Day 10 - Central Park, Goodbyes, Museum of Broadway

We woke up early again to pick up breakfast and eat in our room.  Once we were all ready for the day, we grabbed an Uber and drove to Central Park.  Our driver Samir has been driving for 9 years and learned to drive here in NYC as he began driving for Uber.  He has an incredibly high rating and has taken just shy of 10,000 rides so far.  It was really fun to hear his story!

Once we arrived in Central Park, we wandered over to the outcropping of boulders known as Umpire by Heckscher playground for some pictures and fun.  

Then we walked over to meet our carriage tour.  Our guide was Letty with Brandy the horse.  We enjoyed a ride around the park and heard lots of fun facts about the space.  For instance, the park costs $80M to maintain each year... and all of it is provided by private donations.  It really shows how much the citizens of New York appreciate the space.

We walked over to Tavern on the Green, the most famous restaurant in the park, for our lunch reservations. We were running ahead of schedule but they could accommodate us.  It was a good meal.  

We grabbed another Uber but had him drop us off at the laundromat I found a few days ago.  We had to get some clothes clean before we continue on with the trip.

Then we walked back to the room.  We took a short break and then headed out to Time Square again.  We checked out the Hershey and M&M stores and then sat on the bleachers to rest and people watch.

Then it was time for Scott to head to the airport.  He ran up to pack his stuff while Sammy and I grabbed a snack from next door.  Then he was off!  So grateful for a direct flight to and from NYC that allowed us a lot more time with Scott on the ground.  

Tyler was looking for some down time.  So I took Sammy to the Museum of Broadway.  We had a great time exploring the history and props of so many famous shows.  We visited previously and it still held our attention!

Afterwards, we ran to Old Navy to look for some shorts as the weather is supposed to warm up and we are already quite uncomfortable.  Then we stopped at Taco Bell and picked up food for supper before returning to the room. 

I spent some time planning our route for tomorrow's drive and the activities at our next stop in Philadelphia.  Then we walked back to the Hershey store for a bedtime snack.  

Scott arrived home by 9:00pm. The kids and I spent the remainder of the night in our beds just relaxing.  Everyone's feet are sore from all the walking this week so we were grateful for some rest.

Girls Day 4 - Painting and Central Park

It was an alarm clock sort of morning, but not til 8:00 am.  Then it was a long wait at Starbucks so we had to eat while we walked to the American Girl Store.  We had a painting class at 10:00 am.

 

The instructor began with a simple instruction... “Draw your pumpkins on the canvas”... no further direction or advice on how to make authentic looking gourds.  Within 5 mins, Sammy whispered that she was frustrated and with tears in her eyes, asked for a break. So we stepped out of the classroom only to be smacked by the crazy busy noises of the cafe.  We quickly ducked down the employee entrance to the kitchen and asked a waiter for advice on an escape.

A manager found us a quiet space, brought us drinks, and checked on us regularly.  As I held my girl and reassured her that her pumpkins were fine in quality and value, I became frustrated with myself for missing the signs... for not realizing she was upset before it got to this.  Ugh.  I guess in some way this trip has tricked me into forgetting what a struggle adventures can be... which in and of itself is incredible.  For four days, we haven’t had a single issue or even hiccup.  I dried my own tears and decided to be grateful instead.  It took almost 30 minutes to calm down but even then I could tell my girl was fragile.  I set her up for success in every way I knew how and we re-entered the paint class.  The teacher approached and told me that the manager had found a quiet place for us to paint together.  And so we were escorted to another room with couches and end tables fully draped in plastic and our very own little paint studio.  Oh thank you American Girl.

 

We painted around 45 minutes and when the final glitter was added, we headed out for lunch in the cafe.

  

We wrapped up a little before 1:00 pm and headed back to the hotel. The route we usually take along 6th Avenue was completely transformed into a street market... over 6 blocks of vendors of food, clothing, and all things for the tourist.  It was actually really cool.

After a quick rest time, we headed up to Central Park.  We walked it since this was an area of town we hadn’t seen yet.  And along the way we found Donut Project... a small bakery I had read lots about so we stopped in to see what the hype was all about.

It was a little hole-in-the-wall place with amazingly large donuts of all sorts of creative flavors. Seriously we took one of the “Black Gold” to share but I wanted to try them all.  We crossed the street and found a bench in the park to enjoy it.

 

We had almost an hour until our carriage ride was scheduled so we decided to head over to the playground but on the way we saw these amazing rocks that you could climb and decided that was a much better use of our time.

 

  

How fun!  I could have stayed for hours!

We got to the carriage ride a little early and Peter got us loaded up and whisked us away with Bazooka at the lead.

 

  

The tour was great!  And Peter pointed out so many iconic spots and views in the park from movies, history, etc.  I really enjoyed it.  We did have a stop about halfway where we met a photographer to take some shots of the two of us.  But those pics wont be ready for a few weeks.  As we wrapped up the tour, Sammy was snuggled in enjoying her movie.  We both had a great time!

By the time we had wrapped up, I was feeling hungry... so I suggested Ruth’s Chris for supper tonight.  I mean, how many chicken strips can one eat in one 4-day trip?  Sammy loves steak so I knew it was a plan.  We called for a table and walked the 6 blocks to the restaurant.  Yum!

On our walk home, we passed through Rockefeller Center and considered ice skating until we saw the crowds gathered so we decided to watch a bit instead.

My feet were getting pretty sore by now, so we took a pedi-cab (rickshaw) back to the hotel.

We snuggled in bed to watch a movie... and I hate to admit it but this Mama fell asleep for like 45 mins.  My sweet girl woke me as Ice Age 4 was wrapping up to see if I wanted to get a snack.  So I placed an order at Starbucks and we ran across the street to pick it up.

Back in our room, we put on our PJs and settled in for another movie.

What a great way to wrap up another excellent day!