NYC or Bust!

On Friday, we drove up to New York City to go to the Yankees game. They were playing the Mets, and it was going to be a great game. We checked into the hotel around 4, hung out for a little bit, and then headed to the game. It was raining at the time, but we thought that it might clear up for the game. We were staying near Time Square, which is south of Central Park by 10 blocks or so. The Yankees will be playing in Yankee Stadium one more year ("The Stadium that Ruth Built"). It is located in the Bronx, which is just north of Manhattan.

We decided to take the subway to the game, which was a first for Natalie and Kristin in NYC. Here is a picture of Natalie and me waiting for our train to get to the station:

Just after this picture was taken, Natalie was looking onto the tracks, and started saying, "mommy, mouse...mommy, mouse...mommy, mouse" and I didn't know what in the world she was talking about. At first I thought that she might be talking about someone wearing a Disney shirt, referring to Mickey Mouse...but alas, she wasn't talking about a figurative character...she was talking about a factual character walking on the subway tracks below us...a good ol' subway rat!

The next thing Natalie noticed, and loudly pointed out to us, was the trash on the tracks. We had to keep reassuring her, "yes, Natalie, there is a mouse, and trash, on the tracks."

We then got on the train, with numerous Yankee and Met fans. Natalie spent most of the time on the train in her mom's lap, and telling everyone about the mouse and trash:



After changing trains once, we made it to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. It was still raining, but we went ahead and went into the stadium. We had tickets to the Sony Lounge, which was an overpriced bar and buffet, but hey, it was out of the rain. While we were eating supper, they cancelled the game.

So, we fought the crowd again, and got back on the subway, headed back to Time Square. We decided to get a picture of us in Time Square:



We made it back to the hotel, and got some rest, because Saturday was going to be a long day.

We started the day with walking towards Central Park and got side-tracked by the M&M store. We picked out some pink candies just in case we needed them later in the day. Natalie wanted to stay in the stroller because there was a 10 foot M&M character in the store (she was a little too scared to get out of the stroller).



Once we made it to the park, we wanted to walk around and take a few pictures. Natalie got to play in one of the playgrounds that is part of the park.



I took a picture of Kristin and Natalie walking in the middle of the park:



Natalie was very interested in the fountain in Central Park:



We then started our journey out of Central Park, but not before taking a few pictures with a famous bridge:



This is the view if you turn around:



Here are a few more pictures we took while in the park:





Before going any further, we needed to get some lunch. We walked a few blocks down to a diner near Carnegie Hall called Lindy's, famous for their cheesecake. After splitting a sandwich, we decided to taste-test their cheesecake. As you can see, we though it was "okay".



Before:



During:

After:



We then got on the subway, and headed to the south side of Manhattan, which is the Financial District, and just across the Hudson River from the Statue of Liberty. By this time, Natalie was sound asleep:



We boarded a water taxi:



They took us up the Hudson River, down near Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, up the East River, under the Brooklyn Bridge, and then back to Battery Park.

Here is a picture we took of the Statue of Liberty:



This is the view of Mahattan from the Statue of Liberty:



We are now back home, and exhausted. Natalie didn't want to go to bed tonight, she thought that the party should continue. It was a busy day, but I am glad we were able to go.

Landon