My parents were in on the surprise too. They gave the girls cameras so they could capture every minute of the trip and they loved them!
 |
| Photo Credit: Alexandra Harnig |
 |
| Photo Credit: Alexandra Harnig |
Both these girls have been flying to Texas since they were little babies so it was no surprise they were comfortable in airports and on planes. Their Mimi gave them their new luggage just in time for our trip!
On the approach into LaGuardia, Andrea and I got a glimpse of Lady Liberty and the tip of Manhattan. The man in front of us was very nice and pointed out a lot of the sites for Andrea.
The girls got their first introduction to NYC lines as soon as we arrived as we waited on line for an hour for our Lyft. First time ever I’ve had a code issued for Lyft instead of being assigned a driver. We spent the hour chatting with the guy in front of us and trying to huddle together to stay warm as it was a little nippy. Just as it was about to be our turn for a car, all the codes disappeared and everyone was assigned a driver! The sounds of the folks on line was a joint “oh man! NO!” Fortunately it was only another 15 minutes for our driver.
The girls totally passed out as soon as we got in the car so they missed our arrival in the city and Times Square at night. But no worries as they had a great view from our room! Thanks to a friend that works for Marriott we had a room overlooking the actual New Year’s Eve ball.
Andrea was totally taken with the hotel elevator and atrium...photo credits below: Andrea Harnig
I gave the girls little notebooks so they could journal about the trip. So fun to see them journaling the first night...and the only night. Oh well, maybe I planted a seed for future travel journaling.
 |
| AM sporting the hat we bought her in Alaska in 2015 and the new cross body bag LuLu got her for the trip |
As soon as we walked out of the hotel and into Times Square, we were accosted by "Minnie" Mouse and the girls go their first intro to street hustlers. When Andrea saw Alexa taking cash out, she said "wait we have to pay them". They got street smart after that and waved off others throughout the trip.
The girls still had no idea what we would be doing on the trip...more fun to keep them in suspense. So after bagels (something about the bagels in NYC that makes them taste so much better), we headed out for our first stop of the day....the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. The girls went nuts as they had just seen them while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Before the show, the girls were able to get their photo with a Rockette and all throughout the show they kept spotting their Rockette. As usual, the show did not disappoint and the highlight was the nativity scene complete with live camel!
After the show, we headed over to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree. Alexandra decided it was bigger than the tree in the Charleston airport.
 |
| Photo Credit: Andrea Harnig |
 |
| Photo Credit: Andrea Harnig |
 |
| Photo Credit: Andrea Harnig |
It was clear on the 16 block walk to our next stop, Andrea was made to be in NYC! The girl was walking ahead of us like she owned the sidewalk...she darted in and out of the people and occasionally did a little shoulder action to get through the crowd. Fortunately she is tall enough for us to be able to keep an eye on her so she could test her wings.
En route, we stopped at Moe's for quick bite...the girls bought lunch for Alexa and me (courtesy of some money LuLu gave them). While we were walking, Andrea noticed some of the prices on items vendors were selling and she said "lunch is going to be expensive because that shawl was $25". Love how she was paying attention to what she was seeing (and I know her Dad would be proud she was paying attention to cost).
Our next destination was the Empire State Building (their dad's favorite building). In spite of buying tickets in advance, we still had to wait on line...the girls were definitely getting a good introduction to New York with all the lines. Fun fact, there are 6415 windows in the Empire State Building and it takes 4 months to clean all the windows!
 |
| They are so over waiting on line! |
How Alexandra spends time while waiting for the elevator to the Observation Deck...
We made our way to the 86th floor to the Observation Deck. It was a heck of a lot colder and windier 86 stories up but we all braved the elements to get some great views of the city. It was a clear day so the girls got some good pictures and could see so much of the city.
Andrea's photos from atop the Empire State Building...
Selfie Take 1
 |
| Selfie Take 2 |
Their next surprise was a must do when in New York...they rode the subway as we made our way to Wall Street. These girls were definitely meant to travel as they took to the subway like fish to water! Andrea got a video of the train arriving.
The World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial was our next stop. The events of 9/11 happened 10 years before Andrea was born and 11 before Alexandra was born and the impact of that devastating day changed the world into which they were born. The two memorial fountains outside display the names of all those who died on that tragic day. Before the trip, I learned that the way the names are grouped is not alphabetical but rather as groups of "work friends". The designers met with the families and friends of those that died and figured out connections between the victims and placed them with people they knew so they would be with friends for eternity. I also learned the docents working in the museum have received special training to notice if the exhibit is affecting visitors as many of the visitors lost loved ones in the attacks. These docents will gently approach the visitors they think might be having a hard time and take them to a quiet place and get them assistance if needed.
