Trip to New York- Part 1

We visited New York a couple weeks ago, and it was such a fun getaway from normal life.  We decided to bring Jaxon along with us, which was pretty difficult when traveling (especially on the Subway), but everything ended up turning out okay and we had a great time.  He did really well on the plane ride as long as we kept him busy with snacks, toys, books, and anything else interesting.

Hanging out in Woodbury, NY
The first 3 days of our trip, Robie was working at his convention.  We were in a city called Woodbury, about 45 minutes from New York City.  We stayed HERE thanks to Robie's work, and it was such a nice hotel.  We loved it, and they had a huge breakfast and dinner every day for us to eat.  They also had fresh baked cookies in their lobby at all times, and Jax and I definitely took advantage of that.  I was really wanting to see New York City, so I was a little sad I was stuck in a hotel room the first 3 days of our trip, but it turned out working out since it rained the first 3 days anyway.  Hanging out in the hotel was pretty relaxing, and Jax and I just watched TV, movies, and took long naps throughout the first few days.  The hotel had the fluffiest white robes too, so I practically just lived in them while we were there.  Jax and I took a taxi to the local mall (which had a full Target and IKEA attached to it), and we did a little shopping for some cute outfits to wear when we finally got in the city...including this cute puppy hat for Jax.

NYC and Learning the Subways
On our fourth day in New York, we took a taxi to Queens to check into our second hotel.  When we got into our room, I immediately missed our old hotel.  Our new hotel was nice, it was just REALLY small.  It was like a jigsaw puzzle every day trying to move the stroller, luggage, and crib around.  We chose our hotel because it was really close to the Subway, so we could get into the city really fast.

Once we figured out the Subway system, it was pretty easy to get places.  The hardest thing about the Subway was traveling with Jax's stroller.  We opted with his big jogging stroller instead of his little umbrella stroller, so he could take naps while we were out in the city.  I still think it was a good choice, but our arms were sore from carrying the giant jogging stroller up and down the Subway stairs 5 times a day.  We got a week long Subway pass, and that was totally worth it with all the times we took it.  The Subways were not as scary as I thought they would be, but we definitely saw some interesting people on it.

Manhattan
When we walked off the Subway and got into the city, it was like we were in a movie.  It was exactly like I thought it would be- tall buildings everywhere, street performers on every corner, yellow taxis on the streets, and people in suits briskly walking with their briefcases.  It was hard to get a lot of pictures in the city, because everyone is moving at such a fast pace.  If you stop for more than two seconds in one spot, you pretty much get glared at or trampled.  It was fun walking on all the well known streets and seeing so many buildings and places I have heard and seen on TV.

What's the first thing I did when we got in the city?  Buy a hot dog off the hot dog cart, of course!

Central Park
I loved Central Park.  I think it was the only family friendly place in the whole city.  The trees were beautiful, and there was so much to see and do.  We walked around and found this little ice skating rink where they were holding lessons for little kids.  We really wanted to visit this little petting farm at the Central Park Zoo, but it was closed for remodeling.  Instead, we just looked at some of the animals in the main part of the zoo.

FAO Schwarz and Toys 'R Us
Robie and I really embraced our inner child on this trip.  We didn't see the Empire State builiding, but you bet we made it a priority to go to FAO Schwarz!  We were like kids in a candy store...literally. Jax and I even got to play The BIG PIANO (Do you know the movie that's from?  Plus 10 points for you!)  It was magical!  Jaxon loved playing that thing, and everyone thought he was so adorable crawling back and forth on the keys.  He didn't want to leave it.  We also visited the giant Toys 'R Us, and enjoyed looking at all the fun things they had.  

Jaxon would not leave his socks on- as seen below.  People always kept asking us why he was only wearing one sock.

Robie pointing out Optimus Prime's "gasket tank"

Metropolitan Museum of Art
During our second day in NYC, I really wanted to visit the Met.  I didn't think Robie would have much fun, so I didn't think it would happen.  To my surprise, he bought the tickets and was totally supportive to go.  We didn't realize just how huge the museum was, and we spent a good hour looking at pottery and statues before we realized we needed to pick up the pace if we were going to see everything.  That plan crashed and burned when Jaxon decided to give us a preview of what the terrible twos will be like.  He threw a huge crying fit right when we got to the Monet's, Picasso's, and Van Gogh's.  It was so embarrassing!  We took him to the lobby to get him under control.  After 30 minutes and no progress, Robie told me to enjoy the museum by myself while he tried to get Jaxon to sleep.  It was so amazing seeing so many paintings I have always wanted to see.  I just stared and stared at them in awe.  Robie eventually met back up with me when Jaxon fell asleep, and we enjoyed walking around until the museum was almost closed.  When we left the museum, I felt like we had missed so much.  We looked at the map and realized we had missed the whole second half of the museum- including the Egyptian wing.  We were so sad, because that was something we really wanted to see, but we were happy for the things we did get to see.  If Jaxon wouldn't have thrown a tantrum, we probably would have gotten to see it all, but I guess that's the sacrifice you pay sometimes when you have a kid.

Times Square
When we left the Met, we got on the Subway headed for Times Square.  When we got off the Subway, it was like we were in a different world.  The lights made it look like it was day time, and everything was HUGE!  It was pretty awesome.  We walked around for a bit and ate at Famous Dave's- Times Square style.

(Read the next post for Part 2 of our trip)