The next day in NYC was another full day but didn’t start as early. We were able to sleep in a bit and start the day slower which was definitely needed.
We planned to spend the day at the American Museum of Natural History but it wasn’t open when we arrived. We walked across the street to Central Park to wait while the museum opened.
Matthew checking out a bug on the walk-way.
After a bit of playing, we went back to the museum. I think Matthew was a little overwhelmed with the giant fossils in the lobby (which are absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to photograph).
We had tickets to see a movie at the planetarium pretty much first thing so we headed over to that area. Ian was absolutely in love with all the stuff in the gift shop outside the theater (shocker).
Matthew was absolutely TERRIFIED of the movie we went to which was a bit traumatic for all of us. He was sobbing and begging to leave but we were really far from the exit. We survived and while walking out, with tears still on his face, he claimed it to be the “best movie ev-uh!” LOL
More exploring in the planetarium…
After a quick but extremely expensive lunch in the cafeteria, we went in search of dinosaur bones!
Matthew was more interested in socializing with other children than he was in the dinosaurs.
Ian was more interested in playing with the computerized exhibit thingys than he was in the dinosaurs.
Talking the ear off this girl and completely ignoring the really cool dinosaur standing next to him.
Awww! Little baby!
Mass chaos in the T-Rex room!
Ian was being a massive brat at this point…because all he wanted to do is go back to the gift shop and buy a science experiment kit. LOL
I was there!
Ian was super excited to see bald eagles at the museum since he knew that they are the “bird of the USA” LOL
We tried to get the boys to watch “Night at the Museum” to get them excited for our trip to the museum. They really didn’t watch much of the movie but were completely humored by this Easter Island head. I kept saying “Dum Dum want some Gum Gum!!!” like the head says in the movie and they just laughed and laughed. 🙂
The boys posing in front of a cross section of a 1300-year old giant sequoia just makes me want to go to Sequoia National Park in California.
Dancing under the giant blue whale. They got in trouble for dancing here, believe it or not. (Why does NYC hate children?!?!?!? LOL)
After this, we couldn’t take the nagging any more so we got some stuff from the gift shop and then headed back to Central Park to let the boys blow off some steam.
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Leaving Central Park proved to be a little more than Matthew could handle and he basically threw a collosal fit.
Exhibit A: Matthew being difficult and Michael ready to throw my camera on the subway tracks Russell Brand-style. LOL
Exhibit B: Matthew sitting on the floor in protest. LOL
Given all the nagging, whining, and fit throwing, we weren’t overly surprised when BOTH boys immediately fell asleep on the subway. LOL
After a short rest at the hotel, we drove to my friend Lauren’s house for dinner with her family. I might be biased but I think we have the cutest boys ever. 🙂
We had a lot of fun but it ended up being a late night. I wish we could have spent more time together!
When I last left you, we were on the ferry and headed to Ellis Island….
It was a short ride over and soon we had arrived.
If you can’t tell from the picture above, we started losing Matthew at this point. He just didn’t care about the exhibits and was tired and bored.
This computerized flag/photo thing was the only exhibit Ian and Matthew cared about at Ellis Island. LOL
I want to go back without the kids some time. The exhibits were so interesting to me. I probably could have spent a full day there. The hour we spent was just not enough time.
Baggage exhibit on the first floor:
The Registry Room (second floor):
They had copies of Passenger Manifests on display.
We really didn’t get to see any of the exhibits on the balcony. I believe all of the rooms were previously dorm rooms and they were set up with exhibits inside. I quickly walked through one while Mike took the boys to the mens room but (again) I really could have spent a lot more time exploring.
The photographs of the Registry Room that they reference above were really cool. Unfortunately, they really didn’t photograph well.
In one of the dorm rooms they had an exhibit showing what the dorm rooms looked likein 1908 with triple-tiered bunk beds.
I’ve never been in a prison but I’d say those bunks don’t look much different than what you’d find in jail. Not very accommodating, huh?
At this point, we pretty much had to leave. Naggy McNaggerson was nagging to leave and we were tired of trying to reason with him. LOL
On the way out, I got some more pictures of the baggage on the first floor.
It was such a fascinating place to visit, I can’t wait to go back!
After we took the ferry back to Battery Park, we sat in the park for a bit to people watch and to snack on some food we bought from the carts/trucks in the park.
We walked over to the The Sphere. The sculpture stood in between the original World Trade Center towers and survived the 9/11 attacks relatively intact.
After a short break, we walked over to the 9/11 Memorial. When I planned our trip, I made reservations for admission around 3:00PM because I wasn’t sure how much time we’d need Liberty Island or Ellis Island. We were worried the ferries would take a long time and we’d miss our entrance if we scheduled them too close together. We figured if we had extra time that we could go down to Times Square while we waited. When we entered the Statue of Liberty security line, we were given passes for 1:15PM. Since we got to the memorial at 12:55PM, it actually worked out much better to use the 1:15PM tickets.
