NYC Vacation

Here are our pics. Remember to click on slideshow for the full picture and caption.

Saturday, September 13th: We had a bright and early flight into NYC. As you all know, we like a little adventure with our vacations, so the start of this vacation would not disappoint. Prior to our last vacation, we decided to purchase an additional umbrella stroller. If you are a parent, you know these little gems well. They collapse easily, are efficient, easy to maneuver, and will not break your bank if they are lost. Well, that's just what happened. Somehow, American Airlines managed to load one but not both strollers. Thank goodness, we brought along our Bjorn carrier. While Mark and Harper collected all of our checked luggage, Pierce and I went and filed a claim with the baggage office. Next we caught a cab, a nice new spacious SUV cab. Mark and the cabbie were loading our luggage, while I installed both carseats. No sooner was I finished getting a tight installation on both seats, Mark realized one of the bags we had was the wrong bag. Doh!! Mark talked the driver into waiting while he ran back into the airport to get the correct bag (note to self: put bright colored marker of some sort on inconspicuous black bag). However, the cabbie started getting antsy so I told him we'd catch another car. I chuckled to myself when he pulled out with another passenger only moments before we did in a new cab. So there we were, off to Manhattan for Pierce's 3rd trip into the City and Harper's 1st. After checking into our hotel--which was a very large suite--we ordered take out from our favorite pizza parlor right next door. Our pizza had cheese (of course), roasted red and green peppers, and fresh basil. It was accompanied by a Sicilian salad with greens, mozzarella, black olives, capers, tomatoes, roasted peppers, carrots, artichokes and delicious homemade Italian dressing. It was fabulous. Next we caught a train to Madison Square Park to meet up with two families from my online message board. This is the 3rd time we've met Heather and her family from Philly (she has 2 boys--one who is a week younger than Pierce). We also got to meet Linda and her family from New Jersey for the 1st time this trip (she has 3 boys--one who is 5 days older than Pierce). Pierce had a fun time playing with the other boys at the park. It was a nice lil' enclosed park near the Flatiron building. It was extremely hot and muggy this day. We try to go out of our way to vacation places where it will be cooler than Texas, but alas, it didn't happen this time. Before leaving from our lil' tri-state playdate, we listened to some musicians. Pierce got to show off some of his air guitar playing (a skill he's been fine tuning on his real guitar--a birthday gift from Papaw Mark). For dinner we picked up some take out from a Greek restaurant that we've frequented before. We started with dolmades which are grape leaves stuffed with rice, tomatoes, sweet peppers, and pine nuts served with a yogurt sauce. Mark and I both opted for the same entree--lamb shanks baked in a clay pot with orzo, tomatoes, and kefalotryi cheese. In my opinion, this was the meal of the trip. For dessert we had almond cake.

Sunday, September 14th: We started with a breakfast of oatmeal made with milk and topped with brown sugar and multi-grain pancakes. I called the airline again because after being reassured repeatedly that our stroller would be on the next flight to LGA and delivered to our hotel suite, it still hadn't arrived. After some time on hold and some time searching, American Airlines informs me (in a round about way) that our stroller is lost. They decide to give us a $75 travel voucher for our inconvenience and reimburse us the cost of a new stroller. Not a bad deal considering Mark and Pierce were able to pick up a new umbrella stroller at the Times Square Toys R Us for $20 during Harper's morning nap. Mark asked what color I'd like him to look for before he and Pierce headed out. I told him to look for something neutral........if they have khaki get that so it'll match our current stroller. Otherwise get grey (the color of the lost stroller). I then went on to tell him it didn't really matter much, just don't get something too loud i.e fluorescent orange. I'll be darned if he didn't waltz back into our hotel room pushing P in a fluorescent orange stroller. Apparently color choices were limited. Next we headed to lunch at our all time favorite restaurant in the West Village. They serve the best Middle Eastern fare with the freshest pillowy pita bread. Their speciality is an ouzi which is chicken, carrots, sweet peas, onions, golden raisins, almonds, basmati rice, and secret spices all enclosed in phyllo dough. It's fabulous and not to be missed. According to Mark, this was the meal of the trip (a very close 2nd in my opinion). After afternoon naps, we went to an obscure lil' park within Central Park in the Upper Westside (Diana Ross Playground) and picked up some dinner. We had Peruvian rotisserie chicken, plantains, and verde rice (rice with cilantro, peas, and carrots). For dessert we had a scrumptious chocolate mousse cake and a yogurt lemon bar.

