A Day in the Park

Today was our first full day in New York City (this trip), and we made the most of it!

We took our time getting ready and visiting with Cathy. But, at last, we were ready for a long day out.

We walked a few blocks to the nearest subway. Mary Teresa was soooo excited about going on the subway. You have to hold your nose a bit - it's not as pristine as the DC Metro, but it sure beats paying for a cab everywhere. And, you certainly get the REAL New York feel.

We took the subway to midtown, and went to Blessed Sacrament for Mass. It was a GORGEOUS church. Stained glass, marble everywhere, sculptures, the works. A choir sang a high Mass - Kyrie, Sanctus, incense. It reminded me of the church that I went to when growing up in Denver. It was a beautiful moment for me to expose the girls to the kind of high liturgy that I fell in love with as a child. The priest gave an excellent homily about how church is for people that are not perfect - that we all need to come. Even Peter denied Christ three times, but he came back. And that's what we need to do. He was a lovely priest.

When we got out, we enjoyed seeing that there was a street fair going on. The girls got more exposure to what can be sold on the streets of New York. There was a socks and underwear stand next to a bed sheets stand next to jewelry, next to Greek food. I love the diversity here!

We got some smoothies there, and they were delicious. Cathy introduced us to Thai Bubble Tea. ?????? It was surprisingly great. It was cold tea with coconut milk and large tapioca bubbles throughout it. So, when you took a drink, a squishy "bubble" came up with it. Who knew? It is actually something that I would order again.

We grabbed lunch at a nearby deli and headed a few blocks to Central Park.

On the way, we passed the building where John Lennon was killed, and we passed the Museum of Natural History. This is the exterior of where "Night at the Museum" was filmed, and the girls were very excited about that. We were across the street, but Gina really wanted to go inside. She, Mary Teresa, and I went over just to see the lobby. We were greeted by the spectacular sight of three dinosaurs on display. One of them was several stories high!!!! They girls were stunned by the magnitude of it. I tried very hard to get the girls and the tall dinosaur in one picture - I even laid down to try to get a good angle, but I couldn't get that darn head in! It was just too tall.

We're going to go back and do the whole museum on Tuesday.

We walked on to the entrance that we needed at Central Park. It was a GORGEOUS day, and there were lots of people in the park. Cathy took us to her favorite spot at Turtle Pond. We had a picnic lunch. I laid Vincent down on a blanket, and he fell asleep almost immediately. What a great place to fall asleep! If I didn't have to keep a sharp eye on roving Mary Teresa, I could definitely have fallen asleep, too.

There were lots of families around. Gina made friends with one girl, and they spent a lot of time doing cartwheels in the grass.

We walked around the corner to a dock that overlooks the turtles - there were so many that we couldn't count them. Gina enjoyed taking pictures, and has declared several times she wants to be a nature photographer.

Cathy's friend, Kevin, met us, as we had hoped that he would. He had never met the kids, but had heard all about them from Cathy. Claire found him to be a very receptive audience to her conversation and passion about all things tv/movie.

Cathy and Kevin took the girls to the nearby castle, and we took pictures of them above from down below.

Cathy also tried holding Vincent in the sling, and she loved it! He was happiest today when he was in that sling with her. I enjoyed the little break.

We were all tired after our day in New York, but we decided to extend the day a little more.

We hopped on the subway again and went to Times Square.

There is such a blend of emotions in Times Square. The sheer size of the billboards, the electricity, and the excitement of Broadway shows always around never ceases to capture me. However, it is mixed with crowds, noise, smells, and hustle and bustle.

We got there just as matinees were getting out, and it was quite crowded. We saw Alison Janney outside of the theater showing "9 to 5".

Our main destination is the Marriott Marquis. It has very fast glass elevators, and we knew that the girls would get a big kick out of them. I am deathly afraid of heights, which has only gotten worse as I've gotten older, so I just couldn't ride the elevators like I used to. I sat in the lounge and got them on tape. Mary Teresa was ELATED with the ride. They want to go again on Thursday when we are back for "The Little Mermaid".

We ate some dinner on the eighth floor in a lounge that looks right over Times Square. We were one table away from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Claire spent some time alone at a little table right by the window. There was something so touching about seeing my little entertainment queen wistfully and earnestly observing everything around her.

Claire particularly enjoyed a sign for the new Pixar movie, "Up", which was 28 stories high!!!! We saw advertisements for lots of shows - "West Side Story", "Chicago", "Shrek - the Musical", and "South Pacific".

We walked past the Majestic, still showing "The Phantom of the Opera". This was my first Broadway show, at that theater, 20 years ago this month!

Just last week, New York City closed Times Square to auto traffic, and it is now an urban pedestrian area - with lawn chairs!!!! This is not a Times Square that I ever expected to see. Instead of lots of pushing and shoving, there was so much SPACE for people. It was like one big block party, with people from all over the world.

We finished the evening by taking the subway back to the upper tip of Manhattan, where Cathy lives.

The news showed that the President and Prince Harry were in town. Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.