Spring Break NYC: Part 2 (Easter)

Sunday morning we headed up to the Natural History Museum.  We got our tickets and then went in search of breakfast.  We ended up at what we didn't know, but quickly learned, was a pretty well known little bakery.  Levain Bakery is pretty amazing.  I had a baguette with butter and jam.  You may think that sounds boring.  Let me assure you that it was the BEST thing I've eaten in ages.  It was really quite amazingly delicious.  

 With breakfast sorted out we headed in:

If you can't spot the perfect detail in this I'm sorry.  But it was NOT posed or planned.  Best photography mistake ever:

 Highlight of the museum was probably the planetarium show:

 After the museum we headed up Broadway to Jennette's mother in laws place where we enjoyed an Easter dinner prepared by Jennette. Then we walked over to Riverside park for an Easter egg hunt.  Rob and Adam hid them and some twenty year olds started finding and eating the candy?!  When confronted they seemed shocked the eggs hadn't been left out for them.  Kids these days, I tell you what.

 The succesful hunters:

 We heart NYC

It was a great day.  So glad we had "family" to share Easter with.

Spring Break: NYC Part 1

This year when planning spring break we decided, when plane tickets were super cheap, to have a grand adventure in the Big Apple!  It was a good choice.  We flew out early Friday (April 3) and arrived in NYC that evening.  We did a VRBO and ended up in a total dive of an apartment in Hell's Kitchen just a couple blocks from Times Square.  It was not luxurious, but it worked, and I think none of us got fungus from the bathroom, miraculously.  Anyway, when we arrived paying for the place was a bit of a fiasco (it involved cash, trains, subways, shuttles, Uber, a few panicked calls, and several ATM withdrawls, but alls well that ends well).  Anyway after dumping our stuff we went out for a late dinner and a walk through the madness that is Times Square. 

 We didn't understand the M&M store.  At all:

The next morning, after an accidental detour at the wrong subway stop, we headed to the 9/11 memorial and Freedom Tower to meet up with Dustin and Courtney.  It was a happy reunion and it was cool to see the memorial:

 The Fennimore's were meeting us at City Hall, a few blocks away.  We took the scenic route and the walk became much longer.  The Fennimore's were very kind to wait much longer than the anticipated twenty minutes for our arrival.  We passed trinity church and had to duck in:

 Love old graveyards: 

 Tucker got to check up on his investments:

 Federal Hall:

 Aren't we fun:

Trinity from Wall Street:

 At last we we met up with the Fennimore's and we headed across the Brooklyn Bridge:

 The boys with South Street Seaport in the midground:

 Lu and the Manhattan Bridge:

Our first big trip together was to DC and NYC in 9th grade.  So fun to be able to share spring break:

 Dustin dared the kids to spit on the cars.  And they did.  Ewwww:

 The whole crew:

 Boxing:

It has been a long winter for NY, but there were a few signs of spring.  Too bad we didn't make it there one week later.  The place was on the verge of blooming:

 Jennette and I waited for carry-out Pizza's we ordered at Grimaldi's and the crew hung out at the spiffified Brooklyn Bridge Park:

 We were all pretty pleased to find this charging station in the park.  Good idea!

We ordered a TON of pizza.  What I wish we had a photo of is Dustin and Jennette carrying the leftover pizzas all over the city the rest of the day.

 Our next stop was the giant pillow fight in Washington Square Park.  This was a good/bad idea.  Tucker came out of the massive crowd saying Clara was lost.  Dustin and I took off to look for her.  It was craziness.  Dustin almost shut the party down.  He's good to have around in an emergency.  Fortunately she wasn't lost. (I asked a cop if he'd seen a little blonde girl with glasses and a pink coat.  He said yes, with her Dad.  Anyway....again all is well that ends well).  After the pillow fight mania the kids did some time on the playground:

On the way out of the park this happened.  ACK!!!  Those birds.....gross:

 Adam led us through the beautiful West Village on our way to the Highline.  It's such a great part of the city:

The Highline is awesome.  I can't wait to go back in the summer or fall.  Podcast listners, I just listened to a great podcast on the history of the Highline on a great NYC history podcast called Bowery Boys.  Loved it:

 We headed from the Highline to this awesome place.  Delicious.  From here Adam and the Fennimore kids, minus Olivia headed back up to his Mom's house.  The rest of us headed to the Flatiron Building:

 We had to practice our "natural" poses:

 The Fennimores had scooters which was so fun for the kids:

 We went to get hot chocolate at City Bakery.  Holy cow.  One sip goes a LONG ways.  One cup for our whole fam would have been plenty:

 Next we headed to Grand Central.  We were all pretty tired and had a pretty nice time just sitting on the ground, talking and people watching:

 The kids stretched at the counter.  Tucker has some very very very severe flexibility issues.  It's kind of hilarious and kind of sad.

 We said goodbye to the Homer's and Jennette posed very naturally with the leftover hot chocolate:

 On our way back to our place we had to go through Times Square and this was seen.  Ack!