August in New York - Part I

Time to back it up aaaaall the way to August.  In the summer, we spent almost three weeks in New York City!!!!  Don and I came up with this YOLO plan to live somewhere for a month during the hot hot hot St. George summers, and this year's "August in NYC" was our test run.  Don had to fly back to work for the middle eight days, but we were together in the beginning and the end.  

It was fun.  It was crazy.  It was epic.  It was hard.  It was magic.  It was New York.

{Day 1}

First things first!  A Central Park walk around the reservoir in search of turtles.

Daily subway ride on the 4,5,6.  On our very first ride, Auggie looked over at O's and proudly stated, "Owen, you're becoming a little New Yorker!!"  Oh, my heart!  It turns out that Owen loooooves the subway, and for the rest of the trip he eagerly repeated, "Ub-way?!  Ub-way?! Ub-way!!!" at any sound, mention, or sight of the subway.

The Intrepid Museum.  One of the highlights of the trip!  The boys still won't stop talking about fighter jets and aircraft carriers.  And Top Gun, if you're Auggie.

Hudson Yards:  The Vessel & The Edge.

The boys had no problem walking on the glass floor, 100 floors up 😳.

{Day 2}

A stroller run in the morning randomly led us to Open Streets NY where we stopped to watch the L-Street Band in Harlem.  These are the New York moments I live for.

Katz Deli and a reuben, of course!

Post-covid NY hasn't quite figured out the bus tours yet...this was the only thing that was less awesome than we remember, haha.

Mr. Softeeeeeee everyday all day. everyday. all. day.  We didn't have enough cash for an ice cream this particular night, but New Yorkers always bring the magic and never let you down.  The Mr. Softee driver not only gave us an ice cream with what little cash we had on hand, but he even made it a double when he saw how much it meant to Auggie.  

An excellent last-minute decision to see Bethesda Fountain made for a perfect evening of people watching and turtle feeding.  

{Day 3}

The Bronx Zoo.  We had an incredible day at the zoo, even with an unfortunate Auggie-falling-in-the-toilet incident!  Oops and yuck, lol.  The dinosaur exhibit at the end of the day was an unexpected and happy surprise, indeed.

{Day 4}

Exploring Grand Central Station was a hit.  The kids loved the "whisper corners" that we learned about from our New York City book at home. 

And then, an afternoon at the New York Public Library to visit the library lions.  I'd never been inside before, so we took a quick peek to see the beautiful interior.  Perhaps the most fun, however, was taking them across the street to the library building with the children's section in it.  We read books to the kids and pretended we were locals.

Views of downtown from Little Island.  

This picture means a lot to me because it was, in theory, candid.  I was just standing like this when a stranger tapped me on the shoulder and asked if she could take our picture.  She said something along the lines of, "I just have to take a picture of you guys, it's so cute the way your'e holding them up on the fence, looking out at the city like that!"  Obviously, no objections here.  Me and my two littles, soaking in the views.

{Day 5}

Church at Don's Eastside building (where I saw Don for the first time!) followed by lunch at a Greek restaurant.  

In the afternoon, I took Owen back to the apartment for a nap while Don took Auggie to Lion King!  We don't have any pictures, but it sure was a memory.  Auggie was very scared of the mist and the hyenas, which almost did him in...but I'm so glad Don convinced him to stay because now he loves it, and he still talks about it to this day.  

{Day 6}

Don flew back to Utah on day 5 and I cried.  I was equal parts sad and scared.  I didn't want to experience New York without sharing it with him, and I didn't know if I could handle both boys by myself.  But in the end, we managed marvelously!  Every night I would plan our next day by geographical area.  If it was downtown, I used the foldable stroller/Ergo combo via the subway.  If it was uptown, I used the double stroller on foot. 

On my first day alone, I waisted no time beelining it to the UWS, complete with stops at Lincoln Center and the Manhattan Temple.

Owen fell asleep in the stroller, so Auggie and I booked it to the MOMA on a whim.  I bought entry tickets on my phone while walking there. 

Story time:  I really wanted to show Auggie Starry Night, so when we got there, he excitedly ran up to a MOMA employee to ask her where it was in the museum.  His enthusiasm must have been contagious because she sort of nodded at me knowingly and gestured for us to follow her.  Before I realized what was happening, she started to wave at the crowd with authority and said, "Excuse me!  This little boy would like to see Starry Night! Excuse me!" as she cleared a path to the very front.  She said she would keep and eye on sleeping Owen and told me to go take a picture.  It was the best, and Auggie was absolutely beaming at both the painting and the special treatment.

Auggie and I had an hour in the museum by ourselves before O's woke up.  We didn't last long after that :)

Pizza on-the-go and an evening jaunt through Central Park.

We made it to the Cooper Hewitt Museum just as it was closing.  We didn't see anything except for this cool room where whatever you drew showed up on the walls.  It was worth it just for this.  

It's not New York without Levain cookies!!!!!  Still the best cookie in existence, imo.  When Don tasted them, he felt like they had a few too many chocolate chips.  This still confuses me and exactly.

And finally, a much-needed bath.