We just arrived home from an amazing trip and I'm still surprised how well it all went. I think I spent a year planning this trip- so much brain power and organization went into planning everything and I'm so relieved it was worth it.
We started our huge road trip after picking up Bailey from FSY in Missouri. Then we drove 15 hours to Maryland for the night. As it turned out, that day was June 21 and it was our 18th anniversary. I will say it wasn't our most romantic anniversaries- but we were happy to be starting our big trip.
Sunday morning, June 22, we drove about 3 hours to Delaware City and visited "Fort Delaware". This was a really cool old Fort that was constructed in the early 1800's. It became most famous because of it's use as a prisoner of war camp during the Civil War. At one point during the Civil War there were over 12,000 confederate soldiers imprisoned there. After touring the POW barracks, can't imagine how they all fit. It was notorious for overcrowding and poor sanitation. And although it never saw direct combat during the war, it protected important ports like Wilmington and Philadelphia from confederate naval threats. Today the fort is a well-preserved historical site and visitors can explore the fort through living history programs. We really enjoyed learning about the fort and getting to explore. The kids really enjoyed the ferry ride over to the fort as well.
We spent a few hours that morning exploring even though it was so hot, we had a great time. We did have to grab some ice cream afterwards to cool off.
Then we left Delaware and drove to Philadelphia. I have always loved Philadelphia and even though we have visited Philly before, we decided we needed to stop again and explore. Our first stop was lunch and we indulged in some delicious Philly cheese steaks. They were so yummy and everyone enjoyed them.
From there, we stopped by to see the foundation of the First President's house.
Then we went to see the "Liberty Bell" and tour Independence Hall.
On our previous visit we didn't get to tour Independence Hall so we were so excited. I had reserved a tour time about a month previously with the hope that we would be able to make it work and happily it did.
Our tour guide was really funny and had us all laughing. Another fun part of this trip was that my kids all love "Hamilton" the musical, and throughout our trip the kids would quote different lines from the play. This made any revolutionary war historical sites really fun and I feel like the kids understood more of it because of their obsession with Hamilton. The chair in the top right picture was the chair that President George Washington sat in during the Constitutional Convention. It was pretty cool to think about.
After our tour of Independence Hall, we walked over to the Revolutionary War History Museum and played there for the rest of the day. It was pretty cool. There were so many artifacts and we watched a film about Washington's war tent and got to see the original.
After we finished at the museum we drove to our hotel for the night, outside of Philadelphia.
The next morning we woke up early and drove in NYC.
I think I was most stressed about our time in NYC. The idea of navigating the subway system and trying to keep my kids together white walking the busy streets had me really nervous.
Our arrival in NYC didn't help my stress. Our hotel in NYC didn't have a parking garage so we had to go to the offsite parking and leave our van there. Then we were told that we had to take all of our stuff with us right then. So we scrambled to unload the van and then carry all our belongings to our hotel. This was about a 10 minute walk, but carrying and pulling our suitcases, it felt much longer. When we got to our hotel, we couldn't check in yet because it was too early, but there was a storage room where we could leave our stuff until check-in time. So we left our bags and stuff at the hotel and then set out to explore the big city. I should also note that it was about 98 degrees outside and super humid so we were very sweaty from hauling our stuff from the parking garage, but we determined to have a great day anyway.
On our walk to "Summit One Vanderbilt" we passed the New York Public Library and Bailey begged to go inside so we went inside to explore. The building alone was beautiful but it's also the one of the largest public library systems in the country. Benson and Tucker found these pigeon and rat finger puppets in the bookstore and thought they were pretty appropriate for NYC.
After the library we walked over to "Summit One Vanderbilt" and got in line for our reservation. I had heard of Summit from a friend and I knew that we had to visit it. It's an observation experience that combines immersive art, architectural innovation and a bit of a thrill experience. It spans three floors and is about 1200 feet above the city. It was so cool and we all enjoyed it.
I think the kids' favorite part was the floating spheres. This exhibit was called "levitation" and it was pretty fun. We all enjoyed bunting the balls around and watching them float around the ceiling.
