But we did it! And it was amazing! I will say that I had some major anxiety and slight panic attacks the few days leading up to the trip because of everything COVID and worrying about bringing it back to the girls, etc. But Chris and I are some of the most careful people about COVID we know, and he reassured me we would do everything we could to be safe. And that NYC has a very strict policy for showing vaccination cards to go inside anywhere. So...WE DID IT! Chris and Nik booked 2 nights for an NYC getaway for the four of us...and it was also Nik's 40th birthday. Fun times!
We got through security fairly easily and were on the plane by 3pm. It is an easy 2+ hour flight to NYC, and we flew through a variety of clouds as we were landing at LaGuardia.
We got a large Lyft with Nik and Danielle, checked out the view from our hotel room on the 31st floor, and just as we got into our room, the girls Facetimed us so we could show them the view too.
Then it was time for dinner! Chris and I convinced them to eat at the same Indian restaurant we ate at nearly 2 years ago (when we did a similar whirlwind weekend December 2019). It was once again AMAZING. Still the best Indian food I have ever had. We got to eat in a partial open air patio, which was new since COVID times (we assume).
Later we went to the hotel bar for after dinner drinks. I was very grateful that already we got the impression that NYC takes COVID precautions seriously. Our vaccination cards and IDs were thoroughly checked in both places we went that night (and all weekend), and the hotel bar was not at all busy so we were able to sit away from anyone else.
The Saturday morning views out of our hotel room (Marriott Marquis in Times Square) were stunning!
We met up with Nik and Danielle around 8:15am to get coffee at the hotel, and then started out our trek for the day at a nearby bagel shop. As you can see, it was AMAZING.
Then we took a 40 minute walk through the city and Central Park in the upper west side.
Our next destination was the Museum of Natural History. We had 10am tickets and spent a couple hours exploring the cool exhibits.
We knew we wanted to get pizza for lunch, so we headed back towards the Times Square area because we were going to eventually catch a double decker bus. Chris found this little pizza place where we got slices to go and ate out on the street at a tiny little table surrounded by people just passing on by.
Soon it was time to hop up on the bus. As you can see, Times Square was insane. It was so busy all the time. The traffic was ridiculous. The bus driver just kind of barreled through, and there were some streets that had bus lanes only.
We rode the bus for about 45 minutes or so, and got off in order to walk on the Brooklyn Bridge! I sent Callie a couple of pictures and she was impressed because this bridge is featured on the movie "In the Heights."
While we were in that area, we wandered around and found this ice cream truck (a similar one is also on "In the Heights"), went into the Oculus, a very strange and cool indoor mall (mostly just to find a restroom!), visited the 9/11 memorial, saw Trinity Church (where Hamilton is buried), and the "new" World Trade Center.
Then we hopped back on the bus and drove back downtown along the Hudson River. It was beautiful.
When we got back to our hotel, we had about 45 minutes to rest and change for dinner reservations at 5:30! Chris found this amazing Italian restaurant a few blocks from our hotel. We were the only ones there at first, which again helped eased a bit of COVID anxiety (they also were diligent about checking our cards). Our food and wine were amazing. It was a lovely dinner!
AND THEN...WAITRESS! It was SO SO SO SO SO SO SO GOOD. So good. Goosebumps the whole show kind of good.
I caught a couple pics of the curtain call. So much joy!
After the show we got one more round of drinks at the hotel bar and went to bed about midnight!
This morning we had to leave our hotel at 6am to head to the airport. After our crazy busy and exciting day yesterday, it was an early morning...but we made it: NYC--> MSP by 10am.
The girls had more fun with Boom this morning, Luna had fun with Pa, and we were all reunited about 1:30pm.
Chris and I are going to wear masks as much as possible until we can all go get COVID tested tomorrow after school. The girls have 2 weeks of school under their belts and we obviously just went to a densely populated city! So many opportunities for germs. But hopefully the precautions we have all taken means all will be well.
