NY, NY part quatre

Sunday is a lovely to day to just relax. Even when we're on vacation, I like to have one day where we just "hang out". I took the kids walking around Edgewater. We went to the Hudson and had a nice "picnic" on the benches there. The kids loved looking across to the skyline of Manhattan and throwing rocks into the river. My husband was going to meeting up with us after his meetings in the city. My sister was kind enough to take the kids to see a movie and my husband and I made reservations at a lovely restaurant in North Bergen, N.J. called Sabor Latin Bistro. It was very good and the ambience was perfect! Try the plaintain dishes and the yucca fries. Yum!

The next day we went to Ellis Island. This is a part of the CityPass and it was great! Since my sister lives on the Jersey side, she drove us to Liberty State Park where we boarded the ferry from there to head to Ellis Island and then the Statue of Liberty. My suggestion is to get here early. The lines are LONG! Again, CityPass comes through for us. They had a separate line for CityPass folks and it was a lot shorter than the other line. The kids really enjoyed the ferry ride. When we got to Ellis Island, it was crowded!!! First stop, the restrooms. Then we were able to walk around and take a look and read about Ellis Island. We were able to search for my husband's grandfather on their passenger search. It's a great time to share with your children the importance of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty which is a symbol of hope for immigrants entering New York Harbor.

There is a board that states when the next ferry leaves for the Statue of Liberty. I suggest getting in line about 20 minutes prior to that since it's first come first serve. The Statue of Liberty is.......well.......it's just awesome! Seeing so close and being able to walk in front of it is quite spectacular. At the time, the highest portion of the Statue of Liberty was closed; however, they are open now and one can purchase tickets to head up to the top. Not sure if we would have done that since our youngest's legs probably wouldn't have made it all the way up.

This trip took up a large part of the day. It was fun and educational. As we were driving out of Liberty State Park, I saw the Science Center there. It's called the Liberty Science Center. I didn't know about this previously. Because our day was long and full, the kids told me they were tired (happy words to my ears). So, we skipped the Science Center; however, I think next time, we will go there. There were a lot of school buses parked in front. It looks like a great place to go. I read that there were 3 floors of interactive science activities for the kids. How fun!

NY, NY part trois

So, it's Saturday and matinee day on Broadway. Remember that matinee days with a Broadway schedule are Wed. and Fridays. Since my husband and I have our ties to Broadway, we HAVE to see a Broadway show with the kids. In the past, I didn't mind paying for my own seat or even my husband and I going together, but times those prices by 4 and it's another story!

Off we to to TKTS, we went to the Times Square Booth. It was raining so my sister took the kids to..........ToysRUs! I think my kids thought they had died and gone to heaven. This store is huge!!! The only problem for parents is to forewarn your kids that this is only a place to put things down on their wishlist. With pencil and notepads in hand, off they went. Nevertheless, this was a good distraction for the kids since I had to wait in line in the rain. That is a recipe for disaster for kids to wait in the rain with a boatload of people. It didn't take too long since I went there before the booth opened (strong advice from me). I tried to get every show that was available for kids and couldn't get all the seats in the same spot. I couldn't let my child sit alone and I don't think they would want to sit next to strangers at their age. After batting zero, I met up with the kids. This is where I learned that you could go to the other TKTS booths the day before and purchase matinee tickets for the next day which I should have done. I never learned this while working on Broadway, but then again, I couldn't always see the other shows since I was working in one with the same show times as the other shows. Now, my kids really love "The Lion King", but these tickets were not available through TKTS.

As I started walking with the kids to grab a bit to eat at Junior's Deli, we walked by "The Lion King". My kids started singing the songs as we were walking and I felt that twang of 'Gee, when will I be back here next with the kids?' I walked into the box office and asked how much the tickets were. They were a whopping $125/seat. I gasped and the cashier just looked at me. Do I spend $500 for next week's matinee? No, I can't. But, when are we back? Think, think, think. My sister states that we aren't paying for room and board and that I just do it. So, in true Nike form with a little NY attitude, I tell the cashier to get me the director's seats (center orchestra). The guy looks at me and just told him I used to work in theater. He smiles and gives me 8th row center. I"m happy and have to say happy that I took the bite!!! I know there are other venues where you can purchase tickets at a discount; however, these are the times, when I prefer to spend my time on just having fun than researching and dragging my kids all over the place for the tickets.