I’m going to be honest, the 9/11 Memorial was a bit intimidating. After a long line through security and multiple checks of our passes (3-4x?), we finally got into the memorial. There were armed police officers EVERYWHERE and cameras all over the place. Even once we were past security and on the grounds of the memorial, we were still asked to show our passes multiple times. Obviously security and safety are a big concern given the nature of the memorial but it was disconcerting, distracting, and unwelcoming.
Given all of the security presence, it probably comes as no surprise that Mike and the boys were “talked to” multiple times about the boy’s behavior (walking in places they shouldn’t walk, touching things they shouldn’t touch). We didn’t stay long because the boys were losing interest and it was nearly impossible to keep them occupied without breaking rules.
That being said….the memorial was gorgeous, peaceful, and very sobering.
I’d like to say Ian was overcome with emotions due to the nature of the memorial but mostly he was upset about getting in trouble for who knows what. Please note the look of frustration on Mike’s face. LOL
As we left, I noticed the line to get into the memorial was so long that people were standing in a maze. I’m glad we went when we did and didn’t use our 3:00PM tickets. We never really had to wait in a super bad line. While the line was long, it moved pretty steadily through the security process so that we weren’t just standing around/not moving.
After leaving the 9/11 Memorial, we took the subway down to Times Square. 
Times Square was as busy and as overwhelming as it always is. Actually, it was worse with kids. LOL There are so many people, so many cars, so many lights, so much to see that it is very overwhelming and making sure you don’t lose your kids (or spouse) in the crowd is stressful. It’s just insanity. I don’t really have any pictures that demonstrate how nutty it is because I only took pictures in the more calm areas where I wasn’t as worried about losing my kids. LOL
One of the first things we saw in Times Square was MARIO!!! Ian had **just** gotten a new Super Mario Bros game for his 3DS a few days before our trip so he was ALL about Mario.
Mike has a pretty funny story about the chaos that ensued after the boys took pictures with the characters. Mario came over looking for a donation so Mike tipped him…but he didn’t have enough small bills so Hello Kitty got a bigger tip (which was really too bad because the boys only cared about Mario and Minnie Mouse). The three characters almost got into a fight over the money right on the street until their handler came over to get them under control. The best part was that Mario was arguing with Minnie and Hello Kitty in his high-pitched character voice. LOL
After walking around a bit, we headed to the Toys R Us in Times Square. The store is multiple levels and just completely over the top. It has a full-size ferris wheel in the lobby and enormous statues, dinosaurs, Lego creations, and super heroes all over the place.
Lego Statue of Liberty, Chrysler Building, Empire State Building (mostly out of the picture):
Ferris Wheel:
At this point, the kids were pretty much DONE. We had bought them small Lego packs and they were desperate to have them opened. Since we still had to walk to the subway, take the subway to Lower Manhattan, walk to the WTC train station, take the train back to NJ, drive to our hotel, and get to our room….opening the Lego packs was pretty much the last thing we were going to do and they were NOT happy.
On our way back to the subway, we stopped in the Hershey Store. Not even a 5lb Hershey bar could cheer them up. L0ok at that grump face on Ian. LOL
We finally found the subway station for the downtown train and quickly caught a train.
Matthew insisted on sitting by himself.
I’m not sure we were on the train for two full minutes before this happened:
When we finally got back to the hotel, we swam in the hotel pool for a bit and then walked across the street to eat at Popeye’s. We were all really tired from the long day, walking, and heat and just needed a low-key dinner.
After dinner, we watched TV, played games, and read in the hotel room.
I actually took so many pictures on this day of our vacation that I’ve decided to blog about it in two parts. 🙂
The first day of sight-seeing started pretty early because we had tickets for the 8AM ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I had done enough research to know that trains into Manhattan left about every 4-5 minutes from the station near our hotel but we didn’t know how packed they’d be (at capacity/forcing us to wait for a later train), how long the ride would take, or how long it would take us to get to Battery Park once we got into Manhattan. If I remember correctly, I think we were at the train station at 6:30AM. We caught a (not full) train pretty quickly and the ride into the city took about 30 minutes.
When we came out of the train station, we got a bit lost. The train left us off at the World Trade Center which is (obviously) undergoing much construction. There were many areas where sidewalks were closed and we couldn’t get across busy intersections. We ended up walking in a big giant circle and doubling back to the train station. Once there, we figured out the right path to Battery Park. It was a little stressful because we wasted a lot of time and I was worried about how long it was going to take to walk to the ferry.
World Trade Center 1 (previously known at the Freedom Tower):
Thankfully, the walk to Battery Park was uneventful and we were easily able to find where we needed to go to board the ferry. We got there about 20 minutes before they opened so we just sat and enjoyed the view from the park.