While we were at the airport on Friday afternoon, Auntie Cat picked up the girls from their school bus stops and they headed to her house for a sleepover. As you can also tell from the top left picture, Callie sent me a picture from the bus with her new phone.
We got through security fairly easily and were on the plane by 3pm. It is an easy 2+ hour flight to NYC, and we flew through a variety of clouds as we were landing at LaGuardia.
We got a large Lyft with Nik and Danielle, checked out the view from our hotel room on the 31st floor, and just as we got into our room, the girls Facetimed us so we could show them the view too.
Then it was time for dinner! Chris and I convinced them to eat at the same Indian restaurant we ate at nearly 2 years ago (when we did a similar whirlwind weekend December 2019). It was once again AMAZING. Still the best Indian food I have ever had. We got to eat in a partial open air patio, which was new since COVID times (we assume).
Later we went to the hotel bar for after dinner drinks. I was very grateful that already we got the impression that NYC takes COVID precautions seriously. Our vaccination cards and IDs were thoroughly checked in both places we went that night (and all weekend), and the hotel bar was not at all busy so we were able to sit away from anyone else.
The Saturday morning views out of our hotel room (Marriott Marquis in Times Square) were stunning!
We met up with Nik and Danielle around 8:15am to get coffee at the hotel, and then started out our trek for the day at a nearby bagel shop. As you can see, it was AMAZING.
Then we took a 40 minute walk through the city and Central Park in the upper west side.
Our next destination was the Museum of Natural History. We had 10am tickets and spent a couple hours exploring the cool exhibits.
We knew we wanted to get pizza for lunch, so we headed back towards the Times Square area because we were going to eventually catch a double decker bus. Chris found this little pizza place where we got slices to go and ate out on the street at a tiny little table surrounded by people just passing on by.
Soon it was time to hop up on the bus. As you can see, Times Square was insane. It was so busy all the time. The traffic was ridiculous. The bus driver just kind of barreled through, and there were some streets that had bus lanes only.
We rode the bus for about 45 minutes or so, and got off in order to walk on the Brooklyn Bridge! I sent Callie a couple of pictures and she was impressed because this bridge is featured on the movie "In the Heights."
While we were in that area, we wandered around and found this ice cream truck (a similar one is also on "In the Heights"), went into the Oculus, a very strange and cool indoor mall (mostly just to find a restroom!), visited the 9/11 memorial, saw Trinity Church (where Hamilton is buried), and the "new" World Trade Center.
Then we hopped back on the bus and drove back downtown along the Hudson River. It was beautiful.
When we got back to our hotel, we had about 45 minutes to rest and change for dinner reservations at 5:30! Chris found this amazing Italian restaurant a few blocks from our hotel. We were the only ones there at first, which again helped eased a bit of COVID anxiety (they also were diligent about checking our cards). Our food and wine were amazing. It was a lovely dinner!
AND THEN...WAITRESS! It was SO SO SO SO SO SO SO GOOD. So good. Goosebumps the whole show kind of good.
I caught a couple pics of the curtain call. So much joy!
After the show we got one more round of drinks at the hotel bar and went to bed about midnight!
While we were traipsing around the Big Apple, the girls were hanging out doing fun things with G-ma and then later with Boom, Auntie Yoda, Lucy and Mila.
This morning we had to leave our hotel at 6am to head to the airport. After our crazy busy and exciting day yesterday, it was an early morning...but we made it: NYC--> MSP by 10am.
The girls had more fun with Boom this morning, Luna had fun with Pa, and we were all reunited about 1:30pm.
Chris and I are going to wear masks as much as possible until we can all go get COVID tested tomorrow after school. The girls have 2 weeks of school under their belts and we obviously just went to a densely populated city! So many opportunities for germs. But hopefully the precautions we have all taken means all will be well.
But thanks to my wonderful husband and friend Nik who planned such a great weekend for us. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to travel again. And also, it definitely felt like a different world than a couple years ago.
Have a great week!
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