Monday began early. Like, really early. Like, sunrise early. I'm not a fan of early. I don't like arriving to places early... or rather, I can't arrive early. I don't like getting up early... or rather, I can't get up early. I abhor alarm clocks that beckon me out of sleep before my body naturally awakens. Early and me aren't typically friends. In this regard, I'm not usually a fan of Summit in the mornings, who goes along with early like peaches go along with cream. I still love him, of course, but his early morning energy drives me bonkers. Yesterday, though, it was almost needed to remind me to get moving with the first light of day as we had a date with one of the greatest cities in the world.
We boarded the packed train in Katonah with the other commuters into the city. There were three seats in a grouping of 4 for Matt and the kids to share with some unfortunate man who was hoping to brood over the news in the Wall Street Journal in silence. I was deeply saddened happy forced to sit alone with some strangers across the aisle. After waking up so early, a peaceful ride in was much appreciated, and when we got off the train in Grand Central Station, I was probably far better off than I would have been had I refereed Super Mario Bros contestants the whole way.
So, right away, the kids were enamored. Grand Central Station is quite a sight for anyone whose eyes are new to its beauty. It's iconic for a reason. It's "Grand" for a reason. The Beaux-Arts architecture of the terminal is entrancing and classic. The open main concourse, with its ticket booths, central clock, and constellation-covered ceiling, has the ability to transport people to other moments in history. The whole thing is nothing short of outstanding.
We left Grand Central via the 42nd Street exit and headed west, greeted immediately by the huge buildings, flashing lights, and honking taxis, whose impressions left us with no choice but to scrape the kids' jaws off the sidewalk. At the corner of 42nd and Vanderbilt, the kids got their picture snapped with a couple of NYC's finest. They were really friendly, but it took me by surprise how close Summit's head got to one of their guns. We left the fellas in blue and cruised down the sidewalk, passing over Madison and 5th Avenues and the New York Public Library before stopping for a snack and a potty break in Bryant Park, home of New York fashion week. Loved it. Loved. It. Didn't love walking in on a cop using the ladies room, but loved the rest of it.
Our next stop was Times Square, which never fails to deliver. A mounted officer let E and S pet his horse, and I think it was here that Summit first discovered the pigeons, who he instantly referred to as pterodactyls and chased wildly. Luckily for Ella, some model was having a photo shoot, and she thought that was super-cool. Her goal, after all, was to find famous people, and anyone who had a professional camera aimed in his or her direction had to be famous. Besides all of that, Times Square is dazzling in its own right. There are so many enormous digital billboards and flashing lights and people and smells (not all good, by the way) and sounds. Every sense is electrified. Every sense absorbs the world around. Everything is so alive. It's completely captivating. You could spend a whole lifetime trying to learn about Times Square and still not know everything about it.
When we were able to reclaim our minds from the spell-binding world around 7th and Broadway, we caught a cab to 200 Central Park West. Along the way to the Natural History Museum, we were fortunate enough to view a little of the crazy of the city when some creepy old guy stretched back on a bench in the MIDDLE of Columbus Circle and undid his pants to do something. I have no idea what, because the green light saved us from finding out. Eventually we made it to the museum, which totally rocked, especially for Summit, who hit the jackpot with some amazing dinosaur fossils. (And, I'm pretty positive that I spotted an actress from How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days in the Asian People section of the place. I like to see the famous people, too. Honestly, Ella gets it from me.)
Our appetite for dinosaurs filled, we realized our appetite for food was not, so we hopped into another cab to 59th and 5th Avenue. The driver took us through the park and we passed the ridiculously wealthy homes of the ridiculously wealthy people on the east side of Manhattan. I found it humorous that in the middle of all of these residential buildings the most noticeable "business" was a doctors' group, whose practices included one skin specialist, one psychiatrist, and two plastic surgeons. Duh.
The taxi dropped us off at the General Motors building, where ABC was filming a segment with musician David Gray. Across the street was the Plaza Hotel and the south side of Central Park. We walked down 58th to look for a place to eat. Around Me on the iPhone suggested Cipriani's or Le Caprice or Rouge Tomate, but everyone knows that we're too high-class for those places! :) Instead, a door guy told us about a great little place between Park and Lexington called Park Gourmet. It was perfect. Katie and Kelley Rose met up with us there, and we left for one of the most awesome places in the world: FAO Schwarz.
Two hours after we entered the famous toy store, where we were greeted by real-life toy soldiers, treated to magic shows, and danced on the Big Piano (yours for the low price of $250K), we finally left. Summit had scored an awesome sword, which turned him into Thor the Avenger. Ella opted for nothing (no wonder buying her Christmas presents is so hard) and instead decided her memento for the day would be a drawing of her done by an artist who had stationed himself on a walk outside the park. He did a great job, but used his language barrier as an opportunity to rip us off for an extra 30 bucks. Whatever. It was worth it. Ella was so excited.
The last major thing on our agenda was to walk around Central Park. Well, most of us walked. Summit Thor the Avenger ran after the pigeons pterodactyls the whole time. The kid kills me. You know you're on your way when even the most insane people in New York City peer out of their lunacy to laugh at you. After popsicles and a ride on the carousel, it was time to catch the subway to Katie's car. It was time to go home.
Last night, boarding the plane in La Guardia, I was zonked out. Completely. My feet hurt. My back ached. My brain was floating somewhere outside of my body. (All of this, and no Widespread Panic show in sight. Ha!) And it was all so very worth it. Yesterday was one of those family outings that won't soon be forgotten.
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