We had some fun taking pictures before moving onto the other exhibits. The kids had fun doing the "ELF pose" going up the escalators. It was pretty funny to watch. Chris and I couldn't stop laughing.
I sure love this family of mine and I love getting to experience new things together. It's my favorite!
We went up to the glass floor exhibit next and that was a little freaky. Something about being able to see below you from that high up that does something to your brain.
After Summit One we walked over to "Ellen's Stardust Diner" and got lunch. There was a bit of a wait to get in for a group of 6 so we split into two tables of 3 and got seated much quicker.
Ellen's Stardust Diner is a 1950's styled Broadway themed diner famous for it's singing staff. The waitresses and waiters are all working to get to make it to Broadway and they have amazing voices. We loved it. Our waitress actually sang "Defying Gravity" when it was her turn to perform and Bailey, Tucker & I were so happy. She did great and we enjoyed it so much.
After Ellen's, we walked back to our hotel via Time's Square and explored as we walked back. It was busy and loud and the were people everywhere. But we were starting to get the hang of it and made our way back to our hotel without issue. By this time we were able check in to our room so we did that and cooled off for a little while. New York City was under a severe heat advisory and we were definitely feeling it.
After cooling off and resting, we ventured back out to get dinner. We decided to get authentic NY pizza and it did not disappoint.
I think I could eat NY pizza every single day and be totally happy. It's so yummy.
After dinner we walked over to "Magnolia's Bakery" to try their famous banana pudding. It was so rich but also very yummy.
When I was planning this trip I asked friends for recommendations and "Magnolia" was one of those recommendations. It was well worth the walk.
After our dessert we walked over to Time's Square to see it all lit up at night. It was even more crazy at night then it was during the day.
We explored as we walked back to our room but the larger crowds were a little more stressful and I was anxious to get back to our room. That was it for our first day in NYC. It was a success and we had a great time.
The next morning we had our first experience on the New York subway system. We hopped on the subway headed to battery park to go see "The Statue of Liberty."
The kids loved riding the subway and over the next few days we got pretty good at navigating our way around.
We rode the subway to battery park and then picked up our tickets for the Statue of Liberty. I had reserved crown tickets back in January and we were pretty excited to get to go all the way to the top.
We rode the ferry to Liberty Island and while it was miserably hot, even at 9 am, we still had a great time.
When we got to Liberty Island we walked over to the lockers to stash our stuff. We were only allowed to bring tickets, phones and plastic water bottles. The kids gave themselves a challenge to not complain the whole time- even up all 354 steps to the crown of Lady Liberty. Neither Chris nor I gave them this challenge, they decided all on their own and I was so grateful. Because they decided not to complain, we had a great time in a situation that could have been miserable- due to the heat and cramped conditions.
We made it to the pedestal first and walked around the outside and then we finished the rest of the steps to the crown. The tickets to the crown were limited and so the group that climbed to the top was small.
I was so proud of the kids for staying positive and not complaining the entire time!
After climbing back down the Statue of Liberty, we got back on the ferry to head back to battery park. The kids were ready for a snack at this point, so we got some drinks and soft pretzels on the ferry. It was fun to see the city skyline as we rode the ferry back to Battery Park.
After the carousel we hopped back on the subway and rode it over to China Town to get some lunch. I can clearly remember going to China Town when I visited NY with my family in 2001. I was excited to take my family to get a deliciously authentic meal.
We went to Nom Wah's Tea Parlor and it did not disappoint. We enjoyed lots of different dishes and shared everything family style. The food was so amazing and we ate every single bite.
After lunch we did some souvenir shopping and then we walked over to the 9-11 memorial. We didn't go into the memorial, but we did the outdoor memorial. The memorial pays tribute to the 3000 lives lost during the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. There are two massive square reflecting pools, each nearly an acre in size, they are each in the location of the original trade centers. Each pool has a 30 ft fountain and name plaques around them with the names of the victims. They are beautiful and the memorial is heartbreaking. It was a somber experience.
After the 9-11 memorial we took the subway back to times square and went back to our hotel room to cool off and rest. I even took a short nap. Then we went out to get dinner. There was a delicious halal restaurant down the street from our hotel and we got dinner there. The food was so good and we all enjoyed it. Then we just went back to our room and relaxed and slept.
