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.

Day 2 - Theater

Full disclosure… the pillows were awful last night.  The issue has been corrected for tonight but sleep was not as good as I was hoping.  :)

We woke up around 8:30 and get ready for the day.  We decided on breakfast at McDonalds with drinks at Starbucks (both on the same block as our hotel).  After we finished eating, I looked up the address for the Museum of Broadway, our first stop of the day.  Lo and behold, the museum is literally two doors down from our hotel.  Hehe.  Needless to say, we arrived much earlier than our reservation time but they accommodated us and let us get started sooner.

It’s a three story experience with so much history, props and costumes regarding all things theater.  It was fabulous!  We both really enjoyed our time here and spent much longer than they had estimated.  

  

Afterwards we stopped at the room and then decided to head down to our next reservation in hopes they could also get us in earlier than our scheduled time at the Encanto Experience.  (A walk through interactive exhibit based on the Disney movie Encanto). We walked up a block and then caught a cab.  It was a 30 minute ride down 5th Avenue. We got in on the tour scheduled for noon and enjoyed the exhibit.  In all honesty, the program is designed for younger children but Sammy and I really appreciated the sets and props and enjoyed our time together.  

We started walking back… and made it only a few blocks before the heat became a problem.  So we grabbed another cab and headed back to the hotel.  Before we went up to our room, we grabbed some snacks from Walgreens and then spent a quiet couple of hours in bed.  The timing was perfect because a decent storm blew through while we were inside.

After we got cleaned up we walked over to Olive Garden in Times Square and enjoyed an early dinner.  We played Ticket to Ride on our phones while we waited for our food to arrive.  Then we visited the Disney Store again.  We have tickets to a show tonight at the Marquis Theater, which was only like a block away, but the show wouldn’t start for a little over an hour.  So we decided to head to the theater anyway, and found a quiet spot to sit down and play Five Crowns.  We had a great time. 

Tonight we have tickets to see Once Upon A One More Time, a musical neither of us have seen before.  It’s based on the fairy tale princesses and is set to music from Brittany Spears.  The show was excellent!  It was a lot of fun… the music and dancing were amazing!

We walked back to our hotel to climb into bed and finish our game of Five Crowns.  Then it was time for Sammy to work on her drawings again while I updated the blog.  I’m hoping to get some sleep tonight!

We really did have an excellent day… I just love spending time with my girl.