NYC DC - Day 1

It’s been two years in the making.  Well, it’s really been 12 years in the making – ever since Sarah and I visited when she was seven.  But the actually planning has been over the last two years.  I bought our plane tickets in April (that made it feel real), and started looking at ‘things to do’ about a month ago.  By last week, we had a very full, very ambitious, and slightly unrealistic itinerary set for our 12 days in New York and DC.  I am SO excited to share these amazing cities with my beautiful children, and can’t wait for my hubby to join us next week.  It will be Brian’s and Dave’s first time back east, Sarah hasn’t been since 8^th grade, and I haven’t been since I came with her in 2000.

 Waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.

 Boarding at 11:09?  I think not.

Photo bomb level:  Cute and funny Jamaican male flight attendant.

We left an hour late on the red-eye, scheduled to depart at 11:39 p.m. on Wednesday, July 17, 2013, but actually departing closer to 12:45 a.m. on Thursday.  Sarah, having taken Dramamine for certain motion sickness, crashed shortly after takeoff and didn’t wake up until we were descending into JFK.  Lucky duck.  Brian stayed awake the entire time, enjoying free movies, and listening to the Offspring and the Rolling Stones albums. (Do they still call them albums when they are played on an iPod?)  I leaned my head against the seat in front of me and dozed on and off for about an hour.

And we're off!

Arriving at 6:45 a.m., we found our bags, and hit the taxi line.  It was the best $68 I’ve ever spent.  Just the experience of being in a New York cab was tremendous – loud, fast, and reckless.  The only driver who can go from zero to thirty to zero in three seconds? A NYC Cabbie.  We arrived in about an hour, thanks to our delay putting us smack in the middle of the morning rush.  Elizabeth was waiting out front for us and welcomed us into her gorgeous, recently remodeled apartment that used to be part of an Episcopal Church built in the early 1900s.  The church is still standing and in use every weekend.

After a little breakfast and both kids alternately falling asleep, a quick change into walking duds, and a preview of our evening wine spot – the rooftop deck – we enjoyed beautiful New York architecture as we headed to the subway and made our way to Central Park.  

Wow.  What an amazing place.  Standing at Columbus Circle on the south end, surrounded by the Mandarin, Trump Towers, and more cabs, cars and people than I could absorb, we picked out a row of street carts and some shade, and grabbed a hot dog.  Not a good one, I dare say.  It was overcooked and the bun was stale, but it was a New York hot dog and only three bucks, so it was okay.  The park was a people-watching mecca, and we loved the sunbathers, baseball players (did they not realize it was 105 and 80% humidity?), and random crazies out for a freaky jaunt.  And, what made it the most perfect place on earth? The turtle pond.

Our next plan was to go to the Intrepid Air, Space and Sea Museum.  But, by the time we took the subway to the closest spot – a mile or so away, hit Burger King for a mango smoothie, and bought new clothes because mine were literally soaked with sweat and looking like I’d peed my pants (TMI? The kids have dubbed it the great pants crisis of 2013), we opted for a closer museum which happened to be right outside . . . Madame Tussaud’s. 

 Another wow.  We had a blast in there, and I highly recommend paying the seemingly outrageous $36/pp ticket price if you’re ever in the area.

Our next (and final) stop of the day was Elizabeth’s office in the Rockafeller building (not Rockafeller Center, per se, but a very pretty and very tall office building).

We took her with us back to the apartment, insisting that we not walk the 1½ miles because our feet and bodies had done enough walking, and instead walked about 1¼ miles to take the two trains to get back home.  :/  Delicious roasted chicken and potatoes were waiting, the house smelled divine, and it felt so good to sit down somewhere besides a moving Metro car, concrete park bench, or sticky BK seat.  We rounded out our evening with that promised rooftop wine, then crashed for a solid 14 hours.  Ahhh.

Now it’s Friday, and we’re slowly starting to think about heading out for some shopping at H & M, Uniglo and Joe Fresh, some looking at Saks 5^th Avenue, being awestruck at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, viewing the beautiful gardens at the real Rockafeller Center, eating at Shake Shack, and checking out Mario Batali’s Eataly market.  I’ll let you know how it goes!