New York

I HATE when Nic goes on business trips. The day is just too long when you are a stay-at-home mom and your sweetie doesn't come home in the evening. So, when Nic told me that he had to go to New York. I decided to come along. Tagging along on business trips is the best because Nic's hotel was paid for from Sunday to Wednesday, so basically we just had to buy me a plane ticket and one extra night at the hotel. Nic bought my ticket with his frequent flier miles, and it turned out to be a better deal to fly business class. I never want to fly coach again! The seats were so big and comfy. They reclined. There was even room to put Max on the ground by our feet to play. They bring yummy food on nice trays with real dishes. Seriously, it was awesome. Enough about the flight... the trip was also great.

We decided to leave the weekend before Nic had to be there, so we'd have a couple days together. Our first stop was the American Museum of Natural History. This is one of the best museums I have ever been to. I loved checking out the dinosaur bones. Also, if you've ever seen "Night at the Museum" it is really fun to look around for things from the movie.

The next day we took the subway out to Coney Island. Coney Island is interesting because it is kind of run down, but there is such a fun, lively spirit. nice boardwalk by the beach. Nic and I also had a lot of fun taking turns riding the historic Cyclone roller coaster. Then, we waited for an hour in line for Franks Famous Hot Dogs. After an hour, we still hadn't moved, so we called it quits. We got a corn dog at some little place on the boardwalk. It wasn't great, but it was better than standing in line for another hour.

After our lunch, we walked down the boardwalk to Brighton Beach, which is a Russian area of New York. It was pretty cool to walk down the street and hear only Russian. A little lady even came up to us and started talking to us in Russian. I guess that we were smiling and nodding so well that she didn't notice that we didn't speak Russian. Nic said something in English, and then she realized that we hadn't understood a word she said. Then, in English, she told us how beautiful Max was and that we should have lots more babies.

On Monday, Nic had to work. Max had been up all night, so he and I slept in. Then, I had to decide what the two of us would do. I opted for a walk in Central Park, but first I had to get there. The subways in New York are not all handicap accessible, which means that they aren't really stroller accessible either. I had to get Max out of the stroller, put him in his Baby Bjorn and then carry the stroller and all of our stuff down the stairs. We must have been quite a site because people were offering to help us all the time. It was so nice!

When we finally got to Central Park, there was a slight drizzle, but it was so beautiful and peaceful. I was having such a nice time walking around, and so was Max! As we got into the middle of the park on the curving pathways it started to rain a bit harder, and just as I was thinking that I should probably head back it started to pour. Central Park is huge, and we quickly wanted to find the nearest subway station. Even though we took a pretty direct route, we were still walking in the pouring rain for about 15 minutes. We were soaked, and it was still quite an adventure getting home, especially because we apparently didn't know exactly where our hotel was. I'm just so proud that I did it. We had a fun day all by ourselves in New York City.

On Tuesday, I decided that I would take Max to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I had no idea how long the lines would be. First, you wait in line to get a ticket. Then, you wait in a huge line that wraps all around Battery Park to get on the ferry. Then you have to go through airport-style security, which is really a pain with a stroller. Finally, we got on the boat. The Statue of Liberty is beautiful, but I really enjoyed going to Ellis Island. My great-grandmother came through Ellis Island when she emigrated from Holland. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to look her up while I was there because I spent so much time wandering around the museum. It is amazing to think about all the people that came to our country from all over the world, and very sad to think of few people that came all the way here by ship and then weren't admitted. You get to walk through all the rooms that were a part of the examination process, and the audio tour has voice recordings of people who actually came through Ellis Island.

Overall, we loved coming along to New York. Spending time on our own there was much more fun than spending it here, and we still got to see Nic in the evenings. I don't think Nic is going to be able to get us to stay at home anymore. :)