I still have hopes to blog about the rest of our trip, though. So here is Part I of our New York Adventures.
One of the things on my bucket list while we were back East was to spend as much time as possible in New York City. I had only been there once 25 years ago when my college Art History class took a field trip to MOMA for a Cubism exhibition*. Dan and the kids had never been there.
Upon entering Grand Central Station for the first time, we took in the beautiful sight of the main hall, with its magnificent constellation mural on the ceiling. We had arrived!
The Main Hall
"Ooooh!"
Our main goal for the day was to wander around Midtown, hitting Rockefeller Center, Central Park and Times Square. Our first stop was lunch, however. We happened upon a great little sandwich shop/ Asian buffet eatery, so even the picky eater** was happy. We then walked to Rockefeller Center. On our way we happened upon Nintendo World, which if you know my kids, you will understand why we couldn't pass by.
Dan and a Mushroom
We finally made it to Rockefeller Center and took some touristy pictures. I loved the Art Deco architecture. Requisite photo:
"Smile, kids!"
The flags were so pretty.
The courtyard down below where the ice-skating rink is in the winter was a lot smaller than it looked on TV.
The Lego Store was in Rockefeller Center so we stopped in.
SO. MANY. LEGOS.
Next stop: Central Park, which meant walking several blocks up 5th avenue. We passed the famous Atlas statue.
The kids were flagging a bit by the time we reached Central Park, so we bought them some ice cream.
Yum!
We also bought a map from one of the street vendors. The $3 was well spent, as there are a ton of winding paths and hidden gems in Central Park. Our first stop was Hecksher Playground near the south-west corner of the park. Fortunately it was a pleasant, slightly warm day, as Hecksher Playground turned out to be a water park. Which of course meant that after about 5 minutes, both kids were soaking wet. They had a great time though. Alice found a couple of cohorts and they spent a good while "defending" a portion of the play structure. That portion included some water jets that they could redirect to spray on the other kids. I think one of her cohorts also had a container to fill and dump on the other kids. Good times.
Also, Central Park has lots of great climbing rocks. The park was on the other side of the rock.
The other side of the rock. The Beginning.
Wet and having a great time.
Alice and her partner-in-crime guarding their position by the spray jets.
Wet but happy.
We walked south to Times Square. The weather forecast had called for intermittent showers all day, and we finally got caught in one. We wandered into the M&M store to wait it out. Turned out to be an excellent choice as the kids needed a bit of a pick-me-up and some M&Ms were just the ticket.
Charlie and I also had our photo taken with Yellow:
After the rain let up, we walked to Times Square. It was really neat to be there in person. Times Square is a square in the sense of a New England-type Square, which is to say, the plaza formed by the intersecting streets was not square in the least (triangular instead).
After taking in Times Square we walked back to Grand Central and took the train back to Stamford.
Personally, I thought Manhattan was terrific. It has a great energy, and I loved the vibrancy and bustle of the city. While living in San Luis Obispo is fantastic, I admit to being a big city girl at heart, and I felt at home in NYC. If I ever get the chance, I'd love to live there someday. Maybe Dan's next sabbatical? Hmmmm.
So that ends part one of our New York Adventures. Join me next time for NYC Part II: Electric Boogaloo***
*In the hour of free time we had in Manhattan prior to viewing the exhibit, I happened to meet Issac Asimov at a book signing. But that's another story.
**Charlie
***There was no actual Electric Boolagooing during part two, but I never pass up the opportunity to use the phrase "Electric Boogaloo".
