New York Adventure

Uncle Gabe brought Bayley to New York for his birthday. I was excited to get to explore the the city now that my conference was finished. The boys dropped their stuff off at the hotel, and we decided to walk down to the peir to catch the jetboat to see the Statue of Liberty.

The launch for The Beast is right next to the Air Land Sea Museum aboard the USS Intrepid. I thought it would be our next adventure, but Bayley declined. He decided to sit towards the front of the jetboat, thinking that would be where we'd get the most wet. But, on this boat, all the water sprays on the back seats! We got great views oft he skyline, Ellis Island, and Lady Liberty. I think this is the best way to see the statue with the elementary school set. He loved every minute.

We asked the gate attendant where she went for lunch, and walked a block to a hole in the wall restaurant that served a bit of everything. Greak Greek fare for Gabe and I, pepperoni pizza with bacon for the birthday boy. Since he didn't want to museum, we caught a cab to Rockefeller Center to check out the Lego store and Nintendo World. I was hoping for the NBC Studio tour and the view from Top of the Rock. Bayley declined. He wanted to go back and - get this - take a nap.

Gabe and I wanted to keep exploring, so we compromised and walked back to Times Square. We stumbled upon a fantastic street fair, and even detoured into Toys R' Us. Bayley liked the ferris wheel inside, but didn't want to ride it because he was afraid he'd get put in a girly car. OK then.  

While he napped I packed up, and seriously considered leaving him in the room with Gabe while I explored! We woke him up, thinking he'd want dinner before we went to our first Broadway show. (A first for all of us.) But he wasn't hungry, so we walked around and found him some cupcakes. We dropped them off at the room and headed across the street for The Addam's Family.

Such a good choice for Bayley. He laughed all the way through. Gabe and I loved it too. Afterwards, we were all starving. Lucky for us, we were in New York. Right next to the theater was a great Italian place - complete with live jazz music!

The next morning Central Park was on the agenda...until we woke up to rain! We went to the Museum of Natural History - so Bayley could see both locations used for the Night at the Museum movies. It was beyond crowded, and under construction, which made it hard to move around. Once we had our fill of that, we remembered that we're Oregonians and not afraid of rain, and headed to explore Central Park.

The vibe of the city changes in Central Park. The pace slows, and everyone is calmer, even in the drizzle! We checked out the Shakespeare garden, game house, Belvedere Castle, and all the horse drawn carriages. Lovely.  

I know Bayley had a great time, and I can't wait to go back to NYC. I wonder when the next writers conference there is...