Ladder 3 truck was sitting in the street when one of the buildings collapsed and sadly all in the truck as well as all in the company died that day.
One of the displays is an interactive map of the world where visitors can write messages and when they indicate their hometown/country, their message shows up on that part of the map. The girls wrote notes for the people of NYC.
After spending time at the memorial, we headed to our next surprise of the day...a hansom cab ride in Central Park. Our horse was Chico and he loved carrots...our driver Murat had a nice stash for the girls to feed him. We made a stop at the Cherry Hill Fountain (Friends fountain) for a photo and quickly made our way back to the carriage and the toasty blanket.
By the time we finished our ride, we were starving and en route back to the hotel was a Famous Original Ray's Pizza (not to be confused with Ray's Pizza) so we popped in for a slice. Bagels, subway and pizza...living local for sure!
It was a been a busy day and the grown ups were tired so it was time for bed!
Of course the coldest morning of our visit is the day when we have tickets for a 10am cruise of the NYC harbor to see the Statue of Liberty. The walk to the boat was about 8 blocks but it was a cold and windy 8 blocks. Fortunately I had the foresight to buy the Premier tickets which meant we walked right pass the long line of folks waiting to get on the boat and were escorted to a special section inside on the upper deck with cushy seats and a server. Best extra money spent EVER.
The cruise was fabulous and we saw the city from a completely different point of view than the day before when we were at the Empire State Building.
Photos below courtesy of Andrea:
Below photos courtesy of Alexandra:
After the cruise, we hopped in a cab and headed back to the hotel. The grown ups decided it was too cold to walk the 8 blocks back to the hotel. We tried to go to Junior's Cheesecake (right across from hotel) for lunch but the wait was over an hour and we had tickets to the matinee of the Lion King so we just grabbed a quick bite at the hotel.
The Lion King was the girls' first Broadway show and I think its fair to say it was a big hit! After the show, the girls had their faces painted by make-up artists from the show and had their pictures taken with the two young actors in support of Broadway Cares.
Next on our list was a visit with Santa at Macy's. We had 7:30 reservations (yep, you have to make a reservation to see the man in red in NYC!) so we stopped in a noddle house for dinner before heading to Macy's.
On our way back to the hotel, we finally stopped to see the giant snow globes called Show Globes. We could see them from our hotel window and knew we had to check them out. Each of the show globes had characters from various Broadway shows.
 |
| AE doesn't seem so sure about whatever it is she is seeing |
 |
| Never know what you'll see on the streets in NYC... a carload of Grinches blaring Christmas music! They weren't stealing Christmas but they were stealing the show! |
Another long and busy day so it was bed time.
 |
| Room service bagels and a view of Times Square |
For our final day, we went to high mass as St. Patrick's Cathedral. Timothy Cardinal Dolan actually celebrated the mass. The girls seemed to be least impressed with the church of all the things we did and saw this weekend but give them an A for making it through mass.
We were hoping to go to Stardust Diner for lunch but again, the wait was over an hour and we had to be heading to the airport by 1PM. So instead, we went to a deli for a quick bite so we would have time to pop into the bakery at Junior's Cheesecake. We picked up a few Little Fella's (perfect size) and headed back to hotel to enjoy them while having a last look at Times Square and the New Year's Eve ball.
The girls loved the hotel elevator and escalator...we could have saved a ton of money if we just stayed in the hotel and let them ride all day!
While we may not have done everything there is to do in NYC, I think we accomplished quite a bit in the short time we were there:
- Wait "on" line (not "in")
- Times Square
- Bagels & Schmear
- See the Rockettes
- Rockefeller Center Tree
- Walk A Lot
- See Statue of Liberty
- Take a Yellow Cab
- Have a slice
- Empire State Building
- Ride Subway
- Macy's (seeing Santa was an added bennie)
- Hansom cab ride in Central Park
- Eat in a deli (bonus points for getting them a black & white cookie)
- Take in a Broadway Show
- St. Patrick's Cathedral
- Get taken by a pan handler (Alexa has too big of a heart)
- Junior's Cheesecake
- 9/11 Memorial
And last but not least...
No trip to NYC would be complete without a Naked Cowboy siting and the girls got to see him twice! The 2nd time he was coming out of the parking garage near Junior's and we were able to get a pic of the girls with the legend. The perfect ending to a great trip!
