Last year, the trip spanned four or five days. The main attraction we saw in New York City was the Statue of Liberty, which was cool once we got there, but a total pain to get to, thanks to TSA's very elaborate security theater, which we had to endure three times just to get into the statue itself. Not a trip I'll be making a second time.
This year, the trip was book-ended by a family party on a Sunday and the trip to south Jersey the following weekend that was the only time my two friends and I could make that part of the trip work. So instead of four or five days, the trip turned into a week! By the end, I was properly worn out, and so were Xander and Jasmine, but it was worth it.
We start on Long Island, in a bouncy house. Bouncy houses seem to appeal to two types of people -- children, and myself. Some would say just one type of person, and lump me into the children category, which is fine. On some days, like for instance Xander's third birthday party when it was nearly 100 degrees with incredibly high humidity, bouncy houses can feel a bit stifling. This party day was not one of them. It was warm but not hot, and definitely not humid, and there was a nice breeze as well. The perfect weather, in other words, and as a result, the kids and their cousins spent most of the day in the bouncy house.
The following day, the weather was the same, and since the bouncy house was still there, well you can figure out how the kids spent the entire day. There was a brief respite for those old standbys sidewalk chalk and bubbles, but they pretty much bounced til they dropped.
Tuesday found us on a different part of Long Island, and a friend and I took the kids to the Cradle of Aviation Museum. There weren't a lot of people there, but it was their loss, as this museum -- housed in an old military aircraft hangar -- was pretty cool. The kids got to sit in the cockpit of several old planes, from military to commercial, and there were all sorts of great exhibits detailing the planes of the past century and a half. I also saw this awesome logo:
Wednesday, we took the LIRR into Penn Station for two days of New York City fun. We started at the Empire State Building. I had never been, but I had been told to get there early because the line gets out of control, and I could see why. We didn't wait that long to get to the 86th floor -- maybe 20, 30 minutes -- but it was enough to make the kids antsy, and probably affected their enjoyment of the entire experience overall. By the time we got to the top, Jazzy was demanding a snack, and didn't really want to check out the views.
Speaking of the views, they were spectacular, so much so that it seemed a bit surreal. I'd love to go back on a day when there isn't a big crowd, but figuring out when that would be is probably a bit of a chore. You sort of had to elbow for your own space, which is tough when you're also trying to show said views to two kids. But we managed, and got some cool selfies with the city in the background. My cousin had made an appeal for us to go to the Top of the Rock instead, and I could see his point, as from there you get a much better view of Central Park. We almost did that this year, but the timing didn't work out. Next year.
Speaking of Central Park, that was where we headed next, after we met up with some friends who were visiting the City. We met them at their hotel nearby, where I saw one of those "only in New York" things -- a graffiti tag on a bathroom changing table.
We headed into the Park through Columbus Circle, where the kids really wanted to jump into the fountain but were told they couldn't. Luckily though, they would have another chance to get wet, as the Columbus Circle entrance to the Park is where the giant playground/giant rock is, and there part of the playground (apparently is one of 22 playgrounds in the Park) has a water feature, and so we took off the kids' shoes and they tromped along for an hour or so. The views from the giant rock are great:
From there, we went to Victorian Gardens, which is a little kids amusement park inside of Central Park. On the way, Jazzy spotted a violinist, and he showed her how to play his violin, which was super adorable. The amusement park was a good diversion for an hour, and the kids loved it. From there we walked up through the Park to the train, stopping for ice cream on the way.
After dinner with some friends, we camped out for the night at a friends' apartment. By the time I got the kids bathed and into bed, it was nearly 10 pm. No strict bed times when you're adventuring.
As a result of our late bed time, Thursday started a little slower. We went to H&H Bagels for breakfast, and while the bagels were typically awesome, we didn't see Elaine Benes yet again.
Lunch was back down in Penn Station with a friend, and then we headed up to Xander's favorite part of the trip -- the New York Historical Society. No, Xander isn't some history buff -- the museum is hosting an exhibit by his favorite author, Mo Willems.
Not every part of our trip was a smashing success, but this visit definitely was. Mo Willems' books helped Xander clear the final hurdle on the path to reading, and one of his Elephant and Piggie books was the first book that Xander ever read to us. He is borderline obsessed with these books, and was able to accurately match the illustrations displayed in the exhibits to the book they belonged to on sight.
There is also a children's history museum of NYC in the basement of the Historical Society, so we stopped down there before heading across the street to the Museum of Natural History, pausing for ice cream before we went in. We got to the Natural History Museum a little late in the day, so we had time for only a few exhibits. While I had taken Xan there before (and he remembered going, even though he was only three at the time) Jazzy had never been, so I wanted to make sure we saw the big blue whale and the dinosaurs. And we had just enough time for both, with a healthy dose of African Mammals to boot.
We were pretty tired after all of this Museuming, so we took a pedicab through Central Park to cap the day. From there, we were off to see some cousins who live in the city for dinner and bedtime. The next morning, the kids dined on delicious homemade blueberry pancakes (the third time they got pancakes on the trip, second time homemade, there are no diets imposed when adventuring) and we headed on down to Jersey. Our time in Jersey was low key -- just three friends and their five kids hanging out together -- and that was the perfect respite after the two hectic days in the city.
All told, we visited with more than 30 friends/family members, rode on five different NYC train lines (123, 456, ACE, NQR and LIRR), experienced four museums and one skyscraper of a landmark and had countless ice creams. Perhaps most importantly, the kids continue to learn how to adapt when outside of their comfort zone. Sleeping at five different places in seven nights is a tall order for two small children, but for the most part they handled it wonderfully, and I feel like these are the sorts of experiences that will serve them well in adulthood. Or, at least that's what I tell myself. And even if it doesn't, that's OK. It was still one hell of a trip.
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