Day 16 - Manhattan NYC

Friday, June 15, 2018
Posted From: Black Bear Campground - Florida, NY
Miles Driven: 101
Total Miles: 2277

Here we go again. Another day, another city. New York City to be specific.

We had no idea how this day was going to go. I usually have a lot of confidence with public transportation in big cities, but I don’t always have five other people with me, and I don’t normally wander around Manhattan for the day. We were winging it...and it turned out rather well.

We drove an hour to park the truck and catch a commuter train. We had to stop once on the way to take some deep breaths as the road was surprisingly curvy. The train ride was 55 minutes and rode right into Grand Central Station. The kids took quick naps because today was going to be a big one.

Grand Central Station! The boys didn’t understand why that was a big deal until we got off the train and walked into the main hall. Caleb saw the clock (in the picture behind us) and said, "That’s the clock in the Madagascar movie!" True. It is. Then they started looking around and realized the whole place was straight out of the movie. Now it was cool.

Outside of Grand Central Station:

And then they all had the big letdown we all have at some point in our lives: That is the New Years Eve ball? That’s it? That little ball way up there?
Yup. That’s it.
But they did agree that Times Square was cool because you see it on TV so much...but not a place any of us wanted to spend much time.

We took an open top bus to Central Park. We could have easily spent the rest of the day here. We were hungry for lunch, so we walked to a cafe in the park and grabbed an outside table.

On the way, we walked by the lake and boathouse. Renting a row boat was all Caleb could think about during lunch.

It was a nice day with a high around 75 degrees. The locals kept saying the amazing weather was so unusual for this time of year. We wore hoodies most of the day. 

Not sure what happened to Cameron here. The kids were playing the Munchkin Loot Letter card game. We tend to bring that everywhere because it is so small. 

The boys ordered this awesome plate of little pancakes with fruit, syrup, and chocolate.

The boys had to climb on every rock.

Finally Matt and the kids rented a row boat. It was only $15 per hour. They had a strict four person limit, so I took some pictures from the shore.

Everyone got to row the boat for awhile.

The boys found another rock and decided to use this one for their afternoon nap.

They look like two little orphan children.

The remote controlled sailboat pond was fun to watch for awhile.

So here we go. Riding on the bus through Times Square. It was packed. Even the tour guide seemed surprised.

But then we saw that the World Cup game was on the big screen.

A better view of "the ball."

I don’t really have words to describe this experience. We are not New Yorkers, but we are Americans, and Matt and I recall this day and the days after in detail. It changed everyone’s life. This reminder of the people lost is powerful. I don’t think I have ever been to a memorial that is structured in such a way to really get the point across so strongly. It is so simple, but so real. My reaction surprised me.

The perfection and beauty of this building is striking.

The Fearless Girl staring down the mighty bull. Love this.

Crazy building:

We took the bus all the way back to Times Square and walked into the M&M World store. Caleb’s eyes became very large. Three stories of M&M stuff. He couldn’t believe something like this even existed. I wish we had taken a picture. He was so funny. He didn’t ask for much. He just wanted to see it all. We ended up getting a set of bowls for the camper (which were much needed). Caleb picked out a small Orange M&M zipper coin pocket. When we checked out, they were handing out fleece blankets with a $20 purchase. So we got an M&M blanket for the camper too. 

Cameron asked Dad to take a picture of Batman. Matt thought he had asked him to take a picture of the Statue of Liberty person. Later when Cam asked Matt him to text him the picture of Batman, Dad told him he thought he wanted the SoL. Cameron looked confused and said, "What Statue of Liberty?" In looking at this picture, it is hard to see how Cam missed the giant Statue of Liberty looming behind Batman. But I guess when you are focused on Batman you have to block out the rest.

It was time to eat dinner before we got back on the train. It was 7:30 pm and we planned to catch the 9:00 pm train home. We would have preferred a more off the beaten path local place, but time was short so we ended up just a couple blocks off Times Square at a family style Italian restaurant. 

Cam impressed us all (including the waiter) with his napkin folding. The food was actually pretty amazing. We learned a long time ago to order the special when in doubt. We are rarely disappointed. 

We walked through Times Square one more time on the way to Grand Central Station. I wanted the kids to see how bright it is. You truly feel like it is daytime. The lights are crazy.

Finally it was time to catch the train. What a day.