New York City: The Final Day!

Today was our last day of our little getaway, and it was so bittersweet waking up in the morning. We were sad to end our vacation, but happy to be flying back home to Am today! We missed him so, so much while we were away.

We packed up the rest of our stuff, trying to find a place for all our souvenirs we had purchased, and we each took a few minutes to look out the window and take in the sights one last time. I'll never forget our time with our oldest boy.  I hope he remembers the special alone time he had with us, and the experience of taking in the city at nearly 10 years old.

We had to leave for the airport around 9:30am but first we had a little reunion! Stephen's brother, Calhoun, lives in the area;  so he drove up to have breakfast with us at the hotel restaurant. It was so nice to chat with him over eggs, fruit and pastries. I think A misses him more than any of us (He'll always be Uncle Racoon to the boys). It was sad to say goodbye, but we will see him again hopefully in December!

Before we left the W, we hung out in The Living Room of the lobby for a few minutes to take some pictures. Isn't it pretty?

Earlier in our stay, I had consulted with the concierge and they booked us on a return trip to JFK using their car service. He was right on time, picking us up in a "luxury SUV". We hit a few traffic jams, but our driver was great about finding some side street in Manhattan, and then again in the outer boroughs, to get us to the airport on time.

Check in was surprisingly easy at JFK. Jetblue has it's own security line and terminal so there was absolutely NO ONE at check in or security. We breezed through and immediately grabbed some drinks and snacks at the food court. We browsed in Borders and the airport store, and A picked up a few small trinkets for everyone back home. Oh, and he bought himself ANOTHER souvenir. LOL

A Jetblue plane. :)

We had nearly two hours to kill, so A played on the netbook while Stephen and I took turns walking around the terminal a little bit.

Notice the Jamba Juice next to him? Yup, that's mine. I have an addiction!

Our flight home was rather uneventful. We watched a lot of TV (LOVE Jetblue's seat back TV consoles), took a few pictures and tried to take a nap.

Yes, my lips are chapped. I'm not used to the cold!!!!! What?!

The best part of the day? Walking into our home and seeing our favorite little toddler!! Am was so excited we were home as well, but I think he was most excited about seeing his big brother. We gave him all our gifts, talked to my parents about our wonderful trip and looked through all the pictures using the Wii. New York City: we miss you, but Orlando: it's good to be home!

Final Thoughts:

1.Staying in Hoboken was definitely the right choice for us. We felt safe and secure in our rooms, the views were amazing and it was just as convenient as staying in Manhattan. The rooms were quite large (hard to find in the city) and the staff was fantastic!

2.Eat at Shake Shack. Period

3.A day in Central Park is one of the best days I've ever had in the city. Take the time to really explore the park and all it has to offer. I wish we would have had even more time to do more exploring! Next time we'll be sure to take the boys to the zoo (I've been, but the boys haven't).

4.My love for Jetblue was reaffirmed on these flights. Wish I could take them everywhere!

5.You'll never be able to see and do everything, no matter how much you plan.

6. I'd pick Top of the Rock over the Empire State Building again, no contest. Lines are shorter and the views are better.

7.The American Museum of Natural History is BIG. Instead of spending our entire day here, we took the time to research beforehand what we really wanted to see and did those areas first. Also, the admission is pay what you wish. You don't have to pay the suggested amount...pay what you are comfortable paying. We used the subway entrance, and there were no lines.

8.Next time, I won't rush A quite as much as I did this time. What I mean is, New Yorkers are statistically the fastest walkers in the US. I was constantly telling A to walk faster (except in Central Park, we were slow pokes here). I regret that now. I wish I would have slowed down and just let people complain that I was walking too slow.

9.I wish we would have had time for the Roosevelt Island Tram, Serendipity 3, South Street Seaport, Gray's Papaya, the High Line and more street food!! Next time!!!

10.New York City is kid friendly!!!! I promise! Enjoy!







New York City-Planning and Part 1

Every time we went to WDW in the past (before we moved here), I had written trip reports for a Disney message board site. I no longer frequent that message board for a variety of personal reasons, but I still enjoy writing trip reports! Here is the start of my report on New York City, April of 2011!

Planning:

We decided to just take A on this trip to NYC. Little Am is just too young to really appreciate the City. I wanted to take him, but logistics really prevented me from taking him. Mom and Dad offered to watch Am for a long weekend if we were to visit without him. I didn't want to leave him behind, but I knew my parents would take really good care of him and make it an "Am Weekend." So, after making the decision to only take big brother, we let A know it was going to be a long weekend in NYC just for him. He was super excited about it!

