NYC Trip

We just got back last night from our trip to NYC and it was fabulous! Traveling went so smoothly and we really enjoyed riding the subway. We had no problems with Evan, the stroller, and managing them. This will be kind of a long post so I can recap the trip and insert a few pics!

Thursday:
We got in Thursday afternoon and made our way to the hotel (took NJ train to Penn Station then caught the subway). Relaxed, ate, then went to walk around Central Park since we were only 2 blocks away. We let Evan play on the children's playground.

After that, we headed to Whole Foods to buy baby food then back to the hotel to wait for Angie, Dan, Hadley, and my mom! They got in fine and we all caught up. Then that night, Bryce, Evan, and I went to our friend Andy's house for a little bbq/graduation party where we got to see other ND college friends Patrick, Nick, Sean, and Kate! It was a great time catching up with everyone and congrats to Andy on graduating Law School.

Friday:
What a packed day of NYC sightseeing. We got up and made our way by subway to Battery Park. There, we took the Staten Island Ferry so we could see the Statue of Liberty (for free and with no line waiting). We took the ferry back to Manhattan. Then, we walked around Battery Park and up to Ground Zero (which looks like a construction site these days).














Next, we headed to Wall Street where we saw the Stock Exchange and Trinity Church. After a slice of pizza, we headed back up north to the Museum of Natural History. It was a great museum. We saw a solar system exhibit, mammals of all kinds (including a wolverine), North American Indians, human origins (think evolution), and finally dinosaurs which Evan loved!
That night, Grandma babysat so Bryce and I could go see Billy Elliot on Broadway! Great show and fun to see on Broadway. The theatres are so much more intimate than something like Bass Concert Hall.

Saturday:
We went to breakfast at Sarabeth's across from Central Park. Then, we went back to the hotel to meet Sarah, Marie, Alan, and Moira who just flew in that morning. After settling in, we all headed out to do some sightseeing and dinner. We went to Greenwich Village, saw some street performers in Washington Square, and walked through Soho.
Then, we walked through China Town and Little Italy. We had dinner at La Mela in Little Italy... yummy! After dinner, we headed to Long Island City for Lauren's rehearsal dinner. Finally we got to see the bride!

Sunday:
This morning, the Hammel/Stacer clan headed to breakfast on the Upper West Side with our cousins, Bob, Teresa, and James Yarling! It was great to see them after such a long time and for them to meet Evan. James really enjoyed sharing his animal figurines with Evan and telling me fun stories.

After breakfast, we met up with the rest of the HS group and headed to Fao Schwarz. Wow, what a store! We searched for a fun toy for Evan and finally Grandma bought him this safari toy (which he is starting to really enjoy).

After that, we walked up to the Central Park Zoo. It's a small zoo, but it was still neat to see all the animals. Evan was fascinated with the polar bear!

Sunday night was the wedding which was absolutely gorgeous! Lauren looked fantastic and the ceremony was very touching. The reception was a lot of fun... I don't think we've stayed up that late in a long time (when Evan wasn't keeping us up). Grandma babysat Evan so we could stay and enjoy ourselves. Congratulations Lauren and Jeff!

Monday:
We did some more sightseeing. We went to the Top of the Rockefeller Center where we could see all of Manhattan. Then we walked to Times Square. A few of our party left this day which was sad.

Tuesday:
We met Patrick one last time for lunch at the Shake Shack (delicious!) before heading to the train station to get to the airport. We said goodbye to NYC and headed back to Austin.

It was an awesome trip. I was so glad to spend time with so many friends and family. And most important was being able to be there for Lauren's wedding! Thanks to Grandma for coming to watch Evan and letting Bryce and I enjoy ourselves without worrying about him. We really appreciate it!