Two Days In NYC

The girls and I drove to NYC last Thursday for a little overnight adventure. Ryan was there for a conference on Thursday and Friday so I thought we would take advantage of his free hotel room. I have never driven into NYC by myself and three little kids in a giant "school bus" (aka. Suburban) before so I was a bit nervous. It ended up being a Piece of cake. The hard part proved to be getting around the city in the rain with three little kids.

We got checked into our free hotel room and within minutes Brooklyn was in her PJs, Ella had "unpacked" her backpack, and both girls were sitting on the window ledge peering out the window at NYC. After spending an hour convincing Brooklyn it was only 2 pm, I finally got her to put her clothes back on and to head out the door to go "exploring." The girls loved our hotel room so much, getting them out the door was quite difficult!

Once we finally reached the street, we walked by a strange man with two pet rats. One was sitting on his head and the other on his shoulder. They were supposed to be white, but after conversing with him a few minutes I learned he had dyed their fur a yellowish green for St. Patrick's Day. The girls were too freaked out to get a picture with him and I was too concerned for the drugged out looking rats.

Next we headed for the Empire State Building. Going through security was insane. Imagine being at the airport with a double stroller, three little kids, coats, hats, gloves, diaper bag, purse, stroller rain cover, umbrellas, Baby Bjorn, etc. Yes, all of that had to go on the conveyer belt - well, minus the three kids. But, we made it through!

Ella was a little nervous to go to the very top, but once there, she loved it. We walked around and around the top, and despite the rain, it was an amazing view.

Since Ella talked the ENTIRE 1.5 hour drive to NYC, Brooklyn didn't get a nap and so was very uncooperative during picture taking time. =-( On the way back to our hotel, the girls and I stopped for dinner at a little cafe Ella picked out. Not that great =-( We saw Ryan for a few minutes in the lobby before we went up to bed and he went to a business dinner.

On Friday, the girls and I loaded up the suburban and headed down to the Financial District where our friends (which happen to be our neighbors in Yardley) live during the week. We saw their adorable apartment overlooking the bay and Brooklyn Bridge.

Lucky for our friends - they can see the Brooklyn bridge from their apartment in the city and Brooklyn Asay from their house in Yardley!

We had hoped to go wandering around the area, but given the weather, we decided to eat everything in their house (sorry about that Kelly) and let the kids play. When Ryan was finally done with his work conference, he met us down at Battery Park where we took the ferry over to see the Statue of Liberty. (Well, Ryan and Kendall didn't end up going with us because we weren't allowed through security with Ryan's suitcase and the stroller. What a bummer!)

Ella and Brooklyn have been obsessed with seeing the Statue of Liberty for months now... ever since Grandma Asay sent them a book about Lady Liberty. Of course, they had to have these "crowns" too.
NYC from Staten Island.
After all the begging to see the Statue of Liberty, the girls weren't that impressed. Or maybe it was just the freezing cold, rainy weather that put a damper on our visit. Either way, the girls were ready to get back on the ferry within 5 minutes of being on the island. I made them walk all the way around the statue first. Brooklyn cried the whole time because she was so tired and freezing. At least I finally convinced her to let me get one picture of her with our beacon of freedom.

So, all in all it was a fun trip. Exhausting, but fun. However, remind me never to do it again by myself - free hotel room or not!