Visiting Lady Liberty, landmarks, and toy stores

The next morning we drove for a little over an hour to New York City! It is very strange that I have been an East Coast resident for all of my life except 5 years and that I have never been to NYC. Danny has before in fact he went with his dad and brothers last summer. So he somewhat knew his way around. Comfortable enough to drive into the city and to some neat landmarks that we wanted to see. First stop, Statue of Liberty. We didn't go on the Island, but were still pretty close. It was a very cold morning and we encountered snow flurries both in PA and NY. Here we are checking out Lady Liberty.

I loved the skipping on the way there!

There she is!

Oooooooh, good impressions. Even Baby Grant is participating in the funny pose.

We really are thankful for the freedom that we enjoy in this country and enjoyed seeing a classic symbol of our freedom!

From there we could also see Ellis Island,

the Empire State Building in some fog(smog?),

and the rest of the city.

Then we drove into the city, through some pretty parts of town might I add. We drove through China town. Danny thought it would be fun to look around there. I didn't feel the same way! I like shopping from time to time, but really, 3 kids in Chinatown would be miserable! We kept driving and drove over the

Brooklyn Bridge

and the Manhattan Bridge.

I took these pictures as we were driving on the bridges, so please ignore the poor quality. I tried to edit them as best I could.

I was serious when I said that Danny felt comfortable driving there. That being said, I was anything but comfortable driving there! It was so stressful just being in the car! I just knew for sure that we would be hit or that we would hit a pedestrian or another car, probably a crazy taxi. Traffic laws are mere suggestions in NYC. I was the worst backseat driver(riding shotgun) on the planet that day. Sorry Danny. It wasn't you. It was New York. And while I am being honest about my emotions, the whole day, while intermingled with seeing and doing amazing things, was really stressful to me. I used to think that I was more of a city person, but apparently no longer! It was not the place for me to be with kids. I was terrified of losing a child, having a child fall into the subway pit and be hit by a train, and every other crazy thought that a paranoid mother might have. I may look calm on the outside, but on the inside I was frazzled. Fortunately, distance has caused my heart to feel fonder. I am glad that we took the trip, endured the panic in my mind, and saw and did the fun things we did.

OK, back to those fun things that we saw and did...

I jumped out of the car briefly to take a picture of the Victory Arch. 'Oops, there is an officer there. I better get back in quickly!'

We also drove by Grand Central Station. We parked in a parking deck really close to the station. Don't even ask how much it cost to park! Eeek- that was a third of the cost of the whole trip(well our out of pocket cost anyway.) Oh well, we couldn't really have enjoyed NY if we didn't get to park.

The rest of what we saw was on foot. We walked by

Radio City Music Hall

Our hotel for the night(HA!) and

Money, money,money, money...Trump Tower. I love The Apprentice(just haven't been as into the current season).

The kids did such a great job walking! We were proud of them for holding hands and obeying so nicely. Victoria and Dad were partners for a lot of the day and Christian and I were a little team too. Victoria and Dad were really quick and noticed lots of neat things. Baby Grant was a champ too. He took it all in when he was awake and slept a good amount too. I don't remember him crying once. And I sure had a fun time walking with Christian. It was a lot of walking, but he made it fun by jumping over cracks or only stepping on lines. It was also fun playing the smile game. We smile at people and see if they smile back. Unfortunately, not too many people smiled back- it is so fast paced there. It made me sad that so many people were so focused and busy that they didn't notice a cute 3 year old flashing them a huge smile. It usually works in grocery stores and malls around Richmond. I did it all the time in high school- flashing smiles at people is a great way to make friends and to feel happy. In spite of our difficulty in NYC I think we'll play again.

We walked by a Disney store and checked that out. Then we stopped at F.A.O Schwartz.

Hello toy soldier.

This guy did the Rubik's cube in under a minute while he talked to us. Victoria thought her cousin Donovan might like to know about that. The kids had fun looking at and playing with the toys. Is that Kangaroo in V's coat? Crazy Kangaroo!

The kids used some of their spending money on some candy there. We enjoyed a nice little break outside while they ate their fun gummies.

Then we took a subway ride to Time's Square!

Christian and Grant's first subway ride.

How exciting! Look at this goofy-faced boy.

We didn't really get any great Time's Square shots. My bad. But, we did get one in front of Toys R' Us and the ABC building.

"Be on the Lookout" Right after we took that picture and I put the camera away we had our second star spotting. (The commisioner of the NFL was the first. He and Danny nearly collided on a busy crosswalk earlier in the day.) Billy Ray Cyrus was in the front seat of a black town car(SUV though) with the window rolled down. I told Danny, "look over my shoulder". He must have seen my double take and whisper so he waved at Danny. Then he waved again when I told Victoria and Christian, "That's Hannah Montana's dad!" Victoria was so excited! Ms. Cyrus is so popular now and her movie was opening two days later. So the timing was fun. I am guessing that V and I may need to go see that on a girls night sometime soon.

Next we explored legos, superheros, dinosaurs, Barbie's house and more at Toy's R Us! Though less famous, we thought it was more fun than FAO

We rode on the indoor Ferris wheel! Nice Job with the pictures, Danny!

Pretty tall, huh?

M&M car, how fitting!

We ate a super late lunch at a nearby pizza place. Afterwards, we were ready to say Adios to the big apple. We walked and walked back to the deck where we parked and headed out right as evening rush hour was starting.

The drive out was almost as horrendous as the drive in. Danny just told me to close my eyes. I wish I had listened. So, the drive out of the city wasn't so great, but it was a great family vacation.

Hopefully these detailed blog entries (family journal entries) will help us remember our fun adventures one day!