Kids are hungry and I'm craving a good deli sandwich. Typically, I go to Carnegie's, but it's such a touristy place now, that Junior's is perfect. We met up with some friends who were in South Pacific and 9-5 which meant they had to be at work by half hour. It was great to see them. Their kids menu is perfect. Both of my kids have allergies to nuts so it's no joke when I ask if there are any nuts or any possible cross-contamination of nuts with their food. They were very aware of nut allergies and stated that a lot of kids have that allergy nowadays. I had my epipens with me, but really don't want to go through that experience or a trip to the emergency room. The kid portions were large and delicious. My kids ate them up!!! Their deli sandwiches were perfect. What I love the most? Condiments on the side!!! I can't stand it when other delis layer their sauce to the point where you don't even taste the meat. The pastrami was delish! The Reuben to die for! So, so good. My oldest loves cheesecake and there ain't nuthin' like NY style Cheesecake. He was the happiest 7 year old. I couldn't believe that he ate all of his mac n' cheese and then the whole slice of cheesecake. Sundaes are wonderful as well. We were all very happy. So happy that we went back there on another day during our stay.

After our lunch, we headed down to Chinatown. I used to shop there a lot when I was living in Manhattan. Such great deals. However, I have heard that the knock-offs have been shut down. I love the subway and my kids love it too. I think it's so great to get them on public transportation!!! They need to know that it's easy, available, and better for our planet. I have to agree that there were a lot of places with these yellow signs that looked like knock-off places that were shut down by NYPD. However, there were plenty of people whispering to me while I was window shopping what knock-offs they had. In fact, some girls were looking at purses and then some gentleman said something to them quietly and the next thing you know they are following him to the back of the store. Don't you just love this?!! I love NYC Chinatown. I bought baskets of fruits (strawberries, blueberries, and watermelon) all for under $4.00. A place to stop off next time for us will be Joe's Shanghai Restaurant. It's a little place with the most amazing dumplings!!! I promise you. You don't want to skip this place.

We went back to my sister's to make dinner and had a lovely fruit salad for dessert! Time to rest for another busy day tomorrow.

New York, New York part deux

Finally, I get to start down memory lane of our trip to New York. As you know, we stayed at my sister's. It was convenient and economical.

First of all, I did my research (I always suggest you do this first to make your trip less stressful) and found out that citypass was the way to go with the sites we wanted to see. The added bonus was that citypass was offering separate entry lines where the wait was going to be less than the normal entry lines.

First stop, The American Natural History Museum near Central Park. The weather was brisk, but sunny and it was Spring Break for most of NYC and other cities throughout the United States. Was I ever happy to have purchased the CityPass. The lines were incredibly long and with 2 young boys, I didn't want to stand in line while they either got bored, cold, and whiny. We walked right in, did the coat check (well worth it!) and started on our discovery of the Museum. I did have our kids watch the movie, "Night at the Museum". This gave them something to connect to while they were walking around the museum. They kept referencing to the movie and really enjoyed their time there. The planetarium was included in our citypass. The boys absolutley loved it and thought it was the best thing for them in the museum. We started early in the morning and spent over 3 hours at the museum. We did bring some snack, but my kids were hungry so we went to the cafe. It was pricey like most places, but with the money we were saving on room and board, I splurged here.

We then walked across Central Park to the Eastside to hit one of my favorite spots, Serendipidity. Yes, we walked the whole way and the boys got a little tired toward the end, but with a few stops here and there in Central Park, they were doing pretty good. If you haven't been to Serendipidity's, then it's a must. Even when I lived there, I would have cravings for their frozen hot chocolate! I knew my boy's would love their foot long hotdogs. Here's the thing........you can't make reservations there and it's a cozy place with seating being a challenge during meal rush hours. However, they will always say it'll be a 45 minute wait, but 9 out of 10 I usually wait for about 20 minutes and we get our table. I don't know how that happens. Maybe most tourists try to wait it out and decide they can't or if they have kids, they don't want to wait and then leave. The line goes from really long to really short fairly quickly there. Do I chance it with my kids? No!! I always have snacks in my backpack just in case they start getting a little hungry. My oldest, who loves hot dogs, had the biggest smile on his face when his foot long dog arrived. The rest of the menu is good! The desserts are huge so think about sharing. Trust me, you and the kids will LOVE this place!!!! It's a must go-to place.

Central Park is huge! There is so much to do there and you won't cover it all in one day if you want to see the sites within the park. I wouldn't advice to hit it in one day anyways. The kids love to play and run around. Let them do that while you sit and relax with the beautiful surroundings.

We did end our day doing just the Natural History Museum and a small part of Central Park. It was enough and the kids were tired. We headed on the subway back to Port Authority and took our bus back to Edgewater. By the way, I wouldn't suggest taking the bus during commute times. It's crazy and I had to keep an eye on our boys. People are everywhere! One of my boys had to go to the restroom which meant public restrooms (ugh!). Surprisingly, the restrooms here were clean. It kind of reminded me of Japan (Tokyo had exceptional public restrooms...hotel-like by our US standards). The buses fill up quickly. I hope that I am passing this information on to help those of you who decide to use any type of public transportation during commute hours in NYC. The only other time it was this busy was late at night. I couldn't believe my eyes, but people were, once again, all lined up for the bus and it looked like people were just getting off of work. You know the saying, "NYC never sleeps" It's true! I guess I shouldn't be too surprised since I would get off of work from the theater and travel home around 11pm at night.

