Week 24: New York City and a Side of Holiday Magic
Disclaimer: There is enough “cheese” in this first paragraph to make the average person barf!
I keep pinching myself to make sure this week wasn’t a dream. My cheeks hurt from smiling
and my eye’s may have leaked happy tears a time or two. New York City is such an amazing place,
but when you add the holiday twist, it became pure MAGIC!
We parked the motorhome for a week to spend time in an even SMALLER space, our hotel room!
We wanted the girls to feel the energy, hustle, and overall electric craziness that
is this city. The most rewarding part of this sabbatical is giving the girls an opportunity to
expand their minds. This week opened their eyes to the grandeur and diversity of America’s
largest city, but it also exposed them to the sweet smell of sidewalk trash, taxi exhaust, manhole
steam and subway urine that is all part of Nw York’s ambiance! Zoe would only breathe out of her
mouth when underground and left traumatized after meeting a family of rats up close and personal.
We were thankful to spend most of the week with “Aunt Funness” (aka Colleen) who flew out from
California to visit with us for the week. It was great having family around for Thanksgiving!
We created some amazing memories together, thank you for taking the time and spending the money
to come see us.
Kickin’ off the Holidays:
The Rockettes – This fulfilled one of my childhood dreams and gave the girls a proper introduction
to what a Broadway size production looks like (I know it’s not technically a Broadway show). The
show was perfect, bright, shiny and festive with the unexpected religious twist to remind us of
the reason for the season. So. Much. Glitter. My heart couldn’t have been happier.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – Amazing! We had originally planned to sneak a peek for a
few minutes, but once it started, we got sucked right in. We turned off the alarm, slept in, and
still landed a perfect spot to watch the parade. I have never eagerly anticipated the sight of a
giant balloon, b-list celebrity or marching band but here the atmosphere is contagious. My
Grandma Wanberg loved parades and would watch them while checking off the floats (they were printed
in the newspaper) one by one as they would show them on TV. Quite certain her soul was part of that
fabulous experience. Zoe even shared a special moment with Santa at the end, they waved and blew
each other a kiss! (True story, I thought her head was going to explode).
Other Highlights:
Greenwich Village – I have always loved this area. My future self will be living here for a 3-6 month
period. Not forever because there are simply too many places across the globe that also deserve my
attention. π I hope Brian will join me! We took a “Cupcake Tour” that included treats from five
different, local bakeries and our family’s unanimous favorite was Molly’s Cupcakes! I had a quick
visit to my favorite store, Murray’s, which always satisfies my inner-foodie! Along the way, we learned
some NYC history and glanced at the apartments used for the outdoor shots in Friends and Sex in the City.
Greenwich also has the smallest actual house in New York City, 700 square feet can be yours for a mere
$3.2 million dollars.
Empire State Building (Brian’s favorite building because of his love of King Kong) changed colors each
night and we had the perfect view from our hotel room window. We took the elevator to the top and I
lost my phone within minutes of arriving. Ugh. Kudos to the amazing staff, I had it back in my hands
within minutes. (I also lost my ID the last night we were in NY and had to have it shipped to me Maryland
from the restaurant that found it. I lose things. It’s what I do. Keys, phones, wallets, id’s, my mind…
I can lose them all!)
We rented bikes and cruised through Central Park!! The street performers, vendors and museums that are
attached to this place make the park a destination location all by itself! The fall colors were still on
the tree’s and the roads were still ice-free. However, we had no idea Central Park had so many damn hills
to pedal up and over, who knew?
The MET – The girls had the opportunity to study some “real” art, but were more interested in counting all
the statues that included male anatomy. At least they will remember something from the museum!
Hannah got to fulfill her NY wish of hailing us a taxi cab all by herself. This over-priced cab ride drove
us to the over-priced Times Square movie theater to watch Coco (which was fantastic). This was Zoes NY wish.
Yup, mom-of-the-year here, fulfilling my children’s wishes!
We visited the somber 911 memorial/museum and of course, knocked out the typical touristy “must-do’s”:
Statue of Liberty, The Bull and Fearless statues, Ellis Island, Rockefeller Center, Hop-on Hop-off bus,
Times Square, and Brooklyn’s Grimaldi’s Pizza that included a beautiful sunset walk back across the
Brooklyn Bridge.
Couldn’t ask for a better experience, thank you, NYC!
Tina
Boondocks and Bliss