New York - 10 Year Old Style

Day 1 - Friday…NYC, Here We Come

Despite being morning people, 3:15 am was very early for Logan and I. Nevertheless, we bound out of bed and got out the door by quarter til. We had a 5:20 am flight to Portland in hopes of making a REALLY tight connection to a nonstop to JFK at 6:25 am.

We were grateful to have our flight out of Eugene leave right on schedule. But the true test came in PDX where we had to RUN from the Horizon to the Delta Terminal. We were of the last 10 people on the plane. All sweaty (and yes a little smelly), they asked to check my ID. Problem is, I couldn't find it…at first. With Logan starting to panic, I found it flush with my the screen on my phone in my pocket. Whew!

So, we made it onto the nonstop (thanks, Aunt Malia!) to JFK and were on our way.

After a great flight, we got ourselves to our hotel just south of Central Park. 

Our first outing would be a NY Knicks basketball game.  I'd ordered tickets three days prior and they thankfully arrived at the hotel ahead of us.  After a quick meal in the hotel (it would be our last sit down meal and the last vegetables Logan would have for the next five days, as the remainder of his meals consisted strictly of vendor cart fare), we took in a quick trip to FAO Schwartz and other NYC-sized retail giants. 





The piano from the movie, Big was high on the list at FAO. The boy totally dug it, and I was glad to have seen it threw his eyes.

Then, it was on to our first subway train (the first of many) and headed to the game. They lost, but it was great to be there.

This was a day of many firsts for my boy…first big city, cab, hotel, subway ride, pro basketball game. He was enamored with it all. He'd soon settle in and think about taking up residence.

Day 2 - Saturday…Drizzle, World Trade Center, SoHo, Times Square Part One, The Hunt for Good Local Joe

First things first…a run in Central Park. This meant finding a bike rental for the boy. We managed to pull this off without much ado and mama got her run in. A quintessential NYC experience was had.

We rented L's bike at Central Park Bike Tours which was inside of a very PNW-like bike racing store. We got to know a couple of the locals and asked for the local place to get some good joe following our run.














We were referred to Fika Espresso Bar down the street where Håkan Mårtensson (Famous Guy) has won a number of local awards for his swiss chocolate concoctions and where the joe, staff and vibe were all very cool.  This is probably my top pick for local joe that we experienced while in NYC.  Logan, however, couldn't believe they didn't have whipped cream and voted his chocolate "not very good". It was true, there was a moat of chocolate left at the bottom when he was done, but man it was REALLY good chocolate. His pallet has yet to mature beyond Hershey's syrup. But, who am I to judge? You like, what you like, right?

Once properly caffeinated and showered, we shot down Manhattan to the Financial District to the site of the Twin Towers. Or, I should say, "the gigantic hole that used to be them". Not much to see there as construction of a memorial is underway. It was fenced off; a big construction zone. But, we were glad to have experienced it. The drizzly, foggy day, matched the sentiment felt when you were there.






On our way back uptown, we stopped in at SoHo which I would liken to an older version of Portland's Pearl District. It was dark at this point, a crowded Saturday night and we were tired from a very full day of walking. But my boy was a trooper as his mama drug him through a couple of boutiques recommended by Aunt M (our family's expert big city traveler).

We thought we were done after SoHo, but L caught a second wind when we got off the subway at Times Square. There's nothing like the place. We meandered around; L particularly in love with all the touristy gift shops as he searched for the perfect souvenirs for friends and family.



We did encounter a strange mystery during the walk back to the hotel that night.  There are a gazillion food vendors in NYC.  I know from both visual inspection and because after Friday's dinner in the hotel, Logan didn't eat anything but pizza, ice cream and pretzels from these carts.  But, on Saturday night as we crossed the street to our hotel at about 10 pm, we noticed that one particular cart had a line like 50 people deep.  My first thought of course was that the guys must be selling crack (because you know how I love the crack).  No question the chicken smelled awesome, but wasn't it late for dinner even by big city standards?  And it was "just chicken" (sorry, Nancy).  We couldn't figure it out, but were intruiged.  So much so, that Logan proceed to watch the line progression until midnight that night from our 36th window, above.  This continued into Sunday morning and evening and the line ebbed and flowed, but was huge over any meal hour. 

Day 3 - Sunday….The Weather Breaks, We're becoming Veteran Mass Transit Traveler's, Times Square Part Two, Bryant Park, Rockerfeller Square Part One, Statue of Liberty, More Local Joe Searching

We were rolling at this point. Today was more local retail and another walk through Times Square (it would be our last; just to crowded for this mama) and a trip to the Statue of Liberty.

We felt so blessed by a glorious day weather-wise for our trip see the Statue and Ellis Island. We opted to simply enjoy a ferry ride around both rather than visiting the islands. It was so fun to see how much Logan appreciated two of our nation's premier monuments. We had a great time.