When the building opened, we were probably the third group of people in line. As we got into line, we were handed 4 passed to the World Trade Center memorial.
Security for the ferry went quickly and we queued up in a building prior to boarding the ferry. We were probably “stuck” in this room for 20 minutes and it completely sucked. It was warm, we were crammed in there, and the boys were bored as hell. I don’t know why they didn’t just let us board the ferry. Grrrr.
Finally, we were allowed on the boat. We went right up to the top level and sat facing Manhattan (backs to the Statue of Liberty, you can kind of see her in the distance):
Our seats ended up being fantastic because as the ferry approached the Statue, we had front row seats to see her!!!
The view back to Manhattan was gorgeous, as well. I was taking pictures directly into the sun and couldn’t see a thing through the view finder. I was praying I was getting good shots and was very pleased with the results:
Matthew was a bit cranky so I didn’t have much luck photographing him.
He blessed us with picking his nose during this picture though….I was shooting directly into the sun again and didn’t realize that until well after we’d left Liberty Island.
While we were waiting to get on the ferry, one of the National Park Service employees told us about a”Junior Ranger” program they have on Liberty Island. Basically, kids get a workbook to complete that teaches them all about the history of the Statue of Liberty. When they’ve completed the workbook, you turn it in at the National Park Service office and they make you a Junior Park Ranger. Needless to say, Ian was ALL about that!
Looking at some vintage souvenirs and talking with some rangers.
Matthew refused to participate in this picture. LOL
After working on Ian’s book a bit, we walked around to the front of the statue:
I couldn’t help imagining what the view to Manhattan must have looked like from Liberty Island before 9/11/01. The day we visited was clear and gorgeous and reminded me so much of 9/11/01. With the anniversary was right around the corner and our trip to the memorial later that day, it was definitely on my mind.
Ellis Island:
Forget sight-seeing, Ian has a workbook to complete!!!
The Liberty Bike built by Orange County Choppers. The motorcycle is plated in copper that was preserved from the centennial restoration of the Statue of Liberty National Monument through an exclusive agreement with The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., under direction of The National Park Service / US Department of Interior.
At this point, it was getting pretty warm out and the boys were in need of food and beverages. We went to the restaurant and basically ordered lunch at 10AM. LOL
After that break, it was time to see how we did on our workbook!
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCNSy9i5g8E
Park Ranger: “Do you promise to share this experience with others?”
Ian: “TOTALLY!” LOL
I thought it was nice that they gave Matthew a badge. 🙂
My Junior Park Rangers:
After that, we made one more trip to the front of the Statue:
Then we headed to the gift shop and visited the bathrooms. As we walked there, we saw ferries bringing more tourists to the island. We were glad we took the first ferry over because these were PACKED.
We bought a handful of items at the gift shop. I thought this Barbie was cute but not cute enough to buy. 🙂
Waiting for a ferry to Ellis Island:
Matthew (voluntarily) pretending to be the Statue of Liberty:
Matthew not appreciating my direction to do less screaming of the word “cheese” and more smiling:
Mike getting in on the act:
After becoming a Junior Park Ranger, Ian walked around Liberty Island with his chest all puffed out and saying he had “a job to do”. LOL Love that kid.
On the ferry to Ellis Island:
…..to be continued…..
I’m on my way to Ireland for two weeks to fill in for a co-worker that is out on medical leave. I should have some time to explore while I’m there and I am hoping that I see some amazing sights. If I see things that are half as beautiful as these pictures, I’ll be a happy girl. 🙂
I’ll be flying home September 28th and will probably have a million pictures to share. See you then!
Most of the first day was spent in the car; driving to our hotel in Harrison, NJ.
Once we arrived and got settled in our room, we decided to find some place to eat and then maybe drive to Liberty State Park to get a better view of Manhattan.
Mike researching dinner options on the GPS, Matthew watching a kids show on Netflix, and Ian trying to convince someone to play poker with him.
The general theme of this trip was Matthew’s uncooperative attitude when it came to taking pictures. To get him in a better mood, we tried the “make a silly face, make a sad face” trick. Clearly he was having none of that.
Our search for a restaurant didn’t go well so we decided to head right to Liberty State Park and pick up some fast food on our way back to our hotel. Of course, the first thing we see after parking is an ice cream truck. We got the boys ice cream hoping it would make them cooperative while we were there.
I’m happy to report, the ice cream seemed to do the trick. Of course, all my pictures have messy-faced kids. You can’t win every battle, right? LOL
Statue of Liberty!!!
Grouchy puss
Central Railroad of NJ Train Terminal
Ian with his finger “on” the Empire State Building:
Chess set at the Liberty House Restaurant
Mike, walking with his boys, on his birthday.
