Walker boy and I went to NYC at the beginning of November. Just the 2 of us. And it was so, so great. I love going on special trips with just 1 baby.
One of my favorite things about the trip was watching Walker eat. Hah! So serious. He ate every single thing like it was the most amazing thing he’s ever eaten and like it was the first time he had eaten in months.
So here’s what we did!
We got in on a rainy Friday night and it took us FOREVER to get to the hotel. It was dark and dreary, but we had a great conversation with our Uber driver (also, yes-my first time doing Uber by myself and I felt like a pro by the end of this trip...so much better than the old school holding my hand up by the side of the road trying to get a taxi.)
I had a very tight schedule planned for our weekend, but we decided we wanted to stay inside and snuggle. So we dashed across the street to buy an umbrella and some chocolate, ordered some pizza, and then ate and watched the first part of Home Alone 2 in our room. It was so fun!
Saturday started off early (Walker woke up at 330am-oh yes, he did-and he donkey kicked me all night, so next time, we’re getting 2 beds.)
We stayed very close to Grand Central Station, which worked great since I mainly wanted to take the subway for Walker boy’s entertainment. It took me a few minutes to get back in the swing of subway schedules and locations-I was a little out of practice, but once I got it we were off!
Our first stop was Alice’s Tea Cup for breakfast. We met up with my friend, Courtney, and had such a fun, tasty meal. The restaurant was absolutely adorable.
We then walked over to the LDS Manhattan Temple. I did a session inside while Walker got to hang out with Courtney for a little bit! One of Courtney’s friends, and an old dance friend of mine, just opened the new kids center for Broadway Dance Center, so they were able to play over there for a bit and then see a few sights by themselves. It was SO windy and frigid that morning. Brr. But the rest of the day was beautiful.
We then walked over to Central Park. One of my favorite moments of the trip! Fall is an unbelievably beautiful time in NYC and we were able to witness that first hand. Walker loved playing at the playground. If I had to do this trip all over again, I would have spent even more time there just letting Walker play.
BUT! I wanted to do as much as possible, so we walked in the Plaza and down 5th Avenue to get to the library. Shockingly, I have never been inside the famous Ghostbusters library, but thought Walker would love it. He thought it was neat, but I was thought it was eh. I honestly like our local library much better. I might have liked it better if there had been zero people there, but obviously that wasn’t the case. We did see the original Winnie the Pooh, which was neat.
So hindsight...stay at the park longer. Scratch the library off your list.
For lunch, we found a little place in Time Square and met up with my dear friend, Ron!
It was so nice spending the morning with Courtney and eating lunch with her and Ron. We said goodbye to our friends and headed off to our matinee-School of Rock. I was trying to think of a show that Walker could connect with, and I chose correctly! Such a great show! We sat second row and laughed a ton.
Walker kind of caught a second wind after we sat down at lunch and ate. I was debating on changing our evening plans after the show, but Walker wanted to press on. So we did!
We rode the Staten Island Ferry to pass by the Statue of Liberty. When I took Charlie a couple of years ago, this was a highlight for him. Walker HATED it. Like, straight up, wanted to jump off the boat and swim back to shore. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was dark? I will say-it’s a better ride during the day. Also, I think he had in his mind that we were actually going up to the Statue of Liberty. Anyways...he hated it.
But what he LOVED was right afterwards. We went to the SeaGlass Carousel which is literally right beside the entry way to the Staten Island Ferry. Not trying to be overly dramatic, but this was magical. And maybe because it WAS at night! I teared up, honestly, because it was just SO neat. I used to sing “Dream a little dream” to Walker when he was a baby, and they played that song, and I was just a puddle. Highlight of our trip FOR SURE!
We then took a scary Uber ride home, and honestly, I was at the point where I was like-if I overpay for one.more.thing, I will scream. So we went to Chipotle (where I overpaid for my favorite meal), took it back to the hotel, and finished up Home Alone 2. Another highlight of our trip.
Walker slept in until 530 the next morning. Woohoo! :)
Sunday morning came quickly! I wanted Walker to experience a cronut, and goodness-did he enjoy it. The line was still pretty long! We waited for about 45 minutes outside (compared to the 1.5 hr I did with Charlie 2 years ago). Still worth it.
We then made our way over to the Natural History Museum, as seen in Walker’s favorite movie-Night at the Museum (1, 2 AND 3) :)
This museum was disappointing, and overwhelmingly giant. If you or one of your kids is a fan of Night at the Museum, I would suggest walking into the lobby, looking around at the dinosaurs (because that part is pretty incredible), and then leaving. You’re welcome for saving you money and hours of time! :)
After the museum, we grabbed a quick lunch and went to church with Courtney. Walker boy took a nap and I got to hear some great talks and a beautiful musical number.
We then had a few hours until we needed to head back to the airport, so we stopped by the LEGO Store at Rockefeller Center and took a few pictures :)
My sweet boy, I love you! And I love the memories we made!
PS-These pics are super funky small-maybe I’ll have the energy to supersize them one of these days.
PPS- Here’s the post I put together after my trip to NYC with Charlie 2 years ago. :)