Onto to part trois next!

New York, New York, a helluva a town. The Bronx is up, but the Battery's....(Part 1)

down! Don't you love that movie, "On The Town"? The music is wondeful (thank you Bernstein) and the lyrics are fantastic (Comden & Green)!!! But......I digress.

A friend of mine is heading to New York (Manhattan to be specific) and asked about places to go and visit with her two kids. Our family had flown there a year ago to visit New York. I used to live there and miss the vibrant energy that blankets this great city.

What did I do to prepare (because you know it's all about the research and preparation that makes your vacation a great one!):

1. Where are we going to stay?
2. How are we getting there and stay within budget?
3. What are we going to do and stay within budget?
4. Food?
5. Weather, which translates to how I pack and how many pieces do I really want to carry and pay for.

#1 - Fortunately, I have the pleasure of having a sister who lives in Edgewater, NJ and so accomodations were taken care of. She only has a 1 bedroom apt, but a large enough living room for us to sack out on her lushes couches and aerobeds. I know some people are thinking...couches? But trust me, her couches are the most comfortable couches in the world. I have been there before with my other cousin and she said the same thing (and she's used to 5star hotel mattresses).
      However, I do have some suggestions when heading to New York if you don't know anyone who would offer you place to stay. I have a large extended family and they have gone to visit New York and this was what was reported back to me. One of my cousin's used her points from her credit card and stayed at the Hilton. It wasn't for free, but it was a significant price-cut which included complimentary breakfast every morning. Since she had a family of four, she thought it was worth it. I realize this is important to some people; however, having lived in Manhattan, I think you can get a decent breakfast at any deli corner for a very reasonable price. 
     I had another cousin who was travelling with her kids and her elderly father. They complained about how expensive Manhattan hotels were so they decided to stay in the New Jersey side and took public transportation into Manhattan. I agree that to stay on a budget, public transportation is the way to go here. Everyone takes public transportation and it's easy. Those of us who live in the West Coast should learn to  use public transportation more often and the government could stand to learn from the New York/East Coast cosmopolitan cities, but that's another blog, eh? The Holiday Inn was the suggested hotel that was easy and affordable. I found two Holiday Inns. This is where you have to do the research and decide for yourself how much you want to spend and how much commuting you want to do. I personally think it's great for the kids to learn about public transportation and to actually use it. One is the Holiday Inn at Secaucus. Great reviews, but a little further out (again remember that people live in these cities and commute into Manhattan daily so buses and trains aren't that bad). The other one is Holiday Inn Express at the Lincoln Tunnel which is literally the connector to Manhattan and takes only minutes on the bus to arrive at the Port Authority. To read some reviews, I have done some research for you. Click on the "reviews" and read for yourself what you are most comfortable with. I always rely on my gut instinct. Once you have read enough reviews you will get a pretty good idea. Another place I like to go to for reviews is TripAdvisor. This site has done pretty good for me. The more reviews, the better the chance that I pick the right place for me and my family.
     At my sister's, we just took the bus that was a block away from her place (NJ Transit). It didn't cost that much, but check out the website for current prices. I think we paid about $3+/- for adults and about $2 for the kids. It took us right to Port Authority (8th and 42nd). The kids enjoyed walking up to Times Square.

#2 - There are some great prices on JetBlue and Virgin America to the Kennedy Airport. This is a place where a car service is just as good if not better than a taxi. I like the car service because the prices are the same as a taxi and they are there waiting for you rather than you having to wait in line with your kids all ancy from a plane ride. Trust me....it's worth it!
     We flew into Newark because my sister lives there. We flew Continental Airlines and since NJ is the hub for Continental, it was quite a nice terminal. The price was decent. It wasn't as inexpensive as flying into JFK, but by the time we would have paid for car service from JFK to New Jersey, it would have cost us the same as flying on Continental. I have flown into Newark Airport before while living in Manhattan during my B.C. days (before children). I really liked it. It was not as crowded, easy transportation to Manhattan, and rarely delayed. It made my travels less stressful and I know now, with a family, that low stress is preferred on my travels.

As you all know, I am a mom or pseudo single-mom. So, I will have to finish up on this trip on my next posting since it has 9 days worth of fun and excitement. My children need me right now.

(Here's the catch with blog about NYC. I have no photos of my own to share on this site. Why? Well, the SD card on my camera acted up when I went to upload the photos. I can't upload any of them and it bums me out since we did a lot of sites with our kids. I don't know if I can get them back. I went to one place and they said it would cost alot to get someone to "fix" it. I know it's been a year, but I'm waffling back and forth on the monetary costs of pictures. I do have my memory of them and I am sharing them on this blog. Any suggestions from my readers? Not sure if I have any readers right now, but thought I'd ask anyways.)