Boy is it hard carving out time for a long blog post these days. This summer has been packed full of fun but this is the first opportunity I've had to share about our trip to New York.
Late this spring Kevin was in the midst of planning two trips: a fishing trip to Alaska and hiking trip in The Enchantments (which we're actually packing for tonight!)
With all his summer adventuring, he thought it would be fun for Abigail and I to plan a girl's trip. The destination was easy - with Auntie Anne, Uncle Ian, and the cousin in Jersey + Godmother Susie in NYC it was a no brainer!
We left just one day into summer break and were gone Tuesday - Tuesday. We spent the first 3 nights in Montclair, NJ at Anne and Ian's, then the next 4 nights in the city, staying at the Hilton Times Square.
Abigail loved spending time with her cousins for a few days. She went with Auntie Anne each morning to drop her cousins off at school, we spent time exploring Montclair, ventured to the shore one day, and I even got a morning solo to shop while Auntie Anne and Abigail went on a park date.
The cherry on top was being there for Lucy's birthday on our last day with them!
Here are some pictures from our time in Montclair:
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| Abigail's first cab ride (from Newark airport to Montclair) |
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| Montclair with Auntie |
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| Jersey Shore! |
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| Abigail and Charlie were adorable that day - laughing and chasing each other around the whole time |
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| Happy Birthday, Lucy! |
Next it was on to The Big Apple!
There's a train that goes straight from Montclair to Penn Station so we rode in Friday morning with Ian on his way to work then hit the ground running - eager to explore.
I wasn't sure how Abigail would process it all, but she was completely in awe of every detail of the city.
From the subways to the lights of Times Square she was totally captivated - her Mother's daughter to be sure ✨
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| Saying goodbye to Uncle Ian at Penn Station |
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| Hailing her first NYC cab |
We spent our first afternoon walking around Times Square, meeting and taking pictures with all the characters
(a huge highlight for Abigail - she wanted to be sure she got a picture with both Elmo and a Power Ranger - her brother's favorites), lunch at The Hard Rock Cafe, and shopping the M&M and Disney stores.
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| She insisted on laying on these each time we passed 😝 |
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| Rocking out at lunch |
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| Her desk in our hotel room - eat your heart out, Carrie Bradshaw 😉 |
After an afternoon reset it was time to meet Godmother Susie and (my) Godfather Pete for dinner on Staten Island. We met Godmother Susie downtown at the ferry terminal - as always it was like no time had passed 💜
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| First subway ride! |
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| She insisted on standing - like an old pro |
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| Godmother Susie and Abigail on the Staten Island ferry |
It had been a full day for Abigail and as you can see in the pictures above, she was beat. We got to the restaurant and not even 5 minutes after being seated, she was fast asleep next to me!
This actually worked really well - a fun adult dinner for me with Pete and Susie - really the only true adult meal I had on this trip 😉
On the ferry ride back we saw the Statue of Liberty and opened some gifts from Godmother Susie, then took the train back uptown with her - at least they got a bit of QT!
And since Little Miss skipped dinner, guess what I let her have instead...
(contrary to popular belief, I do give in every once in a while - especially on vacation!)
Our first full day was chalked full of highlights: shopping in Times Square and Rockefeller Center, an afternoon spent at the theater (Frozen on Broadway!), sushi dinner, ice cream room service, and a 9pm walk around Times Square to people watch and have a sketch drawn.
One of the cutest things about our time in the city was Abigail singing "This Girl is on Fire" everywhere she went - a true urbanite at heart 😍
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| Lego store at Rockefeller Center |
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| Arms full after an hour at the American Girl store |
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| Abigail's preferred method of evaluator riding.. |
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| Beauty Queen ready for the theater! |
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| Awesome seats - amazing show! |
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| Our very overpriced bike taxi from the theater to dinner |
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| Back at those public loungers 😷 |
The next day was again full of adventure!
Abigail did really well with all the activity - never complaining / always curious, although she did start slowing down after a morning in the park / amusement park rides in the 90 degree sun.
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| Morning walk through Battery Park, Grand Central bound |
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| Catching the train uptown to Central Park |
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| Carriage ride in the park! |
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| Serious 'tude for her park pose |
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Central Park just started this amusement park in the south ice rink area this summer -
an unexpectedly perfect surprise! |
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| Visiting Eloise at The Plaza |
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| Hotel HH |
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| Pizza dinner in DUMBO |
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| Walking over The Brooklyn Bridge at sunset 💫 |
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| A much deserved rest post-bridge walk |
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| Headed back home |
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| 💖 |
Since we had been so active for the past three days, I decided to take it down a notch for our last full day. It was incredibly hot all week which is hard on a normal day - let alone with a kid in the city - so a day at the beach seemed the right move.
We took the LIRR from Penn Station to Long Island the next morning and spent a couple of hours at the beach and a beachfront cafe for lunch. Abigail wasn't too keen on swimming (I learned cousins are 20x cooler swimming buddies than Moms..) but it was nice sitting on the beach for a while, enjoy an ocean breeze.
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| Starting off the day like 💤 |
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| A very core strength dependent train nap 💪 |
I was really hoping that after a low-key morning Abigail would be willing to rally for a trip to the Top of The Rock or something of that nature but it wasn't in the cards.
She was spent and the last thing I wanted to do was push her and make bad memories from an otherwise perfect trip.
So slices at John's in Times Square was how we ended our final day. Along with a breathtaking sunset, this relaxed day reminded me once again what an amazing city NYC truly is.
Spending the week in a city that holds such a special place in my heart and not only spending that week here with Abigail, but watching her fall deeply in love with it too was a gift beyond measure.
Thank you, as always, for the memories NYC. You are the greatest!
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