Wednesday was a really chill day because Chris had a work conference, so he was on a zoom call for most of the day. We all slept in until about 10 am, ate breakfast at the hotel and then got ready for the day. I spent some time getting our little hotel room straightened up. I also had to do some wash in the bath tub. We picked up Bailey from FSY when we left for this trip, so most of her clothes were dirty when we picked her up. So her and I washed a few items in the bathtub to hold her over until we could get to a room with a washing machine.
Then for lunch we went down the street to have a street vendor hot dog. That was one experience we decided to definitely needed to have. I think the kids all enjoyed it.
After we got our hotdogs, Bailey and I walked the boys back to the hotel and then left to find a book store she had researched and was dying to go to. So we hopped back on the Subway and as soon as we sat down I realized we were headed uptown instead of downtown. Sadly, the doors closed and we were stuck until the next stop. However, as soon as the doors closed this man called out "Ladies & Gentleman, this train is not headed uptown, today this train is going hometown" and then these two older black men started singing "My Girl" by Smokey Robinson. It was the cutest performance and Bailey and I couldn't stop giggling. Especially when they started serenading us. We had to tip them before we got off at the next stop.
Then Bailey and I got back on the subway headed the opposite direction. We made it to the bookstore without any more issues. The bookstore was really huge and Bailey was in heaven. It took her a while to finally decide on a book but she finally did and we bought it for her as her souvenir. She was so happy!
Then we came back to the hotel to relax for a bit before getting dinner. It was still very hot and so the frequent breaks in the A/C were necessary. For dinner we went to Tacos Numero Uno. This was another recommendation from friends and it did not disappoint. We got there at the perfect time because by the time we finished eating the line to get in was super long. The tacos were amazing and we all enjoyed them. The meat was cook on a spit and it was cut directly onto our plates. The meat was so tender and delicious.
After dinner we ran over to "Junior's" to get cheesecake. Again, "Junior's" was another recommendation. It was amazing cheesecake and we tried three different flavors. I think the cherry was my favorite.
After dessert, we walked down to Broadway to see "Harry Potter & the Cursed Child". We were all excited to see this play and it was one we could all agree on seeing. I had read the screenplay years ago and so I was really excited to see it.
I'm not sure that words can adequately describe how good this play was. We all loved it and had the best time seeing it. The special effects were amazing, the script was fun and had us laughing at parts. The storyline was just awesome and even though it was very expensive, I think it was worth every penny.
As we walked back to our hotel after the show, we were all talking about the show and our favorite parts. We just all enjoyed it so much. It was such a great experience. Even now, if you ask my kids what their favorite part of our trip was, most will say "Broadway". It was amazing!
We woke up Thursday morning to amazingly cool temperatures. A storm had blown through the night before and it cooled off so much. We were so grateful for the respite from the heat.
I had originally booked a carriage ride through Central Park for Monday, but it was canceled because of the extreme temperatures. Happily, the company I had booked the carriage ride through called and we were able to rebook it for Thursday morning. It was the perfect morning for a carriage ride!
We had a great time on our carriage ride and the tour guide was so funny and even though the ride was only 20 minutes, we still got to see some awesome sites.
After our rides were over the tour guide let the kids feed the horse some carrots. Our horses' names were Lucky and Bella. They were very well behaved and the driver said after 4 days of being cooped up and not allowed out because of the heat, the horses were happy to be working again. It was such a gorgeous morning.
After our carriage ride, we walked around Central Park for a while, the little boys had a great time exploring, climbing on the rocks and running through different paths.
Then we took the subway uptown to see some Revolutionary War historical sites. Our first stop was the "Morris-Jumel Mansion". It was built in 1765 and in the fall of 1776, George Washington used this house as his headquarters. The house offered an elevated location to oversee and direct troop movements.
From there we walked to Fort Tryon. It was a beautiful day and the walk took about 50 minutes. But we did stop to get pizza for lunch. It was so good.
We eventually arrived at Fort Tryon Park and explored there. Fort Tryon saw action during the Battle of Fort Washington, when both British and Hessian forces attacked on multiple sides to take control of Manhattan. Eventually it fell to the British and Hessians after intense fighting.
