Gettin' Smart in the Big Apple

Anyone who's ever watched "The Apprentice" knows that it's not enough to just be book smart. And what better place to get street smart than on the streets of New York City?!? This past week, with the convenient excuse of another one of Justin's continuing education courses, we took our home school class to the Big Apple. And boy, was it educational!

Three days went by in a mad flurry of running here and there, trying to experience all we could of the city that never sleeps. We flew in late Wednesday night, and took a taxi from the airport to our hotel on 32nd and Broadway. On the way, we caught our first glimpse of Time Square. And boy, was it surreal! Images on t.v. just don't do that place justice!


Justin was in class Thursday, while the boys and I got busy sightseeing. We walked all over Manhattan, from our hotel to Central Park. Along the way, we passed the Empire State Building, and almost missed it, lost somewhere up in the clouds.



Soon after, we stumbled upon the stunning St. Patrick's Cathedral. We had read about it in a library book before coming to New York, and when we happened to pass by, we just had to go in! The sculptures adorning the interior of the church were absolutely breathtaking. I'm so glad we took the chance to stop and look!


Finally, we arrived at the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, and anxiously waited for the doors to open. The boys had the entire place to themselves, programming robots, learning how computers store information, and discovering how cartoons and video games are made. We even got to record our own news broadcast while we were there! Very cool place.


After the Sony Lab, we thought we'd wander down to Central Park. Along the way, I spotted the side entrance to F.A.O. Schwarz, and couldn't resist...




Finally, we made it to Central Park!


The boys ran around the park for a while, and I tried to decide where to go next. The boys were thirsty, and I remembered that the Manhattan LDS Temple was just a couple of blocks away, and they would probably have a drinking fountain there. Not only did they have a drinking fountain, but the kind man at the church relations desk also had a bowl full of chocolate to share with my three famished boys. Hallelujah!


The boys were so tired of walking by then, but I managed to drag them to a food stand in front of the American Museum of Natural Life, where we ate surprisingly delicious hamburgers, hot dogs, gyros, and tanked up on Gatorade. Then, it was on to the Museum!




We decided to take the Subway back to the hotel, and after taking a train in the wrong direction for a few stops, we finally got turned around and made it back to 32nd and Broadway. I cannot describe the thrill I felt coming up out of the Subway terminal and seeing that we had actually ended up in the right spot! Whew! What a relief!!!


Justin finished his class at 4:30pm, and although the boys and I had already had a full day of sightseeing, Dad was just getting started! So, we hit the streets again. We took the Subway to Chinatown, walked through Little Italy, and eventually made it to Ground Zero, where we grabbed a pizza and gobbled it down before going through the extensive security set up at the entrance of the new 9/11 Memorial. There we saw the two giant pools, set in the footprints of the fallen twin towers, and gazed up at the new towers under construction. The feeling there was heavy, and sweet, and hard to describe. But I'm certainly glad we could experience it.




It was already past bedtime, but we couldn't rest without experiencing Times Square for ourselves! There, we crowded around street performers, experienced the crazy huge Toys R Us, M&M Store, Hershey's Store, and discovered Nintendo World! Need I say more?





Friday, it rained. And rained. And rained. Luckily, I had looked at the weather forecast before our trip, and brought rain boots and ponchos for everyone. The hotel concierge suggested we take the bus to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, so we could see things along the way. After taking fifteen minutes to go three blocks, however, we hopped off the bus and looked for the subway. The one we found was a lot bigger than any we had seen before, and before long we realized that we were in Grand Central Station! (The boys recognized it from the movie Madagascar.) Too cool!


We took the Subway to Central Park, and then splashed in puddles all the way to the Met., where we looked at Roman statues and Egyptian mummies. By then, the boys were on sensory overload, and we had to leave before the security guard trailing us had an aneurism.


We picked up Dad at the hotel and wandered into a spooky looking place called Jekyll & Hyde for dinner. The boys loved the entertainment, but the food left something to be desired, and the bill about made me choke on my sub-par tortilla wrap.


On Saturday, Justin didn't have class, so we saved the best for last and spent the morning at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Another surreal place that pictures just don't do justice.



After lunch, we went back to Times Square where Justin stood in line for discount Broadway tickets while the kids and I hit the Disney Store to find a birthday present for Eden. (She turned 4 on Thursday. Go ahead. Ask me if I felt guilty abandoning my baby girl on her birthday. Don't worry. She was fine. Grandma spoiled her rotten while we were gone.)

We killed some time at Central Park, where Brandon got volunteered to be part of a street performance. Some break dancer dude did a crazy flip over the top of him and a half dozen other people. That totally made his day.



On our way to Radio City Musical Hall, we picked up some .99 pizza and $10 cookies (exactly the way it should be, right?) We found a spot on Broadway to sit and people-watch until the Cirque Du Soleil show started. While waiting, Brandon spotted a billboard that he thought was funny. "Hey look!" He said. "That sign says, 'Whoever invented morning sex forgot about morning breath.' That's funny!" Justin and I looked at each other with wide eyes and silently swore we'd never bring kids to NYC again.

Cirque Du Soleil was unreal. It was crazy to see what those people could do with their bodies! I left the show with the sudden overwhelming desire to do push-ups and eat all organic food. The performance was absolutely amazing!




Sunday morning, we caught the first flight home, and were glad to do so. Three days in NYC were plenty! It was a fun and exciting adventure, but it was so nice to get back to our cozy quiet town, our comfy big beds, and our soft, squishy babies. Eden and Kade were a sight for this mama's sore eyes! It is sure good to be home.