It is 4:30am on Thursday as I am writing this post. I apologize for the spelling and grammar errors you may encounter but I will go back and edit these posts after our trip when I have more time :P.
Our flight actually touched down on time! But then we proceeded to wait on the tarmac for 35 minutes because the plane currently at our gate was delayed. It was no big deal though because it meant we had a few more minutes of rest before the chaos began.
Ari had asked during the flight if he could see the cockpit and he was told to come to the front after we landed. We decided to let others off before us until the leaners arrived but as we made our way up we were informed that the pilots had already left. It makes sense since we were already so delayed. So we made our way out of the airport.
Tavis checked the price of an UberX… $160!!! Nope! So we decided to follow the signs to the Air Tram which took us to Jamaica Station. It was very well marked, and there was no fee to get on. It is actually really well done because you way when you leave the Air Tram at Jamaica Station. The cost is $4.25/person and you just tap your card. After talking the helpful worker, I tapped myself through and Tavis tapped each of the kids and himself. It was super easy! Then we made our way to the subway and took the E line. We talked to customer service to see if we could do the same thing and she assured us we could. Tavis tapped one of the boys through, then it wouldn’t allow him to get anyone else. I tapped Ayva through and I was denied. As they waited on the other side, Tavis and I went back to customer service. She explained that the metro uses a different system and you can only tap 1 person for each card. She was super nice though and gave the rest of us complimentary passes through the gate! In all, I believe it cost us just over $25 to get to Times Square!!!
We were surprised that the subway car we went in wasn’t crowded at al! We soon discovered why. The AC wasn’t working and it was very warm. We were all sweating hot but as we looked at the other cars we realized that they were quite packed so we stuck it out for the 35 minute ride to 50th where we happily got off. When we went up we were just half a block from our hotel which we easily found.
We arrived at The Manhatten at Times Square just after 9:00am. We planned to leave our bags and explore town. We were extremely happy to discover that our room was already cleaned and waiting for us. I am not sure if was because no one slept in it the night before, or because I had called the night before with our reservation info and let them know we were flying in at 7:00am. Either way, we were all very excited. And the receptionist was super nice! She gave us some ideas on how to spend our day… even though we didn’t end up doing any of it. Maybe tomorrow.
We made our way up to the suite at 1631 and we were pleasantly surprised at the size. Thank you Expedia for finding this place at half the cost of the other places! The hotel itself os nothing special with no fills, but it is clean and spacious. We have a huge bedroom with a king size bed, tv, desk, large bathroom and large closet. This room iteself is bigger than any hotel room we stayed at in Europe! It also had a kitchenette, large dinning room table, and large living room with 2 large couches that are also pull out beds. Granted the beds aren’t the most comfortable, it was perfect for us!
We took a few minutes to rest, enjoy the air conditioned room, and get settled. By 11:00 we decided to venture out and see what there was to see. We began walking toward Times Square. The kids were amazed at the size of everything and all the bright screens everywhere. It really is quite a site. There were food trucks and seemed like the only stores around were gift shops and fast food shops. We decided we definitely have to come back in teh evening!
We continued toward Penn Stadium and walked around it. We also took the kids down below to the metro area. It was a lot like Switzerland with the shops and everything below the streets in the air conditioning. A whole new world! We made our way back up to the street and decided to walk toward the World Trade Centre.
Around 12:00 everyone was starting to get hungry but we noticed we were in a completely different area and there weren’t many places to eat in our price range. We also didn’t feel like going to a sit down restaurant so we kept walking. We made our way through Washington Square park and eventually spotted a sandwich shop. Tavis and the kids got huge $12 sandwiches while I held out. We walked down the streel looking for a place to sit and eat and to my surprise, half a block down was a pizza place! I got a slice of cheese pizza for $1.50 and I was in heaven. The place was air conditioned and we decided to eat there. The guy at the till was also super nice and gave us lots of napkins.
By 1:00pm we had walked all the way to the World Trade Center and we were all amazed at the sheer size of the building . We also stopped at the 911 memorial which is really quite a site with the waterfalls. Ayva commented that the waterfalls were such a great way to commemorate the fallen towers.
Next we found a police officer and asked for directions to the nearest washroom to clean up after a fairly messy lunch. Quite close by down at the metro were nice washrooms and we all cleaned up and refilled the water bottles. It was about 32 degrees and sunny so we were going through our water quickly. Addison packed his bag and had brought Madison’s polaroid. He actually got some neat photos.
