We left early Sunday morning for NYC! I had lived there previously and visited several times and the boys had even been two years ago. Kyle had (somehow?) never been so it was especially exciting!
We stayed at The Knickerbocher hotel and absolutely loved it! PBQS (Punk Beauty Queen Sister) sent me a text the week before that said "The Bach is going to the Boch!"
I had NO idea what she was talking about until I realized she meant the episode of The Bachelorette that would be airing during our stay was filmed at The Knickerbocher. So cool!
We spent Sunday afternoon walking around Times Square and then had dinner at Justin Timberlake's Southern Hospitality. He was shockingly not there to dine with us, but we still enjoyed it! The next day we all woke up only to discover it was almost noon! In our defense we had been up since 3:30am the day before and it was 11:00am our time. However, we all slept like teenagers and it was MARVELOUS!
We took off to the Museum of Natural History, which was even more incredible than expected. Kyle and I thoroughly enjoyed every exhibit. The boys loved it all too and were especially in love with the dinosaurs and ocean life exhibits. It was amazing to see, but more than anything so educational for Krews and Kole.
As we left the museum, rain started to pour! We caught a cab and went straight to FAO Schwartz. Sadly, they are closing in a couple of weeks so this was high priority. Hopefully they will open in a new location, but it is still sad to close their signature location.
FAO Schwartz turned out to be just the amazing experience I was hoping for the boys to enjoy. They had a build your own remote control car area, which was similar to build-a-bear. They absolutely loved each stage. Krews made an Avengers car and Kole made a Batman car. I bought a FAO piano ornament that I will love having on the tree this year.
After FAO, we headed to Serendipity 3 for dinner. We all shared a frozen hot chocolate that Krews named the best drink ever! We were so exhausted afterwards that we went back to the hotel.
The next morning we had planned to go to Coney Island, but heard it was under major construction still from Hurricane Sandy. We decided to save it for the next trip. Our concierge informed us that a great Avenger exhibit was going on in the Discovery building in Times Square. Krews and Kole are both OBSESSED with the Avenger crew, so we were excited to go. We went thru official S.H.I.E.L.D training at The Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. Krews and Kole soaked up every single second and were even given official Avenger training cards. This is a huge deal to boys who now have their own wallets to carry items :) I can sadly announce my strength is only a portion of Captain Americas and my reflexes even worse. I gave it my all, but failed miserably. I guess we can't all be the Captain.
We were in the hotel afterwards taking a break when we noticed Donald Trump had a big rollout announcing his Presidency. We decided it would be an exciting time to walk by Fox News, where I once worked, and by Trump Tower. While at Trump Tower, we were waiting for the elevator to go to Trumps ice cream parlor. We were the only ones waiting and felt like it was taking forever. The elevator finally opened and our jaws dropped as DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF WAS STANDING THERE. He walked off with a couple a couple of bodyguards, did the "your fired" point at Kyle, and said "Nice lookin' woman us got there." (Great politician already)
And this is how Audra died of shock. Kyle said thank you, The Donald smiled, and before we knew it the whole moment was over. We proceed on to the elevator in complete shock and finally started laughing. Kyle said we could have been there all day and that never would have happened. It was truly a one in a million chance to run into Donald Trump in NYC on the day he announced his candidacy!
Meanwhile, Krews and Kole were completely oblivious. That is until we explained that he was the guy on the show with the theme song they loved that went "money, money, money, money.....mon-ey!" As we started to tell everyone they asked if we had gotten a picture and sadly the answer is no. It was such a brief encounter and would have completely been awkward if we had asked. Especially with all of the security around trump tower that day.
After our excitement we went to St. Patrick's Cathedral and Rockefeller Plaza. We went by my old apartment and then went to a fun dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner.
The next day we grabbed a slice of pizza and headed to Central Park. I love how you can be in a beautiful, large park and look up above the trees and see sky scrapers. We went to the Central Park Zoo, which the boys LOVED. Then we hopped on the Subway to go our beloved Yankees game. Krews and Kole were equally excited about the subway ride and loved it.
How can I describe my love for the Yankees and Yankee Stadium? I don't think I adequately can describe it. The moment you walk up to the stadium is like walking into Disney World. It is incredible. I have never been to a more exciting atmosphere. Everyone is SO HAPPY to be there cheering on the Yankees. And all of the staff is so nice, helpful, and welcoming. I feel like there is so much cool history surrounding the Yankees and so many of their players. We went to Monument Park located in outfield and it was nothing short of incredible. It is like a history lesson and salute to retired players all in one. We got into the stands early and got to hear all of the classics like "New York, New York" played for the entire ballpark. We also got to learn history of all of the players....Like how Brett Gardner only walked onto his college team. That is the American Dream people, being a walk on and working your way up TO THE YANKEES. When the game was starting EVERYONE loudly sang the National Anthem and then God Bless America in the 7th inning stretch (a post 9/11 tradition). New Yorkers love the Yankees and truly love American patriotism.
The game was one of the most exciting experiences. Everything is a big deal. There is constant clapping, chanting, singing going on and everyone has a great time. Even the grounds crew does a routine to YMCA every time they come out. Watching the boys take it all in was the best part. Krews has now declared when he grows up he wants to be a pitcher for the Yankees. He watched the game so closely and was very into every single play. I love to see his little dreams forming and the fact that at 6 years old he truly believes he can put his mind to it and become a Yankees pitcher. Kole loved it too and at his age was more into all of the excitement. I hope they can grow up attending Yankees game and continue their love for watching the games. Next stop for us will be a Yankees vs. Red Sox game to get the true experience!
We woke up Thursday morning sad we would be leaving the next day. We went to Macy's/herald square and then headed to the Freedom Tower. The Freedom Tower and 9/11 memorial will give you chills and make you tear up. It is truly incredible and is representative of the American spirit. 9/11 was the most horrific event of my lifetime and I cannot imagine living thru that day at Ground Zero. The memorial gives such hope and peace, while the new tower shows we will stand strong.
We spent all day downtown in SoHo, Chinatown, Greenwich Village, and my favorite TriBeCa. We decided if we lived in NYC we would live in TriBeCa. It is so neat and family oriented! In TriBeCa we are at Ninja NYC. It was by far they boys favorite dining experience. It was a little frightening to me as ninjas are constantly jumping out of corners and scaring you to death, but the boys LOVED it. It wasn't a cheesy themed restaurant. They had delicious steaks and made it all seem very authentic!
In the cab ride home, I started feeling very emotional. We truly had the most amazing trip together and I was so thankful for the experience together. NYC holds a special place in my heart. I hope my boys will grow up feeling like it is a home to them as well!
