What a fast, fun-filled 4 days we spent in New York City! Lillian and I had a great time, but we were so ready to come back home. We missed our boys (and our laid back Colorado lifestyle!) so much.
We spent our first night alone in New York City. And because of the 2 hour time change, and a little nap on the plane, we were able to stay out late (not New York late, but certainly late for Lillian!).
I'll never forget Lillian's face as we stepped off the subway from the airport right in to Times Square.
We wandered up and down streets, popped into the Disney Store, the M&M store, and talked to countless strangers. We even took our picture with some "characters" - haha.
The next day, we awoke to rain, and it only got heavier as the day progressed. We made the best of it, bought a cheap umbrella and hit the town. One of the many strangers we met tipped us off that the Macy's Flower Show was taking place, what a great recommendation that was! We had so much fun exploring Macy's and touching every flower to be certain they really were ALL REAL!
Lillian had fun posing at many of the displays, and if it wasn't raining so hard I would have taken a picture of the exterior window displays because they were out of this world!
Thursday night we saw the men setting up this "National Crayon Day" display in the center of Times Square. The event was taking place Friday from 8 - 1. It was raining pretty hard but that didn't stop Lillian from having a great time.
The giant foam pit was fun, but would have been a lot more fun with a fellow youngster. The giant coloring wall was awesome - but even with the umbrella we had trouble getting the mural dry enough to actually color on!
After the crayon display, I tried to take us to the "Top of the Rock" (Rockefeller Center) but they advised us not to bother. Visibility was so poor from the top. So, to lift this little girls spirits we popped in a coffee shop for some Hot Cocoa. The lady at the counter felt so sorry for us dripping wet ladies, she insisted the Hot Cocoa was on the house! Of course, it was Organic Hot Chocolate and pretty bitter, but after 5 packets of sugar Lillian was pleased.
The rain couldn't keep us from exploring, and today was our only chance to see the Statue of Liberty, which was on the top of Lillian's tourist must - see list. And I really wanted to see Ellis Island where my father passed through in 1950. So....we took the subway out to Battery Park and took a very wet ferry ride to the islands.
Lillian said seeing the Statue of Liberty was the highlight of her trip.
When we finally got back to the hotel, we changed our clothes, climbed into bed and snuggled up to watch some "Friends" re-runs. Lillian had never heard of the show before, but felt that watching it could help her learn more about New York City....so we watched episode after episode. Finally I said, Lillian I'm starving, we have to go get some dinner. She stared me straight in the face and said, "Mom, I am NOT leaving this room anymore today, order in!". So I looked out the window, called the Irish Keg Room across the street and ordered us some fish & chips! And Lillian was right, the rain got harder and harder and poor Jen & Melanie were driving in it. They finally made their way to us and we enjoyed a few minutes together before bed.
Saturday morning we explored the Natural History Museum (where Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller was filmed). That museum is huge! Lillian was afraid we weren't going to find our way out and we'd be stuck sleeping in there!
The best part was seeing the 3D IMAX on Humpback Whales.
By the time our IMAX was through, Erica & Maddie had arrived in the city. They headed straight to Ellen's Stardust and put our name in for a table for 6.
The waitstaff is all desperately trying to be actors on Broadway someday, and they are really talented! Lillian and Maddie were in awe. They barely ate their food they were so mesmerized.
We met up with Marisa back at the hotel and the next stop on the tourist scene was a family appropriate birthday surprise for Erica!
As you can see these girls became fast friends again (they didn't remember meeting each other in the Summer of 2015).
We bowled at Bowlmor on Times Square!
We had more fun than our bowling scores let on!
Lillian told the police officer on the walk home that they have a lot more cops in New York City than we do in Colorado.
Maddie and Lillian had a hard time saying goodbye to each other in the busy street corner in Times Square! They vowed to be penpals and keep in touch.
Before our plane took off Sunday afternoon, we snuck in one more tourist attraction. We returned to Rockefeller Center and visited the Top of the Rock.
Lillian spread her sunny personality all over that city and had a great time meeting friendly New Yorkers. The front desk man at the hotel even sent her with a to-go package of bottled water and snacks for the plane. Of course we couldn't drink the water before we went through security at the airport, so Lillian asked a young couple on the subway if they wanted the water. They were so touched by her friendly, sweet demeanor. I hope this trip helps foster that side of her personality for the future. She was a social butterfly. And the Southwest ticket counter associate gave her a postcard to color on the plane.....guess who should be expecting a postcard from Colorado soon??? Hope Maddie writes back!
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