Spring Break in NYC

From where we live in New Jersey, we are about 30 miles from Manhattan, but it probably takes a good 90 minutes to actually get there!  When we first moved here, we thought we would go into the city frequently to see all that it has to offer.  Then we realized just how much that would cost.  It’s not like Hong Kong, where transportation costs pennies and a lot of major sites are free or inexpensive.  To make a round trip into New York, it costs a good $40 for tolls and parking each time.  Minimum.  And that doesn’t include gas money!  Then add on attraction costs and food… you see where this is going…  Our cheap-o sides got the best of us (refer to this song: http://youtu.be/oTbl5Li5dDI; don’t pay attention to the lame video, just the funny lyrics).  We determined to do a “staycation” over Jade’s spring break to see NYC and hit it all at once.  Then we roped Cody’s parents into flying out and coming with us for the week.

The first day we started with brunch at Norma’s. 
It turned out to be a giant plate of dessert—we’re talking a week’s worth of calories in one meal!  I think we all decided it was much too rich for that time of day… all except Jade that is.  I did get my first taste of caviar off Paul’s plate of eggs benedict.  One taste was plenty to know I didn’t need to order my own.
 
It was a good thing we spent the rest of the day walking around the city to burn off all that cake for breakfast!  We passed Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, NBC Studios... 
 
 
…and marched ourselves right over to Central Park.
   
Jade found the playground and swings, and Ridge… well, Ridge, found the dirt and some perfect strangers to borrow sand toys from.
 
Eventually, we broke them away from the playground by taking them on a carriage ride around the park. 
 
We headed down 5th Avenue straight to the American Girl store where Grandma let Jade pick something out for her birthday.  I bet you can’t tell she LOVED that! 
 
We finished up the day with dinner at Stardust Diner.  When we got there, we were the first ones in line.  Every other time we passed the place during the week, it had a super long line!  I guess it pays to eat early with kids. 
This place was so much fun!  All the waiters are singers trying to make it on Broadway.  They each take a turn singing during the night as they wait tables.  They were all really good!  The music is loud and upbeat; we couldn’t help but dance and sing along!  You can click on the website link to see videos if you’re interested. 
 
Cody and I are planners.  As such, we had every detail of the week planned out.  From where to park to what to see to where to eat.  Tuesday’s plan was to go to the American Museum of Natural History (you know, the one from the movie, Night at the Museum), then to a Yankee’s game.  That is the only day that week it rained.  Great day for the museum, but our baseball game got rained out.  Regardless, we parked in the middle of the two events—in Harlem.  I loved seeing the architecture (is anyone noticing a theme here).  Though we decided we won’t need to be going through Harlem again anytime soon. 
 
We took the subway to the museum.  Not a fan.  In the least.  I know I’ve said it before, but I’m going to say it again:  Hong Kong’s subway system looks like the Hilton compared to NYC’s ghetto one.  Plus Hong Kong’s was SO much easier to navigate!  I’m so glad I don’t have to ride the NYC subway everyday like I did in HK. 
 
We weren’t the only ones who decided to visit the museum on the rainy day.  We did, however, have tickets well in advance, so we bypassed all the lines and went straight in. 
Too bad our tickets couldn’t get us away from the swarms of people inside too!  It was packed.  We are still pretty use to crowds, so we worked around it. 
Because our baseball game was cancelled, we simply spent more time at the museum.  The place is HUGE so I think that was a good decision.  Ridge was loving all the time we were spending at the oh-so-popular dinosaur exhibit, but Jade got bored after awhile and begged to move on.  I think she said her favorite was the space exhibit.
 
 
By the end of the day, both boys were overly tired and getting sick.  They hadn’t had their good, full naps being out for two days.  Wednesday was the day the girls were going to see Cinderella on Broadway.  The little boys couldn’t go because they were too young.  Cody and Paul weren’t that interested in a musical anyway, so they had opted to not buy tickets and stay with the boys.  Wednesday morning Ridge and Tanner were definitely sick, so Cody decided to stay home with them.  The rest of us drove into the city for the day.
We had some time before our 2 p.m. show, so we walked around Times Square.  It’s pretty anti-climatic, though the Hershey’s store nearby has a cute building. 

 
We ate a yummy lunch at Carmine’s then headed to our show.  
 
I think this goes without saying, but seeing Cinderella was one of Jade’s favorite parts of the week. She loved it! 
 

Carly Rae Jepsen played Cinderella and Fran Drescher was the step-mother.  The costuming and sets were fantastic.  This was the only picture we were allowed to take (the set before the show started). 
Seeing this show has only made me want to go back for more!!  Better start saving my pennies…
While we were in the show, Paul headed over to the Yankees stadium to exchange our tickets.  It worked out that we can go see a game when Cody’s brother is in town!  That left one ticket, so Paul—being the wise man that he is—opted to take that ticket and head in to see himself a Yankees game!  The rained out game from the night before was playing right then.   
 
He finished about the same time we did.  We met back up and hopped on the subway to head over to Grand Central Station.
By now you’ve probably realized I have a thing for architecture, but WOW this place was cool! 

 
 
We ended our day by having dessert first at Magnolia Bakery (word to the wise: skip the cupcakes; they are nasty), then experiencing the food trucks for dinner in Times Square on our way back to the car.  And with that, spring break was already half over!