Day 3-A Day in the City, Central Park and Broadway Night

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS A LOT OF PICTURES!!!

Day 3...Our day to roam around NYC as Walt & Cathy gave us a driving/walking tour of the big city.  It was a GORGEOUS day, so we were very excited!!  Tonight was the night Wes and I had tickets for Jersey Boys and were going to go out for dinner, completely on our own, so it was going to be a chock full day too!

See...I was here!!  Ready to hit the town!  

We drove down many incredible, famous streets, but I was in the very back of the suburban, breaking up fights between our children(yes, even in NYC they fight) so I didn't get a chance to snap many pictures on the drive.  We finally made our first stop in Greenwich Village and Soho...probably one of my favorite areas.  So many cute shops, delis, bakeries, the buildings were just kept so neat.  

Had to get a shot of Murray's Cheese Shop...you know one of Bobby Flay's favs...I looked around for Rachael Ray everywhere, but didn't find her, so this was next best!  How cool to have an entire shop devoted just for cheese!  It smelled incredible!

Don't we look like we fit right in??

The kids, and ALL of us, were starving...Walt knew just the place to take us...Gray's Papaya...the home of awesome hot dogs & fruit drinks...sounds like a crazy combo, but it was delish!

We walked around just taking in all the sights & sounds, then got back in the car to hit Central Park.  This was probably the place I was looking forward to seeing the most, and it did NOT disappoint...BEAUTIFUL!!! 

This old-fashioned carousel was gorgeous with all its ornate beauty...so fun!

I have never seen a park kept so immaculately!  Incredible!

Giving change to a sidewalk musician...sweet!

Showing off their hairstyles for the day...I'm not a braider, but luckily Ninny is...Annie knew just who to ask!

Jack INSISTED on wearing a mohawk every day in New York...guess he wanted to blend right in with all the uniqueness!  He got so many comments from strangers on how cool his hair was...that made him grin!

Then we have our little Polite New Yorker, Sam...with the conditions so dry, his hair was ALL over the place.  

Gorgeous views everywhere you looked!  I couldn't stop taking pictures!!

Back in the car, we found Lady Liberty a day early, standing on a street corner...Sam said

 "That guy freaked me out!"

Took this picture for my brother...unfortunately, no love for the Spurs in the window here!

Then we arrived...3 stories of sugar highness...Dylan's Candy Bar!  The sweet smell hits ya right as you enter the door!

The kids wasted NO time filling up bags...in fact today, here at home, we still are enjoying the last pieces from our shopping spree there.

CHOCOLATE!!!

With our bags full, it was time to head back to the house, so Wes and I could get ready to come back for our night out!

Night time shots...

Broadway here we come!!

JERSEY BOYS was awesome!!  If you have a chance to see it anywhere...YOU MUST!!  Wes said it best...it was like a show and a concert all in one!  So cool to read the credits of the actors here...one of the guys is from All My Children, another from Law & Order.  

Then we decided our feet would much rather sit in a PediCab, then walk, so that was fun!

It truly never sleeps!  Lights and ads everywhere!!

Our bicyclist even offered to take a picture of us...very nice!

The famous Times Square New Year's Ball!!  How many years have we watched this incredible display on so many midnights??

We decided on Roxy's as our perfect after show place to have a little somethin' somethin'

Did I say LITTLE something???  Wes went a little bigger route...it was YUMMY!!!  And we ate on it for a couple days after...

My cheesecake and black/white cookie were nothing to shy from either...guess everything is bigger in Texas AND New York!  Yes, Monica, black/white cookies do seem to be everywhere, and I made it my mission to try almost every single one of 'em...they passed MY test for deliciousness!  

It was getting close to midnight, so we made our way to the bus station, then headed back to Cathy & Walt's...or so we thought!  Let's just say, we missed our connection one way or another, I've never been one to point fingers, so we'll just leave it at that, and ended up 45 minutes away from their house in another part of New Jersey.  It took a $45 taxi ride and nearly two hours, to get back home.  That was a ride we'll never forget!  Despite our tries to fit in like regular New Yorkers, guess we are just visiting Texans after all...

Those Jersey Boys, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons said it best...

"OH WHAT A NIGHT!"

Coming up...Day 4 Statue of Liberty!

Day 2-Museum of Natural History aka Night at the Museum

Our first morning to wake up on the East coast...and we woke up to extremely foggy, dreary skies.  It was supposed to be the only day like it, so we decided to change up our plans a bit and spend the day indoors at the Museum of Natural History.  The kids could not wait!  Night at the Museum is one of their favorite movies, and they were excited to see it all actually first hand.  Cathy, Wes' sister and his mom, drove us all into the city and dropped us off.  Trip, a freshman in high school, decided to skip school and be our guide.  Surely his teachers would give him credit for that!!  After all, it's not often that you have relatives from Texas come to town.  We pulled up to see this massive building and laughed as we saw alllllll the school buses lined up around the block.  Our kids were going to fit right in with all the field trips going on!  

We were all blown away by what greeted us as we walked in...INCREDIBLE!!!

You can only imagine how many pictures we took...so hard to pick a few to share!  If nothing else, you will see how you MUST take a trip there and see it all for yourself.

The entire museum is 4 floors, and you could probably spend a whole day per each floor, but we didn't have that luxury, nor would our children allow us to spend TOO much time in what spot.  But it seemed every display, they would holler out, "take a picture of that" "take a picture of this" wanting to capture it all to take it home.  The fourth floor was closed as we found out they were shooting the tv series "Heroes" upstairs, so we hated to miss out on seeing the dinosaurs up close, but thought that was pretty cool!

We made our way to the children's area, where the kids were able to take on the role of scientists & explorers and go crazy with the hands on activities that were all around.  

A dinosaur dig...checkin' the bones...Yep, I think Sam thought this dinosaur needed a kiss.

Jack workin' away...his teacher would be so proud of him...and on Spring Break too!!

Sam thinks he found something hidden in the tree...

Annie reviewing her notes...

We found Dexter!!!  So fun to run into him!!!

But the highlight of the day was getting to see and take a picture with the "gum gum/dumb dumb statue" from the movie...they could not wait to find him and we finally did on the 3rd floor!  Their only disappointment...he didn't talk!

AMAZING!

There was a special butterfly exhibit going on, and the room was filled with hundreds and hundreds of butterflies.  Man, was it warm in there!  We were ready to hit the road after a long day and a lot of walkin'!

LOVED THIS!!

Then it was time to hit our first of many trips on the subway...thank goodness we had Trip with us, because it is sooooo confusing!!

Hoping we're on the right track...

Whew!  Back to our vacation home sweet home!  

Check back for Day 3---Central Park and the shots of it are breathtaking!!