The defeat led to the capture of nearly 3,000 American troops, the largest number taken in any battle of the war.
It was established as a park in 1935 and today serves as a piece of history that you can walk through and enjoy.
After visiting the revolutionary war sites we took the subway back into midtown and did some souvenir shopping. Then we loaded up the van and left NYC. We said our goodbyes as we drove across the bridge and made our way to Connecticut.
That night we had dinner at a Jamaican place we found. It was so delicious and we all devoured it. There was some leftover and the kids loved it so much that they had it for breakfast the next morning.
On Friday, we drove over to Mystic, CT and went to the Mystic Seaport Museum. This was one of Chris' favorite stops because they were having their "Wooden Boat Festival" and there were so many gorgeous hand-crafted wooden boats.
We enjoyed learning all about the seaport history of Mystic. They have a reconstructed seaport village that acts as a living history museum so you can learn about different trades likes blacksmithing, coopering and ship-smithing. It's also home to the "Charles W. Morgan"- the last wooden whaleship in existence. We also got to tour another boat they are working to restore called the "Coronet". It's believed to be one of the last surviving Gilded Age sailing yachts.
We spent most the day exploring in Mystic. It was such a cute little town.
We grabbed some delicious clam chowder for lunch and then we continued on to the Submarine Force Museum.
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This museum was a spontaneous find by Chris. We were driving towards Rhode Island when Chris saw a sign for it, so we stopped. It was super cool. We even got to tour the "USS Nautilus".
We learned alot about life on a submarine and the history of the submarine force. I think the saddest part of the museum was the memorial area for those submarines and crew that we lost at sea. Some experience mechanical malfunctions and others simply disappeared in the ocean. It was heartbreaking.
After we finished at the museum, we drove to our hotel for the night and then grabbed some Thai food for dinner. Dinner was delicious and we all enjoyed it. We had so much delicious food on this trip!
On Saturday we had plans to meet up with my childhood bestie, Adrian Harber and her family. Adrian's husband Luke is in the Navy and they move frequently for his job. They arrived in Rhode Island just one week before and we were so happy that we were able to coordinate a time to meet up. We don't get to see each other nearly enough, but every time we get to hang out we just pick up where we left off. Adrian and Luke have 5 kids and they are all pretty close in age to ours, so the kids get along well. It just takes some time for them to warm up to each other.
We met the Harbers in Newport, Rhode Island for lunch on Saturday.
The food was delicious and afterwards we went on the cliff walk in Newport. The cliff walk is a 3.5 mile public access trail with amazing views of the Atlantic ocean on one side and stunning Gilded Age Mansions on the other side.
We walked the "Cliff walk" with the Harbers for a little over an hour and it was breath taking. Like most of New England area, the coastal views are incredible. The kids really loved the rocky part of the trail. They had a great time playing there and enjoyed looking for shells and throwing rocks into the water.
We also got to go through a cool tunnel along the cliff walk that led to another mansion. It was awesome.
After the cliff walk, we said our goodbyes to the Harbers and headed over to Providence, Rhode Island to do one of the excursions I was super excited for. I found this particular outing by accident and I was so excited. I have been wanting to do this for years, but never made it happen.
We did the "Rail Explorers" and it was so fun. This was an amazing experience where you pedal along historic railroad tracks in pedal-powered rail bikes—called Explorers—while soaking in scenic views of Narragansett Bay and coastal woodlands. The views were amazing and everyone loved it. We had reserved two "explorers" but they hooked them together so we were one and we all pedaled together. This turned out to be one of our favorite things we did on this trip. It was so cool.
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So we rode our explorers 3 miles down the coast and then they had a little break spot set up with chairs and firepits so you could rest. Then they turned your bikes around and you pedaled the 3 miles back. The coastal views are my favorite and we just all really loved this outing.
When it was over, we grabbed some dinner and headed to our hotel for the night. We were tired from our big day and a full week of traveling and exploring, but still in good spirits.
Saturday marked the first full week of visiting the New England States and meant we had one more week to go. We were all already feeling sad that our trip was halfway over, but there was still so much fun to look forward to. Stay tuned for week 2 of our trip.
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