New York City adventure - Mother's Day weekend

New York-14
Originally uploaded by Olivia Linkel

We have been back from New York for a couple of days and I have finally had enough time to upload pictures and update my blog. We were so busy while we were there, I knew I wouldn't have time.

We took Scott's mom, Nancy, to the city because she was not comfortable going there by herself. She was last in the city in the late 70's when Scott was around 5 or 6 years old. He didn't remember much from their trip and the city has changed so much since those days.

We had this trip planned since January and even though the bombing attempt in Times Square occurred the weekend prior, we were not worried. Scott and I were last in the city together in 1996 and I was there in 2007 and we have never felt unsafe. Our flight was at 6 on Friday. Of course, Scott tells me on the plane about the suspected bomb that turned out to only be a cooler and I decided I wasn't going to worry at all. Our plane was on time and other than a little wait for the shuttle to the hotel, it was smooth sailing. We stayed at the Crown Plaza in Times Square which would not have been possible without hotel traveler points - so thankful for those. Since we arrived after nine and we had an early start on Saturday we all went to bed.

We were on the 46th floor of the hotel eating a continental breakfast at 6:30 am Saturday morning. Again, thanks to platinum status, otherwise we would have been paying. :) Our ferry for Liberty Island left at 9:00 and we needed to be at Castle Clinton in Battery Park by 8:00- 8:15 to pick up our tickets to the crown. We took the subway from 49th street to Whitehall and passed the Staten Island Ferry terminal on our walk through Battery Park. One of the things I love about NY is that even when you say no to the people in the subway who are trying to get you on the double decker tour bus, they are not pissed and move on with laughter. Maybe the solicitors that come to my house should take a lesson from them....

The security to get on the Liberty Island ferry is just like going through airport security with the exception of shoe removal. Of course Scott wore his steel toe boots and he had to remove them (travel karma). Once we made it through security we found seats on the upper deck of the ferry. The skies were darkening and we knew there would be rain, luckily we brough umbrellas and were prepared. Just as we arrived at Liberty Island, the rain started. We quickly made our way through check in with the National Park office where you receive your crown wristbands and worked our way to the pedastal entrance.

You are only allowed to take cameras up into the crown and have to leave the rest of your stuff in the lockers (conveniently located at the gift shop). Luckily we were inside while the heaviest rain was coming down and we began our ascent to the crown. There are about 150 stairs to get to the pedastal. Those stairs are straight flights of about 6 stairs each. Once you reach this point, they give you a break on the landing and if you have crown access then up you go on a narrow spiral staircase to reach the top. The up and down are two seperate sets of stairs so once you start it is nearly impossible to give up, not that any of us would. They crown is reached on a very small landing that allows for no more than about 8 people. It was really neat to look out and see the book and torch and the people down below.

Of course whatgoes up must come down so back down the spiral staircase we went. The going down was actually much tougher because you end up using one leg more and all of us were feeling it. The kids resorted to going down on their bottoms. When we reached the pedastal again, we stepped out to see what we could see. The rain was beginning to clear and a bright, blue, sunny day was coming. Once we were down from the statue, we picked up our junior ranger books and grabbed lunch. While eating we ran into Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the statue. One of the great things that the National Park Service does is have real people act as the people that were set in the time of whatever historical period you are in. General Lee at Gettysburg, Soldiers at Appomattox, etc. This guy was no exception. He spoke with a French accent and would pretend to not know what you are talking about if you mentioned modern things. He probably talked to us for 30+ minutes and helped the kids learn about the statue and complete their junior ranger books. Once we got their badges and took a few more pictures, we got back on the ferry for NY. Another part of our tour is Ellis Island but it was already 1 o'clocka nd we wanted more time in the city. Ellis will have to wait for the next trip!!!

Back in the city we stopped for a picture with a Lady Liberty look alike (reminded us of the silver robot guy in San Diego) and then up to the WTC site. We explained why this was important to the kids and since I was last here in 2007, they have made a lot of progress with new buildings. etc.

Next we headed to 20th street and the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace NHS. We passed the Flatiron building, New York's first skyscraper and the open market. Once the sun came out, the wind moved into the city and made the 70+ degree temperatures very nice.

We went on the longest house tour I have ever been on and the kids completed their junior ranger badges. This year seems to be the year of Theodore Roosevelt in our house. Luke did a project on him, we have visited the site in Buffalo, NY where he was inaugurated when President McKinley was shot and in June we will be staying in his National Park in North Dakota. I read a book called Mornings on Horseback about his boyhood and it is very neat to see the places from the book.

It was nearly 4 by the time we finished and everyone was exhausted. We went back to the hotel so Nancy could rest and the four of us took a refreshing dip in the pool. We were back out on the streets between 5 and 6 for dinner and then we headed to the Empire St. Building. Other than the few blocks we walked in the wrong direction, everyone felt great. The subway can really make you lose your sense of direction. We bought tickets to the 102nd floor and stopped first on 86 where the wind was whipping and Luke was scared. It was so crowded that you couldn't move very much so we headed up to 102. I would love to be up there at 1 in the morning just so there weren't so many people (a la Sleepless in Seattle). On the 102, you can really feel the building swaying but the views of the city were lovely. I didn't have my tripod so all of my night pictures have a little blur in them. Afterwards, we headed back down so we could return to the hotel. It was getting late for the kids and we were all worn out.

We passed Times Square all lit up at night and agreed to meet at 7:30 for breakfast on Sunday. Our shuttle was coming at 1 and we wanted to see a few more things.

We walked to Rockefeller Plaza and saw Radio City Music Hall. We talked about going over to try to get on camera at the Today show but the kids had no interest. The American Girl store opened at 9 and we went to St. Patricks to have a look around before. It was a beautiful cathedral and the kids said it should be called a Harry Potter church.

At American Girl we shopped for new clothes and shoes for Julie and then we got her hair done. The quote of the day from Lorelei was "this is the best thing that ever happened to me". It would be a ton of fun to do the afternoon tea there, maybe in Atlanta...

We couldn't leave Luke out so we headed to the Toys R Us where they have a ferris wheel indoors. It seems really cool but is a huge waste of money because you never really get going, you are just waiting for people to get on and off the whole time. We ate lunch (McDonald's) and took pictures in the heart of Times Square and then headed back to the hotel so we could pack up and catch our shuttle back to the airport. The flight home was uneventful and all were ready for bed.

It would be really cool to make an annual trip out of this because there are so many things to see and do in that city. We still have National Park stamps to get and central park is just waiting for us!!! I guess we need to save up those travel points.

Our next trip is to Asheville for Memorial Day where we will see my Aunt, cousins, and my grandmother. We are taking the camper and testing out the bathroom in preparation for our 2 week Montana trip in June (dun, dun, dun). Montana plans are laid out and I will be blogging that trip along the way.