The Empire State Building

Yesterday, we let the girls sleep in a bit as they had a hard time settling down after the show and then we headed to the Empire State Building. We were worried there would be long lines as it opened over an hour before we got there, but apparently NY tourists aren’t morning people. There was almost no one there and NO lines. Yay! We went through our many levels and finally made it to the 86th floor. It was VERY windy outside and COLD! However, we braved it and admired the sights. It was a lovely clear day and we could see a long ways. Laura’s first comment, “the cars look so tiny!” We put in money so they could use the viewers and see the Statue of Liberty a bit better. We probably stayed about 30-45 minutes and then went on down. We stopped at the gift shop and bought a few souvenirs and then walked up 5th Avenue.

5th Avenue wasn’t quite like I expected. I thought there would be huge stores – perhaps more like the Miracle Mile in Chicago, but it wasn’t quite like that where we were. We saw lots of famous stores though and there was lots going on. We stopped in Barnes and Noble to warm up at one point and to get the girls a couple of books as they are going through theirs quickly. Dan also bought me a book light as I’m reading later than everyone else at night and they are irritated with the light.

A bit farther up, we saw American Girl Place and the girls really wanted to go in. Since, we were all cold, this seemed like another good stop. It is huge! 3 floors of dolls and doll stuff – a café, a doll hospital and a photo studio too. Now, of course, the girls both want a doll and lots of things to go with!

We made it back to the hotel in time for a quick lunch of leftovers and then got ready to go to our next show. We opted to wear pants since it was a matinee and since we were cold. We just weren’t prepared for this kind of cold. We took the subway and walked about a block to the theater to see Mamma Mia! Again, an amazing show. It was so much fun. The girls didn’t know this story, but still seemed to really enjoy it. Laura seemed to get a little antsy at the beginning of the 2nd act, but soon settled in and was dancing in her seat. When we left Grease, we’d noticed there were boosters, so I asked at Mamma Mia and got Laura one so that she could see better. The sets were amazing and the whole show is so much fun. The energy of these shows just lifts you up. Laura said both shows were great, but Alex prefers Grease so far.

After the show, we got some dinner and then walked around Times Square a bit. The girls were very impressed with all the signs and lights, but we didn’t do a lot, because we were cold (are you seeing a theme to the day?) and Laura was wiped out.
We came back and settled in for some reading and TV watching and then I saw on line that there was an eclipse so about 10:00, we headed out and right outside our hotel we turned and looked up and there was this round orange moon. It was very neat to see.

Now it is Thursday morning and Laura is still asleep, Alex is taking a shower and we’re just enjoying a lazy morning. We just checked the weather – 22 degrees and feels like 8 and you can hear the wind. BRRRRR! So, we don’t think we’ll be taking the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. Laura is sad, but we’ll go down to Battery Park and hopefully see it in the distance. We’re thinking we might stop at Macy’s and see if we can get some things to help keep us warm. We’re not sure what we’ll do today, but I’m sure it will be an adventure and then tonight we see Lion King!