Monday, December 31, 2018

Christmas 2018








































Day 3 in New York, in which a red panda makes me long for the end of all things



I woke up early Thursday morning in New York and saw that it was supposed to rain that afternoon.  So I spent an hour before anyone else was up, reworking our itinerary so we could be outside in the morning and inside in the afternoon, with all necessary transportation directions that required.  


We started our day at the Central Park Zoo, a visit Lizzy was most excited about.












The sea lions were delightful, the penguins were charming, but the red panda won my award for absolute cutest animal at the zoo. 




This little guy was SO FURRY.  He paced and climbed and paced the whole time, showing off his beautiful red, thick fur.  I just wanted to pick him up and cuddle him, which probably would have resulted in my getting torn to shreds by his adorable little face and paws.




So I told Jason, "I bet in the New Earth, when the curse is lifted, we'll be able to cuddle red pandas!"  Jason may have rolled his eyes, but I was able to move on to the Tropic Zone in peace, looking forward to one day burying my hand in that soft red panda fur.


I loved this black swan's candy cane beak.
















After a great time at the zoo, we made our way downtown toward Rockefeller Center again.




We had lunch at the delicious Melt Shop, which was totally worth hovering near the trash cans until a table opened up.  Truffle Melt and Shop Tots, mmmmm, and a Nutella milkshake to go, ohhhh so good.


After that it was a short walk to Rockefeller Plaza to see the iconic tree.  I had originally planned to see it at night, but didn't figure any of us would care to ooh and aah at it in the rain, and besides, maybe it's less crowded during the day?


Fat chance.  This picture was only procured with the help of a clever camera angle; a lucky, though momentary, break in the passing crowd; and skillful cropping.




We tried to brave the crowd to walk the Channel Gardens to view the angels up close, but almost immediately someone needed to go potty, and we were all stressed by the crowd, so we headed straight to FAO Schwarz.


FAO the week before Christmas was probably not the best place to find respite from crowds. 


It didn't take us long to discover that we really wanted to do our Christmas shopping at some out-of-the-way souvenir shop rather than the world's most iconic toy store. 


We found one by walking toward, but not into Times Square.  Our first question, again (thanks to deliciously slurpable Melt Shop milkshakes), was, Where is the restroom?  The closest one was across the street at the M&M store--on the third floor. 


We did decide that Jeddy, at least, needed a custom-colored bag of M&M's for Christmas, before returning to the relative calm and quiet of the souvenir shop.




By the time we found our dinner destination in Little Italy, after spending an hour in varying states of lostness, it was raining lightly, everyone was exhausted again, and there was barely any seating.  We decided the path of least resistance was for me to place a big spaghetti order and then walk back to the hotel with the boys, leaving Jason and the girls to wait for the food and bring it along behind us.


As we walked, Caleb slipped into the familiar state of mind we call "Caleb World."  He skipped along talking to himself, oblivious to all else.  Jeddy and I joked that just as New York has a Chinatown and Little Italy, it also has a Calebtown, which appears anywhere Caleb goes.  Caleb himself surfaced briefly to see what we were talking about, then returned to Caleb World, apparently enjoying the idea that New York City could have a borough just for him.  When Jeddy and I commented that we were in Caleb Town again, Caleb jerked to consciousness:  "Wait...there are two of them?!"


We spent our last, rainy evening in New York eating delicious take-out spaghetti and Dunkin' Donuts that Jason fetched for us, while watching Elf together on the laptop.  


The next morning we had a soggy trek through steady rain to catch the Amtrak out of Penn Station and head back home--our blessedly rural country home.




Friday, December 28, 2018

New York by land and by sea



Day two in New York held the itinerary item that Caleb was most excited about: the Holiday Train Show at the botanical gardens.  






But first, we woke up to a semi full of camera equipment being unloaded outside our window.  The street was blocked off and a whole crew of men was unloading and then drinking coffee, waiting for whatever happens next.  When we set out later to walk to the subway, we passed a scene involving the NYPD being filmed on a side street.


Amazing that they can shut down part of the most important city in the world--keep buses from bringing kids to school along our street, as they did the other mornings--even block off major landmarks like the World Trade Center or Rockefeller Center at Christmastime, just so some private company can film some entertainment. 




Anyhoo...I was expecting to be charmed by mini trains chugging through a model New York at the Botanical Gardens.










I was truly impressed.






But that was before I discovered that the exhibit continued into the next room.


New York Public Library (see the tiny lion statues flanking the entrance!)


...and the next, and the next, and the next.




All the incredibly detailed New York features are made out of natural materials:  acorns, leaves, sticks, bark, fungi.






Rockefeller Center (see the tiny Christmas tree lit up?)








Afterwards we tried our best to piece together public transportation that could get us from the Bronx to the Battery in under an hour so we could make our Statue Cruise.  In the end we took an Uber.










We got tickets to access the top of Lady Liberty's pedestal, since you must be 48" tall and also plan ahead five months to get crown tickets.




Sunset cruise back to Manhattan










After navigating the subway system and the Uber system, touring the entire New York Botanical Gardens conservatory with enthusiasm, struggling through heavy security, riding a ferry, eating lunch standing up in the Crown Cafe, and clambering out onto the Statue of Liberty pedestal, we were exhausted.




We decided to skip the restaurant near Battery Park that we had planned on, and instead made our way closer to our hotel before finding a pizza place. 




Caleb, beside himself with excitement:  "Look!! A dinger-thingy!!!"  [aka a buoy with a bell in the middle of the harbor]
And a minute later, to me:  "What does it do?"
Me:  "Um...it dings."






The kids were so tired that when I started Googling for great dessert places nearby, nobody showed any enthusiasm.  Jeddy said all he wanted was to not walk anymore.




Goal #1:  Don't lose anybody.  Check.


Goal #2:  Fill our days until everyone drops straight off to sleep?  Check.







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