We have several books at the house highlighting NYC and all it's glory. Our favorite "This is New York" by Maurice Sendak got A super pumped about the trip. He also read Fodor's NYC with Kids, Stuart Little and The Unofficial Guide to NYC with Kids. He's familiar with Home Alone 2, Elf, Stuart Little 1 and 2, and various other TV shows and movies that also got him super excited.

Next came picking the date and flights. We found an amazing rate out of Jetblue for a weekend in April, along with a great rate on a hotel just outside the city in Hoboken. We quickly booked both and waited for the big day. We did a lot of reading, lots of talking and dreaming up plans for a wonderful getaway. We were all set!

Day One. The Adventure Begins!

Our day started soooo early. 3am to be exact. We needed to be out the door by 3:30 to make it to the airport by 4:30 (in case of delays). Nobody really got any sleep. I think my husband got a few hours, Alex about 1 hour and I never did fall asleep. I was too excited. I was also very anxious about leaving my baby boy. While everyone else was sleeping, I wrote Am a long note just in case of an emergency. Yes, I'm paranoid. But if something should happen to me, at least he would have a detailed letter from myself telling him how much I love him and what I would want him to know. Call it morbid. Call it paranoid. But I call it being a Mom flying without one of her babies.

Anyway, 3am rolled around. Stephen and I got ourselves ready and packed up the car. I had to practically scream in A ears to get him up. Poor kid was wiped out. By the time we were in the car and headed for the airport though, he perked up and was ready for his flight!

Luckily we left very early in the morning, because Jetblue had the longest check in line I've ever seen. Skycab was not running so we were forced to stand in the line for well over an hour. This put us at about 5:15 with a flight at 6am. Finally, we were checked in and herded to security. Needless to say, it was also a very long line. It took us nearly 20 to 25 minutes to get through and by the time we reached the gate (after quickly stopping at Burger King for hashbrowns and drinks), they were already boarding.

A and I were seated together on the plane, with Stephen right in front of us. We had windows facing east, so we were able to watch the sun come up from the sky. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I didn't take any pictures because I was enjoying the moment so much I couldn't look away. Even A was in awe. Our flight was pretty much uneventful. I love Jetblue for their TV sets at each chair. Amostly watched Nickelodeon and I watched the Today Show and Full House. LOL I believe Stephen mostly listened to music.

Our flight was on time and we landed at approx 8am. We retrieved our bags and I called Dial7 for a town car pickup to Hoboken. While I was making the call, A filmed some of the airport with his videocamera. There was an older lady sitting on the bench next to him, listening to everything he had to say. She called me over and whispered to me, "Your son is going to really love this city. He's so cute." She then told A to have a wonderful time on his vacation. So, as you can imagine, our touristy excitement was evident to bystanders and strangers.

Our driver picked us up at the curb (we waited only about 5 minutes for him to arrive) and we were off!!! As you might know, JFK is in Brooklyn. Hoboken is in NJ. They are on opposite sides of Manhattan. Traffic was pretty crazy in Brooklyn, a cinch in Manhattan (Alex got his first views of the city and actually gasped out loud upon seeing the Empire State Building in the distance). We arrived at our destination approx 1 hour and 30 minutes after leaving JFK. It didn't seem that long, as there was a lot to see out the windows! Our driver was fantastic and very friendly. I would highly recommend Dial7 if you ever need a town car or limo in the city.

Our driver dropped us off at the W Hoboken and we were able to check into one of our rooms. We had booked two rooms because my husband is a REALLY bad snorer. There was no way any of us would get any sleep if we had to share a room. Plus we were only able to book king beds with our discount. So, we booked 2 king rooms facing Hoboken (rate of $89...holla!! It's normally a $300 room!). Anyway, I had written the general manager, Anna, an email prior to our stay requesting 2 connecting rooms in a quiet area. Anna had written back that our room category did not have connecting rooms but she would do our best to keep us together in a quiet area. Upon check in, we were surprised to learn we had been upgraded to 2 connecting rooms WITH VIEWS OF MANHATTAN!!!!! And one of the rooms had 2 queen beds instead of a king, which meant we would all get our own bed! LOL Only of the rooms was ready (the king room) so we rushed up to the room to check it out and drop off our luggage.

WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE VIEW!!! NEXT INSTALLMENT! (With pictures)