea Market to see a new area. We took our time walking through Chelsea Market and checking out the shops and restaurants. Then, because we needed more steps, we headed out to the High Line.
In addition to a cool walking area with lots of sunshine (warmth), we were able to appreciate all of the artwork on display on our walk.
As we were trying to figure out where to eat, we went over to Pier 57. There were a lot of food options and then we discovered there a park with an amazing view. So, we walked around there for a bit and got another view of The Statue of Liberty.
At this point, food was the only thing on our agenda. We had heard we needed to eat at Los Tacos No1 and found one back in Chelsea Market. Yes to tacos for lunch! They were devoured.
Mr. Serious was wrapping up his conference and met us at the mid-ish point between Times Square and The High Line…a giant pigeon. Which was perfect because B became obsessed with pointing out all of the pigeons. The white ones were her favorite, but the giant one was a close second.
We were all a little cold, so went to a nearby mall to warm up and window shop for a bit. I wanted to see how far the Vessel was because N and I didn’t stop to see it on our last visit. It was only a couple minutes walk away, so we paid $10/ person to climb the stairs and take some cool pictures. We also had some nice views of Hudson Yard and the river.
You cannot currently get all the way to the top because the netting isn’t all the way installed, but we got to the second tallest point and grabbed a picture.
After The Vessel, we headed back to our hotel (with a stop to check out Penn Station) to get our bags and head to the airport. We ended the day with 27k-30k steps and got home after midnight ready for some much needed sleep in our own beds.
It was a great trip with lots of miles and things done and we were all glad for a few days rest before heading into the last 6 weeks of school.
Who can tell me another walkable city like NYC but that might be like a smidge quieter and a little less people-y? Does that exist?
What did you do this week?
GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!
It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.