My search for local joe took all day today.  In hindsight, the wise move would've been to have found some BEFORE waiting in line for and taking the ferry around the monuments. But, after we finished, we got off the subway at Bryant Park where stumbled on a Saturday Market of sorts (open between now and the holiday) where we got to take a break from mass market retail and enjoy more local wares. We found a great hat for Elise and finally some decent joe at Wich Craft; a company that has seen success by creating unique panini sandwich combinations. They also do coffee and treats come to find out. A little trendy/touristy for sure, but good nonetheless.

Bryant Park (left) and Rockerfeller Center made for the end of a great day.

We saw the ice rink at The Center (behind L at next left), Dean and Deluca (very nice and decent food on the run) and the Rockerfeller Tree covered in a shroud of scaffolding as it's being prepared for the annual tree lighting festivities. We were a week early for the annual tree lighting.

Day 4 - Monday….The Neighborhood's Tour, Empire State Building, Rockerfeller Square Part Two

This was our last and my favorite day of them all. We were veteran NYC traveler's by this time and another warm, sunny day made for a light-hearted, fun day. Today's route was all about getting away from where we'd been and into the surrounding neighborhoods; meeting interesting people and taking in unique and interesting sites.

We took the subway all the way down the southeast side of the island. We got off at Essex and Delaney Street in the East Village and worked our way back up to the Empire State Building.  Yes, that is a Starbuck's I'm holding.  It was worth it to have it first thing.  They're on every corner like McDonald's.  Crazy.

Our first stop in the East Village was a vegan and sometime gluten-free bakery called, Babycakes NYC. I had picked up Erin McKenna's cookbook this summer in Eugene at Passionflower and given a couple of copies as gifts. Her local haunt is a total hole in the wall (below, left and right), but the products are of excellent quality and so yummy.

The staff at Babycakes recommended Bluestockings Bookstore and Coffee down the street and our local tour was off and running. Once at Bluestockings, we had decent joe and enjoyed more really helpful and interesting folks

Left is Logan as we headed out of the East Village toward Soho enroute to Union Square.

Our trip took us through Union Square's Farmer's Market and NYU's campus.

Enroute to the Empire State Building, we happened by Madison Square - cute little urban park (at left).

We stopped at Max Brenner's (the bald guy's) chocolate restaurant/shop. Logan and I each chose a special, bite sized chocolate.  His mama followed with instructions that this was not the Hershey's variety and that he must not be eaten in fewer than four bites. He managed to comply, and his first truly quality chocolate experience was had. He even reprimanded me for eating the second half of mine later in the day in only one bite (a total of three). Mom, seriously. I smiled.  Dude, was right.

We arrived at the Empire State Building at 3 pm; right at the time the website said would be a good time relative to beating the crowd. Plus, it was Monday. We were rewarded with NO WAIT TIME!

This is a site that on beautiful fall day, should not be missed. We got tickets for the 102nd floor observatory which is inside, but is as high as you can go. Worth it. We dropped back down to the 86th floor which has an outdoor observatory and was also quite awesome. We took lots of pictures, took our time and enjoyed the lack of crowd (my NYC standards, anyway).

View from the 102nd floor indoor observation deck.

Logan and I from the 86th floor outdoor observation deck

I couldn't resist this picture.  There were a number of beautiful old churches in New York and this was one of the few I got a picture of during the.  We did go into St. Patrick's Cathedral which was amazing, but it was at night and the outside was under construction.

We thought we were done after the Empire State Building; planning to continue north back to the hotel!  But, on a lark, we juked all the way back down to the south of the island and just over the water to Brooklyn.  While there, we enjoyed Grimaldi's ; a classic pizza joint near the Brooklyn Bridge.  Our goal was good pizza and a walk over the bridge.  This was totally worth it and a great time.  Sadly, it was well past dark and there are no decent pics to share.

Day 5 - Been There, Done That

Our flight out of New York has in the middle of the afternoon.  This left us with a leisurely morning and time to go for one last walk.  I've been asked why no museums or shows were had on the this trip.  I certainly would've appreciated both, but the boy was interested in the big, major sites he'd been studying as part of his school state's project and I figured we'd stick with the stuff he REALLY wanted to see given the cost and time.  Next trip.

The good news is that on our way back to the hotel to retrieve our bags and check out, we did solve the mystery of the "crack vendor".  We started by asking a guy at the end of the line who said, "all I know if that he's one of the most famous/popular street vendors in NYC, but I'm not the guy to ask".  A nice couple about half way forward basically said the same thing.  I'm still thinking crack, of course.  But then I see a couple of local cops at the front of the line (Actually not really in line at all.  Must be a perk of the job.) and I asked about what was up.  They informed me that the vendor made the best chicken and rice.  That's it?  No crack?  Nope, just chicken.  Really good chicken.  We'd have tried some if Logan hadn't been stuffed with pretzels and have a plane to catch!

So, the best street vendor in NYC is supposedly the guy on the corner of 53rd and 6th Ave. (or thereabouts).  Check it out.

Our time came finally came to an end and we were treated to the most perfect flight home.

Great trip for me and the boy.  Perfect amount of time.  A memory maker for sure.