It was a red eye flight to NY, so it was approximately 9pm when our plane departed. We were scheduled to arrive in NYC at 5am. I booked the red-eye thinking the kids would sleep on the plane. Boy was I wrong! Alex cried for an hour straight before he fell asleep. Alana was hyped up! She was so excited to be on the plane and it was a new experience for her. Jeff and I didn't sleep much. We arrived in the City as planned, and caught a cab ride to the hotel. Good to know, it is a flat rate to take the taxi from the airport to the City. $52 plus tolls turned out to be $57.
We checked in to our hotel, but there were no rooms available. So we dropped off our bags and took the kids for a walk. We walked up Times Square on 7th Ave all the way up to Central Park. It was a nice morning, not too cold. Alex fell asleep on the way up there, but Alana was wide awake. So, we stopped by a playground and let her play. She had so much fun! We walked all over the park, looking for Central Park Zoo but couldn't find the entrance! Google maps was not helpful, and there were no signs! We later found out the entrance is on the east side. Our legs were so tired, so after Alana fell asleep, we decided to sit for a while. Our check in time for the hotel was 3pm.. we had a long way to go. We were both so tired, but couldn't think of a safe place to sleep with the kids. Finally around 11, we walked back to our hotel and asked for a room. Thankfully, we were able to get one. We stayed at the Belvedere Hotel on 48th and 8th. It was a rough and tiring day.
Friday morning, we went to Patzeria's Family and Friends for breakfast. A cute little restaurant next to the hotel. This is the first time we would hear about the "storm". Well, the storm turned out the be a hurricane in Miami that was heading straight towards New York! Weather was pretty sure about the path. When we called the airline to possibly change our flights, we were denied because they said there was no official weather advisory. We spent the day going Downtown, visited the Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial, Wall Street/financial district. Took the subway downtown, it was a challenge with the kids and the strollers. TIP: travel light, with a very light umbrella stroller. There are a lot of steps and not all entrances/exits have an elevator.
Saturday, we walked Times Square and later, we met up with Karisa & Jimmy at the Children's Museum of Manhattan. Alana bonded with her new friends, Marisa & Elise. It was so cute how they would hold her hand and Alana called them her friends.
Sunday, Karisa's baby shower and a surprise cake for me and other guests. Storm is getting closer! We got our last minute food items and water. Not really sure what was coming. Finally an official weather advisory cancels our flights. Stayed on the phone for over an hour and a half to change our flights. The next available was Friday morning.
Monday, the storm hits. We were lucky to be in Manhattan. There was very little wind, and very little rain. But the City was pretty much closed due to the subways being closed and all mass transportation was at a halt. There were still taxi cabs driving around, but the City was pretty quiet. We didn't lose power or anything at our hotel. The poor kids pretty much stayed in doors all day except for a short walk to Patzeria's for lunch/dinner.
Tuesday, the tail end of the storm. It was a lot cooler and sprikling a little bit. We spent the day walking 5th avenue- but all the stores were still closed. We walked up to Central Park again and back down. Not much to do because everything was closed. Subways were still shut down. Downtown financial district was flooded and lost all power. Poor Alana wanted to go home but we couldn't. We had to check out of our hotel but checked in to a nicer one in Times Square - The Doubletree. All the rooms are suites and it was nice to have a living room area for Alex to walk around and Alana to jump around.
Wednesday, things start to get back to normal. Stores open up. We went shopping. Walked to Macy's at Herald Square and back up to Times Square.
Thursday, Museum finally re-opens. The American Museum of Natural History. What a cool place! We saw all the dinosaur bones and the cavemen bones. It was really cool. I never imagined dinosaurs were that big...
We flew home on Friday at 10am and arrived in SFO at 2pm. I have never seen the kids so happy to be home and to see their bedroom!
Overall, I think the trip was fun. Alex had a blast. He didn't even notice anything was wrong. He never complained and he always had a smile for everyone. He would make even the grumpiest New Yorker on the subway smile. Alana had some trouble eating at first, but adjusted in the end. PS.. New York was amazingly beautiful at this time of year!
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