Hi Friends!
Whew! We just got back yesterday afternoon from four full days visiting New York. I’ll forever remember this as the trip when Nixon and Bowen decided they would try to touch every square inch of the city we covered WITH THEIR HANDS! UGH! If I had a dime for every time we said, “Stop touching the wall/handle/rail/etc”. We’d ALL be crazy rich! 🙂 Other than that, we had an absolute BLAST!
I’m here to share Part 1 with you today…
Our flight left bright and early at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. This cutie was my flight partner.
We landed and headed straight to our hotel. Our hotel was across the street from Macy’s. Great location! If you look really closely to the left you can see some super raunchy paintings on the side of the building. Yes, they were right outside our window. I tried to keep diverting their little eyes to the Trolls sitting on Macy’s.
The view from our hotel rooftop was AMAZING!
At this point Ebby Lee felt bad. She had a nasty cough, sore throat, and just felt icky. She was a trooper and didn’t want to miss a thing. I felt so bad for her, but seriously she was tough!
We were starving and walked across the street to the Shake Shack. A sweet reader recommended it (thank you!) and I recognized it immediately. It was a great spot to grab a quick meal. My burger was tasty and I HAD to try these fries. Right?…
Yes, yes, I did. 🙂 Because #vacation.
We were about fifteen minutes away from our house on the way to the airport when we realized we’d forgotten the stroller. There just wasn’t time to go back, so we hit up the city without a stroller! I was so impressed with their little legs.
Second stop was the Empire State Building. At this point I’d hit my “stop touching that” limit. hahaha!
Proof…
Proof #2
Proof #3
Proof #4
You guys!!! hahaha!
The walls on the way up to the top of the Empire State Building were clearly way too tempting.
These views were awesome!
All the heart eyes for these views. And let me introduce you to Mr. Ham…AKA Bowen. 🙂
The top was incredibly windy and Bowen was loving it.
Then we made our way over to Central Park. We caught the side of the Plaza Hotel. Can you name the movie?
The views in Central Park were so gorgeous. The trees were all different colors. The weather was great. It just couldn’t have been a better afternoon. We grabbed a little hot chocolate/iced tea/coffee snack and made our way to a playground.
And yes, Nixon carried his football ALL DAY LONG. He and Tab played football in Central Park and I’m sure Nix would tell you carrying it all day was totally worth it.
After all your recommendations, we decided we’d try out Ellen’s Stardust Diner. This restaurant is staffed with guys and girls who are trying to make it on Broadway so every waiter and waitress sings! There’s always someone singing so it was super entertaining!
A reader had said the food wasn’t the best, but the entertainment was worth it. We’d completely agree. The waiters/waitresses make this such a fun dining experience.
It’s hard to tell but our booth was up front. At one point or another each of our kiddos got gazed at, pointed at, or hair twirled with while a singer was singing to them. Ebby Lee was so embarrassed. Nix played it cool and Bowen slept through the entire thing…
The girl in purple was singing with the microphone while Bowen slept. Sidenote…that girl had the most beautiful voice! She was my favorite of the night!
Bowen woke up for just a second, moved to my lap, and was out again. We were all exhausted! My alarm had gone off at 3:00 a.m…I was ready for a shower and my pajamas!
We walked back to our hotel and called it a night.
Day Two began early as well. The whole reason our trip was taking place was because Tab was assigned the Army/Air Force game at West Point. We decided just renting a car and driving up would be the easiest with kids and luggage. So this was us…
at 7:30 a.m. driving through downtown New York City in our mini van. We had a private tour scheduled at West Point and didn’t want to miss it.
Traffic was super light so we had plenty of time to stop and enjoy the views. This stop was awesome!
There were several photographers in the background who come up to take pictures of this falcon that lives in that tree. My kiddos thought that was so cool.
I just couldn’t get over the leaves on the trees! The trees in Texas go from green to bare for the most part. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such gorgeous colors!
We arrived in West Point with time to spare so we grabbed a good breakfast.
We are breakfast people and the eggs, bacon, and pancakes didn’t disappoint.
At West Point, we met up with the rest of Tab’s crew and got a tour around the campus.
Please note…the football.
I mean…West Point couldn’t have been more beautiful! The base was so pretty! I don’t think Bowen could handle the sun.
These cannons were a hit with all the boys.
West Point Academy barracks….see what I mean? SO pretty!
That big stone building with the massive doors is the mess hall. We were told West Point has about 4,400 cadets and they all eat at the same time.
The inside of the mess hall. It reminded me a lot of the dining room on Harry Potter. They serve all meals family style and everyone is finished within 15-20 minutes. Isn’t that crazy?
We were there just in time to see them all march in for lunch.
They watched them all walk in and saluted each and every one. Super cool to witness.
Our tour ended in the obstacle course room. There might be a more legit name for it, but I can’t remember. Every cadet at West Point has to finish this obstacle course and their grades depend on their time. Each cadet also has to pass a gymnastics class and survival swimming. No doubt about it…the rope climb would eliminate me!
I spotted three soldiers marching around our hotel room while I was getting ready for dinner.
The crew had their “crew dinner” at Billy Joe’s Ribworks in Newburgh, New York. This spot was right on the river. Super cool spot with delicious barbecue.
I was the lucky grown up sitting closest to the “kiddie table”. haha! I guess that’s what happens when most of the people at the table belong to you.
Bowen thought Luke was the coolest! And doesn’t Bowen look like he’s seven in this picture?!
When Tab refs a football game they all have to be in town for meetings and dinner the night before, so we stayed close to West Point Friday night. This way we were ready for GAME DAY on Saturday morning!
Thanks for stopping by! I’ll be sharing Part 2 on Thursday!
