I'm back from THE City. She was good. She didn't change too much and she still had so much to share. Our trip was packed to the brim. Did you expect any less? I think I am BEGINNING to realize that this may not always be the best. Seven days of travel is a bit of a stretch for two toddlers, especially in the city that never sleeps. I don't know how to even begin describing the amazingly satisfying trip we lived through. In many ways this trip mirrored life - there's the good, the bad and ... the miscellaneous. So, I thought the best and most efficient way of describing our journey would be to divide it into 3 categories.
Highlights from our trip:
- Children's Museum of Manhattan - a whole floor devoted to Dora and a water play yard
- Missing my 10 yr reunion, but getting the skinny from Suzi
- POP at the Bronx Zoo - hitting all 7 major rides/exhibits at the zoo and getting our money's worth
- Picnicking at Bear Mountain, which I kept calling Big Bear because I'm from SoCal, and sharing unwanted carbs with the geese.
- Good food - Good enough to eat brunch, NY deli, Gameok (best gakktugui kimchi in the world), Vietnamese, endless Italian, and of course Cha's meatloaf
- Not wanting to grow up at the world's largest Toys R Us, riding a ferris wheel INSIDE the store, and a Barbie mansion almost as big as our home
- Exploring Central Park - John Olmstead you are a genius
- Getting my Costco fix
- Being Cha's sous chef and catching up with New Hopers
- Adult conversation after the kids were down
- Natural History Museum - what is real and what is fake?
- Horse-drawn carriage around Central Park and taking in the skyline, which poked above all the trees
- 24-hour Mac store and the kids being brainwashed by Cathy Imo
- Getting ready to go out at night at 11, just the ladies (like the good old days)
- The 1/9 train uptown
- Broadway shake, new and improved fries, and kauwfee tawk among girls
- Enjoying Cuban food overlooking the dock at South Street Seaport
- Riding the Staten Island Ferry for free. "Hey, we're in Staten Island... Ok... Hmmm... Well... Time to get back on the ferry."
- Seeing Lady Liberty
Lowlights:
- Watching half of King Kong and never getting to the part with the gorilla
- Being outnumbered and overpowered by a swarm of toddlers, and tranquilizing them with Dora
- Jenny and Jimmy's encounter with a raccoon on the Sawmill, losing a bumper and an unfortunate visit to the ER
- Crazy, cacophonic, impromptu "jazz" at the park
- Learning that I can no longer buy tokens for the subway (and getting puzzled stares from the MTA attendant)
- Crosstown traffic and ridiculous parking fees
- Missing the Zephyr
- Suffering the wrath of missed naptimes
- Taking it all off and taking everything apart at the security check with 2 toddlers in tow
Randomness:
- Being regular again after a shopping trip to Target (now I know of 3 things that can make me go: bookstores, the internet and Target)
- Meeting colonials who think they're still living in the 18th century and talk about slavery a bit too much
- Fighting off mutant sheep with ram's horns and dog's tails, sawing lumber, cleaning lavender, milking angry cows and thrashing wheat
- Learning the difference between a heifer, a cow, an ox and a bull; and witnessing an adult try to explain the concept of neutering an animal to a group of kids
- Paying money so we can be suckered into doing work, again and again; do they have child labor laws in NY?
- Getting hit on by Billy Joel
- How many NYC public workers does it take to change a lightbulb in the train station? Seven. Two to climb up the ladders, one to clip his fingernails, and four to blow their whistles when the train comes.
- Learning from Queen Latifa and LL Cool J that you have to live your life to the fullest and not waste anything.
- Gaining sage wisdom and discovering that we are all cut from different cookie cutters.
Priceless.
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