Once hydrated and clean, we decided to check out the free ferry to Staten Island. Our timing was perfect and with a bit of help from a traffic person, we easily found it. Again, we refilled the water bottles and water was nice and cold. When we got on, we were surprised at how busy the ferry was. We weren’t able to get seating outside with a good view of the Statue of Liberty but we rested our legs in the air conditioned seats inside with the intent to stay on the ferry and grab the seats when we arrived.
To our surprise, the ferry was not leaving right away and everyone had to get off and catch the other ferry already waiting at the other side. It seems like they have 3 ferries running the route and it leaves every 30 minutes. We got off and made our way back in like to the next ferry. We all got separated as we were boarding but we planned to meet at the top by the good seats. The kids got their first, then Tavis. I spotted some people going downstairs so I followed them. To my surprise, there were actually 3 levels! The locals stay at the bottom and it wasn’t crowded at all. The front of the ship was open and breezy. I went up to find the kids but only Tavis and Ari followed me back down. Eventually I went back up and convinced Ayva and Ari to come down to disembark from the bottom with the locals. It was a lot less crowded.
Next, Addison wanted to get a photo of the Brooklyn Bridge so we walked there. We got a good photo but Addison also wanted to check out a famous Instagram spot on the other side. I like walking over the bridge so we made our way up to it. It actually took almost 20 minutes just to get back far enough from the water front to enter the bridge. Once on the bridge, Addison and Ari stayed ahead. It was hot and there wasn’t a lot of wind, but it is so cool being above the cars and looking down. I also like the wooden slats that you walk on.
When we reached the other side we looked for the spot. We were mistaken though because it is not the Brooklyn bridge that you see, it is another bridge with the EMpire State building perfectly centered under it. We took a few photos and carried on. We had run out of water and Ari got impatiens so he grabbed the bottles and popped into a diner. How luckily that there was a water station right there and we filled everything up. We when made our way back to the Instagram spot for more photos after we determined that was in fact the spot.
From there, we made our way back to the metro to catch the C line back to Times Square. We decided to purchase a metro card but with our luck, the machine was out of order and we could not purchase one. Instead, we got creative. Tavis scanned the boys through on his phone. I scanned Ayva through on my watch, and Tavis and I went through on my phone. Not what we planned, but it got us home.
We reached our hotel just after 4:30. We had walked over 20 km. As we arrived back, the clouds started to roll in and there were a few rain drops. It was a nice change after such a hot day. Everyone passed out for a little bit before we went back out for dinner.
At 6:30 we started Googling where to eat. We finally agreed we would try out a place called Schnipper’s which had healthy options, burger, and milkshakes. We also checked the weather and saw that the rain was supposed to get quite heave by 7:30. The only problem is that Addison was sleeping and did not want to get up. We finally got him out of the room by 7:20.
The sky was dark and ominous and by that tine it was lightly raining. We had a 20 minute walk ahead of us. We got about 4 blocked before the sky opened and the heavy rain began. It was like walking through a waterfall. Everyone was huddled at store openings. At this point we were already wet. We checked out Applebees because that is where we were when the rain really started but none of us liked the menu and it was expensive. We decided to stick to our plan. That is when we started running. We ran across streets when cars were stopped, and got honked at a few times. Not the best parenting moment, but the streets were flooded, cars were backed up everywhere, and we had to keep up with Addison. I think that was the closest I felt to being a local.
When we arrived at the restaurant we were all soaked to the core. We looked like drowned rats and we asked if they would take us. The cashier laughed and gave us lots of paper town to help dry our hands and faces. In the end, it was a decent meal. I don’t know if it was worth the adventure as there were several fast food places a long the way that would have been just as good, but everyone enjoyed their meal. I did not like my chicken strips but I most definitely enjoyed the milkshake!
By the time we left the restaurant the rain had stopped. When we got back to the place we all took turns showering and everyone had to peel off their clothes. We also attempted to dry out our shoes on the air conditioner. We had an early night. I had my turn in the shower at 8:45 and I was fast asleep by 9:30pm.
Our first day in New York was quite an adventure. We covered a lot of ground and had an amazing adventure… And this was just Day 1. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring.