New York City — Week 7

August 30 – September 5

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Sunday August 30th — Oma and Opa switched over to stay with us for the remainder of their stay in NYC.  We wanted to take them down to Juliana’s for pizza, but we knew from experience that we needed to be there right at opening so we wouldn’t have to wait in line.  Unfortunately, we had subway issues getting down there and, by the time we actually got to Brooklyn, all the big tables were full.  We had to wait about 45 minutes before a large table opened up.  However, I thought the wait was worth it.  =)  We ordered three pizzas and everyone had a different favorite and there was nothing left by the end.

After lunch we split up — Keller went to see the play “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” while Oma and Opa walked the Brooklyn Bridge, wandered Manhattan, and rode the Roosevelt Island tram.  I took the kids to the playground by the Manhattan Bridge and we rode Jane’s Carousel again.  The kids picked out palomino horses to ride this time.

That evening Oma and Opa stayed with the kids so Keller and I could go out to eat.  We went to a neat Australian restaurant called The Thirsty Koala and had fabulous calamari and lamb.  It was so nice to get to take a little “adult” time together without the kids and get to talk.

 

Monday August 31st — Keller, the kids, and I headed down to ride the Staten Island Ferry.

For lunch we returned to Little Sal’s in Manhattan before Keller went back to Astoria for work.  The kids were in desperate need of new shoes — they literally walked the soles out of their tennis shoes since we’d arrived.

After buying them new shoes, we returned to Battery Park.  We rode the new Sea Glass Carousel, which just opened this year.

Then we went over to explore Castle Clinton.  Castle Clinton is a National Monument maintained by the National Park Service.  They have a neat Junior Ranger program where kids can learn about the monument, complete a worksheet, and then earn a badge as a Junior Ranger.  This is a national program, and knowing Kamy’s completionist tendencies, I figured it would be a hit.  Caden wasn’t too impressed, but Kamy was determined to earn her badge!  It was a cool way to learn about the history of Castle Clinton — from it’s early fortification of the NYC harbor for the War of 1812, to the primary immigration station before Ellis Island was completed, to an aquarium, opera house, and now a national monument.

Oma and Opa spent the day at The Met — over 7 hours!  They met up with Joan and Mike for dinner in the Chelsea area before coming back to Astoria late that night.

Tuesday September 1st — We stayed in this morning to take care of those pesky routines that need to be done: grocery store trips and laundry.  Kamy and Caden also needed some down time and an easy day as a break from all the input.  The kids played at the Queensview playground just down the street for several hours while I read my book on the bench.  Oma and Opa saw Top of the Rock, Grand Central Station, and got tickets to see Matilda on Broadway that evening.

Wednesday September 2nd — Morning and afternoon were also laid back today in preparation for a busy evening.  The kids and I went to the farmers market, library, and Muncan before grabbing lunch from Arepas and cooking some fresh corn on the cob from the market.  Oma, Opa, Joan and Mike had tickets to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

That afternoon, we all met up at the Gotham West Market for dinner before our Circle Line Harbor Lights cruise.  The cruise was really neat and it was cool to see the city from the water, especially with all the lights.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and told us all kinds of interesting stories, including recounting the airplane landing in the Hudson a few years ago (right by the Circle Line docks), the White Star arrival point at Pier 59 that the Titanic never reached, and all about the development of NYC and expansion to the various boroughs.  The icing on the cake was totally unexpected though — they were testing the pillars of light that marked the World Trade Center towers!  Typically they only light the spotlights on 9/11 because it was causing problems for migrating birds, but they were on by chance that night.  The weather was beautiful that evening and we all had a nice time.

Thursday September 3rd — Thursday morning, we went to the Museum of Modern Art with Opa, Joan, and Mike.  Since Joan and Mike are extremely knowledgeable about art, we were happy that we could see it with them.  Kamy recognized several famous pieces, including Starry Night!  We stayed for about 90 minutes, until the kids lost interest, before the four of us headed back to Astoria for lunch.

Oma opted to visit the Natural History Museum while we were at the MoMA.  Then Oma and Opa rode the Staten Island Ferry and got dinner at the Cull and Pistol in Chelsea again.  It was their last day in NYC and they sure saw a lot in their short stay!  They were troopers!  We returned to Queens Comfort for a quick lunch, then I took the kids to the Dutch Kills playground near our apartment.

Friday September 4th — Today all our guests took off:  Oma and Opa rented a car and drove up to their time share in Vermont, while Joan and Mike went south to Washington DC for a few days.  Keller promised Kamy several weeks before that we could fly a kite in NYC.  We ordered one online and finally had the right weather to go do it!  We went to Astoria Park, found a clear meadow, and got it up in the air!  While it didn’t hold their attention as long as we thought it would, it was still a neat experience.

Keller had lunch plans with a colleague from work, so we took the chance for relaxing day and did the regular set of errands, laundry, groceries, and a new round of books from the library.

Saturday September 5th — Planned long before we arrive in NYC, we hosted a get together for most of Keller’s co-workers from the network architecture team Saturday evening.  David and Sarita came early so David could take the kids rock climbing.  They had a blast!  They particularly liked “bouldering” – climbing without a rope and harness and Kamy was a little monkey!  They were super excited to go climbing and they still talk about Mr. David taking them.

We had a great turn out with most of the team who lived in the northeast.  I’d planned on making pulled pork, but plans got a little tweaked when it wasn’t ready on time.  We ordered “appetizers” from Fatima to tide us over until it was actually ready to eat.  Who says that bbq pulled pork and Chinese don’t go together?  =P  Everyone seemed to have a lovely time.  I really enjoyed getting to know Keller’s co-workers and getting to meet their wives.  We all sat up on the roof deck until late that night — Keller did a fabulous job with ambiance by putting up bistro lights and candles and it was a great experience.