♫-♪-♬-In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There’s nothing you can’t do
Now you’re we’re in New York-♬-♪-♫
This trip to New York was very last-minute. As you all know by now, the Ortons were visiting us for a few days before taking a train to meet Gabriela in New York City and then continuing on to Virginia, where she lives. After learning their plans, Jay & I decided we couldn’t allow them take a train to New York City when it is just a 3.5 hour drive from Boston. We offered to drive them there instead – it was a nice excuse to spend more time with them.
Despite the exhaustion from running around Boston the day before, we started our drive pretty early. The jet-lag seemed to catch up with the Californians – with the exception of Chevy – who watched Disney movies all the way to New York. For such a tiny person, he sure has an enormous reserve of energy. Thank goodness for the DVD player in our Jeep that we’ve never used before.
Our travel arrangements weren’t well-coordinated since it was a last-minute trip; and as a result we were all staying at different hotels scattered about the city. We dropped the Ortons off at their hotel to freshen up, while Jay & I checked in at our hotel – the Crowne Plaza in Times Square. We were pretty impressed with the view from our room, which overlooked Times Square – it was right in the middle of all the action.
Gabriela’s train arrived later than expected, so it was well past lunch by the time we ate. We walked up and down Times Square searching for a restaurant and finally settled on Bubba Gump’s. I was less than thrilled to be eating at chain restaurant while in a city that offers so many culinary choices, but by then I was famished and threw in the towel.
Afterwards, the Ortons and Gaby went back to their hotels for a nap, which left Jay & I time to explore on our own. We window shopped, looked into roll-call tickets for a Broadway show, played tourist in Times Square and scouted out restaurants for a future midnight snack.
By the time we had regrouped, it was dark outside – the perfect time (so we’ve heard) to visit the Empire State Building. For January, it was unseasonably warm, so we walked the 16 or so blocks to get there.
We rode the elevators all the way up to the outdoor observatory on the 86th floor. The views were amazing from that height. My pictures are a blurry mess and don’t do it justice (note to self: invest in a tripod), so I won’t bother posting them here. Despite it being January, it wasn’t unbearable at that elevation until we walked to the other side of the observatory.
Case in point: Gaby’s hair (ha!). We couldn’t tolerate the wind chill much longer, so we went back inside & continued up to the 102nd indoor observatory. We were all less than impressed because it was rather difficult to enjoy the view through the many fingerprints that covered the windows.
Our camera made an untimely death when Gaby dropped it on the floor trying to get a picture of Jay & I. We took it as a sign that it was time to go, so one scary elevator ride and we were back on solid ground and ready to fill our bellies with warm food.
While trying to flag down a taxi van large enough to fit the six of us, we were approached by a limo driver who offered to take us to FAO Schwartz for a flat fee of $25. When in New York City!
Unfortunately, FAO Schwartz was closed by the time we got there. Chevy was disappointed, but we promised to take him back the next day. Then we continued on to the adults’ toy shop: the Apple store.
On the walk back to Times Square, we stumbled upon Rockefeller Center, which was on our radar for another night.
The rink was temporarily closed, while the zamboni was out on the ice, so there was no fancy skating to be had or seen. By then, our three-year old trooper was starting to putter out, so the Ortons and Gaby headed back to their hotel room. Jay & I weren’t ready to call it night – it wasn’t even midnight yet. In New York City. On a Satruday. We rested our feet for a bit and then headed back down into the awesomeness that is NYC!
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