Day 27 - NYC to Hershey

My good buddy from high school, Eric Feige, met me for breakfast so we could catch up with one another.  Eric lives nearby in New Jersey and he his family seem to be doing well and enjoying area.

After the nice visit it was back in the saddle.  Off from the Greatest Show on Earth to Chocolate Ave.

Surprisingly, the driving portions of our trip have not been too cumbersome.  And, more surprisingly, the DVD player has been used only sparingly.  Instead the time has been filled with license plate games, looking up info on things we pass via the iPad, reading, and Tyner's comedy hour starring:  SOCK MONKEY!

By the end of the day, we were pulling up to one of our favorite places:  Hershey, Pennsylvania.  A master planned city built by Milton Hershey for the workers of the his burgeoning chocolate factory in the early 1900s.  A place where street lights are the shape of Hershey kisses.  Main Street still has that old town feel.  And the factory anchors the town.

Today was a nice family day leading into what should be a relaxing week and some time to recharge our batteries.

Day 26 - OKC in NYC

Today was Rose Creek day in Big Apple.  The Cates and Ferguson girls had a lunch date at the  American Girl Doll Store and the boys did the guy tour.  

Sofia's new friend is Laynie and Ileana's is Josephina.

For the boys, the day started at the official grand opening of the Lego Store.  Our crew pitched in building small lego bricks to lego master specifications which would then be turned into a gigantic version of the apple behind us in the picture.  Even Fox News was on hand to interview some of the attendees.  The boys got some special "I Love NY" shirts (like at the top of this entry) with their Grand Opening purchases.  For them, it was the perfect NY souvenir.  

Just down the road from Rockefeller Center is St. Patrick's Cathedral.  Beautiful inside and on par with any of it's European contemporaries.

What's a trip to New York without visiting Apple's 5th Avenue Apple Store?  The boys made sure that the iPhone 4 would indeed meet our expectations.  We tried to give the apple dude a tip if he could put us at the front of the line.  He basically said, "fuhhggetttaabouuutitt"

Next door is FAO Schwartz where one must do an obligatory dance on the Big Piano like Tom Hanks did in the movie "Big".

Later, the girls made it by for a song.

The boys and girls all met up at Dylan's Candy Bar -- a cornucopia of sugary treats.  They have an incredible variety of old classic candies and virtually every flavor of today's most popular treats.  Want a gummy fried egg?  Check.  Want to know the favorite candies of your favorite star?  Check.  Want each kid to fill a bucket full of candy even though there is absolutely no room in the van?  Check.

After a short respite in Central Park, we all headed to the subway to take in one of the most New York of events -- a Yankees game.  The subway ride was half the fun.

The New Yankee Stadium opened last season as is quite an icon itself.  It seats about 50,000 and serves sushi right alongside the Nathan's hot dogs.  Stylistically, it gives a nod to the previous stadium while maintaining a stainless steel edge.

The Yankees had a tough night against the Seattle Mariners, but I doubt any of the kids will remember the outcome in the years to come -- just that for some unknown reason, they tend to pull for the Yankees.

Day 25 - New York City

Start spreading the news...  We are here.  Woke up to a beautiful view of Manhattan.  We are certainly tourists, but, whenever possible, we try to travel like the locals.  In this case, it was taking the ferry from Imperial Port to Manhattan.  Amazing the efficiency with which things work here.  Ferries leave every 20 minutes.  People file on people file off.  We were apparently the only tourists as no one else was taking pictures.  Funny that the other riders could conceivably be numb to all of this largess.  But they certainly seemed to be.  As the ferry pulled closer, the buildings which seemed almost normal from a distance because of how they scale with one another, grew to overwhelming proportions.  The kids were mesmerized.

Oh yeah, and under the heading of "fact is stranger than fiction" check out our ferry's moniker:

Off the ferry we took a bus to the corner of 34th Street & 5th Avenue -- home of the Empire State Building.  Not sure what's more amazing about it, the sheer size, the panoramic views, the art deco style that is still stylish today --  or that this 102 story structure was built in 410 days.  Averaging a complete floor every four days?  In a mind boggling City this tops the list.

The kids loved the views of the City.  Tyner mentioned how all of the yellow cars (taxi cabs) looked like  toys.  Speaking of, it's striking at the percentage of taxis vs. other cars.  (especially to a family from Oklahoma City where catching a cold is far easier than catching a cab)

Overall, the Empire State Building was a great initial stop on our blitz of New York City.  It gave the kids a great initial view of the island and a landmark they could see during the rest of our stay to compare where they are.

Done at the observation deck, the kids stopped for some clowning in the gift shop before we jumped aboard the hop on hop off bus for the City tour.

The kids listened attentively while we toured our way through lower Manhattan, finally disembarking at the Wall Street / Battery Park area.  As we walked over to check out the boat schedule for the statue of liberty, we walked right by another Oklahoma youngster negotiating for a great deal on a Rolex watch.  We didn't realize it was Parker until we saw the rest of the Cates Clan walking through the park.  Wonderful to see our great friends from down the street!  Both families had independently planned trips to NYC that serendipitously overlapped.  We expected to catch up with them tomorrow.  But, seeing them this afternoon was an added bonus --as were Parker's negotiating skills for some much needed (F)Oakleys!

While we waited for our time on the boat, we did some exploring through the Wall Street area to run with the bull, model our new sunglasses, and have a slice of pie at a local pizzeria.

We caught the last ferry of the day out to the harbor for better viewing of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  As far as icons go, the Statue has to be up there with the Washington Monument and the Capitol.    There is something magical about it -- especially when you put in in the context of the immigrants who first saw it on their way to Ellis Island.  Then, turn 90 degrees and look at the massive city and lifestyle those same immigrants helped create over the coming years in the form of Manhattan.  It's easy to sense that feeling of a melting pot on the ferry.  The boat was full of so many people of different ages, backgrounds, religions and countries.  This harbor means a lot to the world.  It symbolizes the realization of those same unlimited possibilities that the Colonials promised years earlier through words and deeds.

Back on the bus to see the Brooklyn Bridge, Chinatown, Little Italy and the United Nations.  Back off for a quick stop at the Rockefeller Center.  The Today Show studio and international flags around the plaza were impressive, but not as impressive as the newly built Lego Store within the center.  As you would expect in New York it is BIG.  Grand Opening is tomorrow.  We'll be back!

As much as the State of Liberty says hope and possibilities, Times Square says hutzpah!  The lights of Vegas pale in comparison to this shopping and advertising mecca.  The kids were wide eyed as we wandered along the area, darting in and out of shops.

We met up with the Cates for a gourmet meal at McDonald's before saying goodnight and heading back to our hotels.  Keeping it real, we decided to take the city bus.  Nothing like trying to figure out that for the first time at midnight at the Times Square station.  We were resilient though.  And after a tip of a complete stranger who took us to our gate (that's right, a gate) we were aboard the bus and headed home.  The day was an exhausting blur.  But, isn't that the way it's supposed to be in New York City?