New York City

We headed back into the city on Saturday with Glenn, Erika and Morgan. James decided that driving would be a good option since we had never done it before and traffic was supposed to be much diminished on the weekends.

We made it from our house to the city in about an hour. Then the fun began. It was recommended that we park at the Port Authority, supposedly good rates. We found the Port Authority after a few hair raising turns but then had the adventure of trying to find parking. I have to say, I was so thankful that it was James driving and not me. I was still scared for my precious van though.

We drove around for a bit looking for this garage we had heard about. Not sure what garage we were supposed to find but we did end up finding one right near where we were. We were impressed, only $18 for the day. (Shocking that $18 is a deal.) We hauled out all of our stuff (four adults, three children, three strollers, bags, purses and jackets for the threatening rain). We got the kids buckled in and headed out. I have to say, the boys were so wonderful considering they are not typically stroller kids; they much prefer exploring on their own. It's as if they know they have to behave while we are in the city, there are just no other options.

We walked to Times Square (Erika wanted to see what all the hype was) and then hopped on the subway to head down to South Ferry Seaport. Due to the three strollers we had to use the door rather than the turn style. James swiped the card and then opened the door. The attendant started yelling at us but we couldn't understand him. He then continued to try to get our attention over the loud speaker but we just simply could not hear nor understand him. James eventually realized that this man wanted to get our attention and headed back to the gate. Well, we forgot to swipe the card four times for the four adults. Oops. Then he threatened that, if the police were there, they would have given James a ticket. Yeah, whatever, just let us on the subway.

As always the kids were thrilled to be on the subway; it never seems to lose it's thrill. Morgan was a bit indifferent.

We made it to South Ferry and grabbed a quick lunch (yummy fish and chips for me!). There is a great view of the Brooklyn bridge and some man-made waterfalls. What a gorgeous day. We headed back to the subway to head up to Central Park. On the walk to the subway Stellan conked out. That dear boy must have been so tired. Not only did he sleep through the streets of NY, he also slept through the descent to the subway, the entire subway ride, the ascent to street level, and part of our walk through Central Park. What a trooper! I wish I could have had a peek at his dreams during that time. Morgan also was a trooper and slept through the entire thing.

When Stellan woke up, the boys went on a carousel ride in Central Park. I told James to make sure to get the boys on horses that actually move up and down. Sure enough, when I checked on them, Jameson was on a stationary horse. Sheesh. He moved him and away they went. The boys loved it. (OK, Stellan needed to be convinced that it was fun.)

We continued our walk through the park and then headed out to Fifth Ave on our way to the subway. What a gorgeous area! I would hate to imagine the price of an apartment in that location. I would have to say that living there would make New York City life a bit easier to tolerate; especially having a view of gorgeous Central Park.

We got back to the car, programmed the GPS (my birthday gift to James...just in time) and headed home. What a long but wonderful day. I'm always so proud of the boys, they do so well. I'm sure they'll be big city boys one day.