A few weeks ago, just before Thanksgiving, I went on a little “girls trip” to New York City. I used to go every year to NYC, usually with my Mom and sister and maybe a friend or two, just for a weekend of girl time, which usually consisted of: shopping, eating good food, drinking some wine, catching a Broadway show or two, and just paling around.
This year was special because my sister and I brought our daughters. Every since the girls were born my Mom has had this trip planned, where she could take her granddaughters to some Broadway shows, The Radio City Hall Rockettes Christmas show, and to tea at The American Girl Store. You know, that huge doll store filled with overpriced but cute dolls and clothing. :-) Now that Jordan is 4 1/2, and my niece Morgan is 7, we figured it was the perfect time to take them.
I thought I would divide the images up into two posts. The first being our personal time in the city and experiences and things we did, while in the second post I’ll share some of the city images I captured while there.
For cousins, these two are quite close; they usually pick right back up where they left off. (I love it when little kids have these serious and emphatic conversations about topics very important to them – sometimes it’s quite hilarious!)
On our first evening there, we walked through Times Square up to the HUGE, Toys R Us. This was another thing Grandma had on her to-do list for the girls. The four-story-tall-store has an actual ferris wheel in it. And I’m not talking some kids-fair-sized ferris wheel. This sucker was tall!
My sister got the lone cart…
Yes, that is me between two My Little Ponies. The things we learn to love for our children :-)
It was fun at first. And then it ran a little long. We had shopping to do!
After they each picked out a new toy (compliments of Great Grandma GiGi) in the largest Barbie section I have ever seen, we headed to dinner at this cafe called Ellen’s Stardust Diner where striving broadway actors sing oldie and newbie songs, hoping to get discovered. I guess they have a pretty good track record as many of them do end up on Broadway. I put the camera down for dinner since there was food, wine and conversation to be had. Experience was fun; food was okay.
After dinner, we took the girls on a horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park. Jordan told me the other day this was her favorite part of the trip. (Initially it was seeing the huge Princess & The Frog billboard in Times Square.)
I think they liked it.
My sister with our daughters. I adore this image with all my heart.
This one too…
The next morning we didn’t have an agenda, just to go ice skating in Central Park and maybe hit a museum.
We stepped inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral and from that, came another personal shot I love of my sister and daughter. It’s almost as though Jordan is looking to my sister for direction, for some wisdom, and my sister is looking ahead… for perhaps the same thing?
And then we headed over to the park to find the ice skating rink. I wanted to allow for plenty of distractions along the way.
My sister Shannon
The park has these magnificant rocks all throughout – perfect climbing rocks for childhood.
We found the rink…
And ice-skated. It was Jordan’s first time ever on skates so it was a tad challenging teaching her to get a feel for it, but she still had fun and loved it, so that is the important thing. My back was quite strained afterwards from bending over so much trying to hold her between my legs!
This one my Mom took with my iPhone.
After skating, it started to rain… and I don’t quite remember what she was pouting about ;-)
The girls mimicking my sister hailing a cab. This was pretty darn funny for us!
The girls successfully flagged one down! And who knew they all have TV’s in them now?!
Back at the hotel for a little quiet time before dinner. Jordan, in true Jordan form, refused a late afternoon nap, so she quietly played while Morgan slept. And for some reason I just love this image.
The next day was Friday, the one day we had some specific plans: The Radio City Hall Rockettes Christmas Spectacular (which is a really enjoyable show if you get the chance) and then afternoon tea at The American Girl Store. Jordan woke up that morning sluggish and quiet, not her normal self. I could tell she didnt feel very well but she kept saying she was okay. We walked over to Radio City Music Hall and by the time the show started she had gone completely downhill; spiked a very high fever and crawled up in my lap holding her head and fell asleep. I felt terrible for her since she felt so bad and couldnt even enjoy it, and I know she would have so loved it. (Her favorite show is Dancing with the Stars and she LOVES dancing, so the Rockettes would have been the cats meow for her – bummer!!) So I carried her out of the show and eventually back to the hotel where she was quite sick for the rest of the day. We missed tea and The American Girl store that afternoon, but all things considered it could have been a lot worse if she had stayed very ill for the whole trip. Luckily, she felt much better the next day (which was our last day) and had no more fever, so we decided to do something a little easy for her. She had wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, so we did one of those Hudson River boat tour things, which I have never done before. It was an interesting way to see Lower Manhattan, and the first hour was quite novel for the girls, and us.
Below, looking through the glass of the windows towards Lower Manhattan, minus the Twin Towers. Speaking of, we did not walk around that area on this trip, but I did go a few years after 9/11 and it was a very powerful experience. There is a heaviness that lingers in the air there, something you can tangibly feel. It’s amazing that 8 years later, there still is not a memorial built in its place. I guess there is so much politics around what to build and not to build that nothing has been done in all this time. I think I read somewhere that the Empire State Building (NYC’s tallest building once again) was built in 14 months, so it’s kind of sad when you consider the time it would take to build some sort of memorial. Politics for you.
I only brought two lenses with me (myCanon 16-35mm f/2.8 and my Canon 50mm f/1.2) so I couldn’t get a super close up of Lady Liberty.
Me and my girl – compliments of my sissy :-)
But at two hours roundtrip, it was one hour too long. Boredom eventually set in and Jordan was ready to exit!
After the cruise, we headed over to the Upper West Side because we wanted to grab lunch and then go to the Museum of Natural History, (and not just because it’s where “Night at The Museum” was ‘filmed’ – one of Jordan’s favs). We walked through the brownstone lined streets along the way and took more photos…
I love this shot of the girls with my Mom.
The museum was a pretty big hit with the girls.
Especially the Marine Room:
Afterwards, we cut back through the park to make our way to the Upper East Side, and so I could take Jordan to the American Girl Store since she missed her chance the day before. I took lots of park scenic images on our walk, and will share several more in the next post. The park was soooooo beautiful!!
The man blowing big bubbles was a big hit!
Before leaving the park, we enjoyed some hot chocolate at The Boat House (I think that is what it was called) in the park. It just doesnt get any better than this!
Afterwards, Jordan and I did make it to the American Girl store so she could see it and pick out a dolly outfit, as I had promised. The store itself was very crowded, and almost overwhelming, but what I remember most about that evening is our walk back to our hotel at dusk. Just she and I, with her holding my hand, striding confidently down a busy 5th Avenue. We talked some, but even in all the unspoken walking, it was a moment for me. I don’t what in particular made that so special to me, or why it’s burned itself into my memory, but that is usually how it is with my kids. These small, simple moments in between the bigger moments that leave such a lasting impression on my heart.
I wish I could have stepped outside of myself to take a picture of us walking down that street so I could give it to her one day as a momento of our mother-daughter time at this point her life. To tell her how much I treasured our time together there, in one of my favorite cities, and how proud I am that she seemed to relish all of the things that I love about it too. The energy that comes from being there. The wonder of exploring new places. The little adventures you have along the way, like taking the long unexpected detour through Central Park, where she and I lagged behind and she asked, “Mom, did God make you a photographer?” That conversation is what I will always remember about this image.
So many little moments like these are what fill me up as a Mom. The days like yesterday when I asked her what the best part of her school holiday party was, and she said, “Having you there in the classroom with me” is what makes being a Mom so rewarding. As my sister said, the things that children remember the most is the time that we give them. The walks, the talks, the moments in between. They wont remember the toys, they’ll remember the time. I know this is true for me with my memories of my parents and my childhood. I also know this is a true as a mother and why this trip was so special to me. I hope it will be a good memory for Jordan too.
by jenjoaz
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