My son had a fall break perfectly timed with his birthday, so the two of us decided to take a trip to NYC while Daddy stayed home with the girls. After landing in JFK and taking the subway everywhere, we finally found our hotel right in midtown Manhattan next to Penn Station. That was Day 1 - Just getting to the hotel!
Day 2 was spent at Ellis Island and seeing the Statue of Liberty. While in Battery Park and waiting in line to catch the ferry, we spotted Freedom Tower in the background. It's about four-fifths complete! (Glass building in the background). The day was incredibly gorgeous, so it was perfect weather to spend outdoors.
After getting off the ferry at Liberty Island, we decided to grab a snack. Apparently, the seagulls expect visitors to do this, and they patiently wait for their moment. My son ended up sharing his $3 hot dog with this one.
It was amazing to see his face light up when seeing our Lady Statue for the first time. It was closed for renovation, so we didn't stay long. Then, off to Ellis Island. This is where we spent most of the day. We found my great-grandfather's immigration papers! The first time he entered the US in 1894 from Germany (age 19), and the second time he returned from a visit in 1914 (age 39) as an American citizen.
Day 3 was rainy, so we spent the day touring all the buildings and shopping for souvenirs. Our first tour was of the NBC (GE) building. We saw rehearsals of Saturday Night Live, the studio where Brian Williams tapes the Nightly News, and how makeup artists are able to transform actors in a matter of minutes. We even had an opportunity to take our own "nightly news" picture.
Then, we headed to the tallest building around - the Empire State Building. We went up to the 86th floor at the perfect time of dusk. The lights of the city were all on, with a fading sunset over the horizon. Other than being extremely windy up there, it was worth the trip.
Day 4 was sunny again, so we spent our last day doing lots of walking. We got to the Museum of Natural History just before it opened, and spent at least half a day there. Our goal was to find all the exhibits from "Night at the Museum" movie. Our favorite exhibit was the statue from Easter Island, or what we call "Dum, Dum" (it's nickname from the movie).
After the museum, we took a stroll through Central Park to the other side of Manhattan so we could catch 5:30pm Mass at the Cathedral. We made it in plenty of time to spare, and enjoyed watching the end of a wedding ceremony being held there prior to the scheduled Mass time. The extra time to sit was a welcome relief.
Our flight the next morning was very early, but we made it home safely. It was a wonderful visit of the city, and I'm thankful we were able to see it before Hurricane Sandy (and the combined nor'eastern) damaged so much of it. It was also precious time with my son that I'll always treasure.
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