Monday, September 15th: We ate breakfast at our hotel--nothing fancy just breads, cereals, coffee, juice,etc. While Harper napped, Mark and Pierce went shopping for some Yankees game gear. Then we all went to FAO Schwarz to pick up our traditional souvenirs for the kids--teddy bears. You all may recall from past visits that teddy bears from FAO were the very 1st baby items we purchased both Pierce and Harper during our pregnancies. It's tradition now to get a bear every visit. Pierce now has 4 and Harper has 2. After picking out the perfect teddy bears, we went to a local Indian restaurant for their lunch buffet. Highlights of this meal were lamb curry and pumpkin bhaji (small pieces of red pumpkin with aromatic spices). Next we went back to the hotel for afternoon naps before our big evening plans. Once well rested, we went to a baseball game at Yankees Stadium (Yankees last homestand ever in the house that Babe built) against the White Sox. Mark has been looking forward to taking Pierce to this game for many months. Imagine our disappointment to find that, despite showing up at 5 pm when the gates opened, they had already closed Monument Park for the day due to the volume of people. We'd have to admire the park from afar and our farewell to the baseball greats from our trip in May '07 will have to do. Pierce had a great time cheering for each new batter, especially Jeter who on the previous night tied Gehrig's record of most hits ever in Yankee stadium (he broke this record the following night). I can't explain how many flash bulbs were going off all over the stadium when it was his turn in the batting rotation. We went with the intentions of not staying long, and were not disappointed when we decided to leave after only 1 inning (hey, that's one more half inning than we stayed during the game we went to last season against the Bo Sox). The kids did great (we didn't leave b/c they were acting up or anything), more just to keep with routine (those with kids will understand). We had seen what we came for and headed out. Once the gate security guards reminded us that we wouldn't be able to re-enter after exiting, we stepped out of the historical park. The security guard reminded Mark, "Aren't you gonna say goodbye". Blowing the stadium a kiss, we turned and walked away. The guard questioned Mark's allegiance to the Yankees by saying, "What kind of fan are you, I have to remind you to say goodbye?!". Perhaps he didn't notice our son was wearing a Texas Rangers ball cap. We ate dinner at the stadium of course--hot dogs for Mark and I and chicken strips and french fries for Pierce. What baseball game wouldn't be complete without a helmet sundae for dessert??

Tuesday, September 16th: We had a quick breakfast at our hotel room and a laid back morning. While Harper napped, Pierce and Mark went to Henschler Playground in Central Park. Once Harper was well rested, we headed to Bryant Park for lunch. We ate a lunch of turkey and chicken paninis with chilled cucumber soup and marinated chickpeas. Next it was afternoon nap time. Once both babies woke up, we headed to Central Park to visit our beloved Gapstow Bridge where Mark and I were engaged 5 1/2 years ago. It's tradition to take a picture on our bridge and we were thrilled to include Harper in her 1st picture on Gapstow. Next we did a lil' window shopping on 5th Avenue We ordered delivery from a Moroccan restaurant for dinner. We had a chickpea soup for starters. The entree was meat (chicken for Mark and Pierce, lamb for me), seven veggies (carrot, sweet potato, cabbage, chickpeas, zucchini, squash, onion) and the best couscous I've ever had. For dessert , I opted for a slice of Rocky Road Macadamia Nut Cheesecake. It was a slice of cheesecake that probably weighed a pound, but Pierce and I savored every last bite. Mark went back for more chocolate mousse cake instead.

Wednesday, September 17th: We didn't do much this day b/c we were busy getting ready for our afternoon flight. Breakfast was continental style in our hotel. Pierce and Mark went to Columbus Circle and back to Henscler Playground again while Harper napped. After Harper's morning nap, we squeezed in a quick visit to the Central Park Zoo. It's a small zoo, rather quaint but there are a few exciting animals. We saw polar bears, red pandas, penguins, monkeys, and seals. Once checking out of the hotel, we caught a cab back to LGA for our flight home. In our usual exciting vacation fashion, we had to sit on the runway for about 45 minutes in LGA before taking off due to heavy traffic. Our babies did wonderfully though and handled the delays with grace.

We had yet another fabulous family vacation. We had an awesome time but it's good to have some peace and quiet at home too.. Is it me, or does someone always seem to get sick on our vacations? This time it was Mark. These next few days will prove whether or not the rest of us are affected. Pierce had a really fun time seeing all of the exciting sites of the city. He's proving every day how much he's growing into a lil' boy, favoring to walk most places instead of riding in the stroller. Harper had multi-grain cereal for the 1st time this trip. She also had her very first taste of fruits (we introduce all the veggies first)--she had pears and bananas. She learned to clap while we were on vacation too. Both kids delighted New Yorkers and tourists alike in our hotel, on the trains, and at area attractions. Even the most disgruntled commuter was hard pressed not to flash our cuties a smile.