NYC

We spent the weekend of Brad's birthday in New York City, doing as many touristy things as possible.  Brad had never been and I hadn't been in years so it was fun to see all the sights and eat some amazing food!  We were able to take the train from Union Station to Penn Station without any trouble on Friday morning.  Then we walked to our hotel in Times Square (it was a haul, but good to stretch our legs after sitting for 3.5 hours!).  We ate lots of yummy food that night and took in NYC at night.

Saturday morning we struck out early, winding up in the viewing audience of the Today Show as we walked past.  All we managed to see was the weather report and then we hit the Top of the Rock (top of 30 Rockefeller Center) taking in the spectacular views overlooking Manhattan from 70 floors up.  We walked from there over to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) where we toured 4 floors of art.   

By noon our friends Sam and Amie had arrived from VA and were ready to meet for lunch.  SURPRISE!  Brad had no idea they were coming.  We got in line at Carnegie Deli and Sam popped back to invite us up to eat with them.  The look on Brad's face was priceless.  We spent the afternoon in lower Manhattan at the 9/11 Memorial and stopped at McSorley's Old Ale House, the oldest Irish tavern in NYC.  You have two choices there, light or dark beer, and it was quite a diverse crowd...some of whom had already been there all day!  We had dinner at Patsy's Italian, Sinatra's favorite, before heading over to the Brandy Library.  It was a full day of kid-free fun.  Honestly, the kids would not have enjoyed this trip.  The crowds, the walking, the freezing cold temperatures, and unpredictable schedule would not have been compatible.  Not to mention the lack of kid-friendly activities in the dead of winter.

Sunday we walked up 5th Avenue, seeing St. Patrick's Cathedral and many other gorgeous churches along the route.  St. Patrick's was having mass at the time so we stopped to see the gorgeous interior.  Sadly there is so much scaffolding up around the church, both inside and out, that it is hard to see all of its beauty.

We popped into FAO Schwarz for souvenirs for our kiddos at the end of 5th Ave, and could also see Central Park up close.  It was so, so cold.  I'm sure that would be a lovely walk in nicer weather though!

Sam and Amie left at lunchtime and we hopped on the ferry to go see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on Sunday afternoon.  The ferry ride was chilly but we were glad we had time to squeeze that last destination into the trip.  By 10pm we were back home and thankful that Kathy and the kids had fun here in DC without us for a few days.