As we began to work with our summer dates and locations for the summer, we realised we had the opportunity to tour two cities that we’ve never done before . . . New York City and Washington, D.C.
To be honest, we’ve toured NYC before, but living just outside of it and commuting in was just not the most enjoyable experience. We truly came to loath the city. With so many friends who love NYC, we felt we really needed to give it another chance. So while Chris was working in the city (while Caleb was at gym camp), the girls and I flew in to spend a few days as tourists.
Tuesday
Our first surprise was the heat . . . and humidity. Oi! What a wake up call that was from cool London. Chris met our taxi at our Airbnb flat, helped us get settled, and walked back to his office.
The girls and I were pretty beat, but to get on schedule and tame our jet lag, we (or rather, I) decided to take a hike across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Brooklyn Bridge
The girls weren’t too keen on the walk, especially when there was a chance of rain. We hiked across in the heat and humidity, carrying our waterproof jackets.
And did I mention the wind??
As we hiked across, it was interesting to see that the Brooklyn Bridge was turning into a place to leave ‘love locks’ like the bridge in Paris.
Love Locks
Cami Finding Her Name
As we got to the other side of the bridge, we walked along the pier and stopped for an ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Company.
Ice Cream Stop
The thought of trekking back across the bridge, being hot and tired didn’t peak the girls’ interest, but it had to be done. As the city had opened up various water hydrants to make public drinking fountains, we ran to one as they were closing up shop to have our water bottles refilled for the walk.
Refill at the Water Hydrant
We made it back to our flat just in time, as the first rain sprinkles started. By the time we made it upstairs to turn on the air conditioner, it was pouring buckets. One thing for sure, we definitely earned our sleep that first night.
Wednesday
Two full days in the city . . . where to start?! We decided to cut the city in two parts – mid-town and southern. So on Wednesday, we hit mid-town!
American Museum of Natural History
Visiting Teddy Roosevelt
The best thing about our day was getting to spend a good chunk with our London friends, the Matheny’s. They live about a block away from everything so were the perfect tour guides and hang-out buddies! We sure do miss them in London!
Outside the Manhattan Temple
Beehive Outside Temple
After saying ‘see you later’ to the Matheny’s, the girls and I headed to Rockefeller Center to do “Top of the Rock.”
Atlas at Rock
We really had the perfect day to view the city. The girls were really into it as well and loved the fast glass-topped elevator ride.
On “Top of the Rock”
City View
Central Park View
Cami on Rock
When we had seen everything we had wanted to, we headed down and did a little shopping on 5th Avenue while we waited for Chris to meet up with us. We were grateful to find Forever 21 and H&M, probably the cheapest places on the strip! But the girls can each say they got something on “5th Avenue!”
As we met up with Chris, we ventured up the Empire State Building. Something we had never done before!
Empire State Lobby
Of course the first thing the kids noticed was the lobby from the movie “ELF.”
All the Way to Floor 102
The 360* views were really fun. It was interesting that you could look out the west side and see New Jersey, which was a completely different view from the other 3 directions.
Top of the Empire State Building
Views from Empire State
Trying to pack in as much as possible, we also took in the show, Finding Neverland. I was looking forward to seeing Kelsey Grammer perform, as he was billed as Captain Hook. Unfortunately, he wasn’t doing that performance, but we did get to see Matthew Morrison, from the show “Glee.”
Never really knowing how the kids view shows and musicals (because they really would rather be home), Emma surprised me by telling me this was probably her favorite musical we’ve seen. That was great to hear!
Times Square
Not to leave Times Square out of the cultural experience, we had to walk through it to leave the theatre district, giving the kids a taste of the ‘weirdness’, which consisted of women wearing nothing but body paint. Definitely eye-opening, to say the least.
Thursday
Our last full day of touring was definitely not as intense as the previous day. We chose to do the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which was a good 5 hour outing.
Ferrying Over to the Statue of Liberty
We really enjoyed doing the audio tour, the adult’s and children’s. We each got something out of it.
At Statue of Liberty
I remember years ago going with my family and we were able to climb all the way into Lady Liberty’s crown. Then when we lived in New Jersey, we went to the base. But, now depending on the security of the day, you mostly enjoy looking at her from the outside.
Up Close and Personal
Next stop . . . Ellis Island. When Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, the island actually flooded and many of the documents had to be moved, due to the climate control being compromised. They are still finishing that process then will move all those exhibits back. But, there was still plenty to see and enjoy. It was especially neat to see the LDS missionaries with a family history centre on site.
Registration Hall
Back in New York City, we wandered around on our way to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
New York Stock Exchange
Freedom Tower
The 9/11 Memorial is so worth the trip! Each hole where the towers’ foundations were are deep water pools flowing down into a center hole.
WTC Base Waterfall
Around each pool is a metal plate with the names of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (and February 26, 1993).
WTC Base
On nearby kiosks you are able to search for people who were killed. Each search turning up information about that individual’s life. Then it would direct you where to find their name around the pools.
Searching for Brady
We came in search of one person – Brady Howell, who served his mission in the Canary Islands with Chris. He was working in the Pentagon when it was hit on September 11th.
Seeing his name and personal information on the search screen made this experience more real for all of us.
The museum was truly heartbreaking, but beautiful at the same time. As we walked through and saw the replay of all the news footage from that day with photographs and other memorabilia, you could see the kids’ faces changing. This was on such a bigger scale than they had thought or could comprehend. They truly could not wrap their heads around why something like this would happen.
WTC Column
Before we could walk through the entire museum, the pictures, audio clips, and other artifacts became too much for some of us and we had to leave. Cami was convinced she was going to have nightmares and Hannah was determined she would never get on a plane again. The rest of us were just emotionally drained. But it will definitely be an experience we will never forget.
Friday
Our last few hours in New York City and the girls didn’t want to go too far. So we took in the big tourist attraction of the Raging Bull, fighting off others trying to do the same thing . . . just for one picture!
Raging Bull of NYC
After enjoying a leisurely lunch at the American establishment, TGI Fridays (checked off Emma’s ‘state-side restaurant wish-list’), we headed down to the riverfront to enjoy the sunshine. As we soaked in some more vitamin D and gazed out at the Statue of Liberty, we truly felt we did enjoy New York City. However, I think we all agreed, it’s better as a tourist!
Battery Park
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