Empire State Building

The Empire State Building Observatory Deck was awesome, y'all, but I can't really say the same about the lines. Though I was grateful it was the first one we'd encountered all day, it was late and every time you got to the front of a line, they moved you to another line in another room.

It was probably about 1.5 hours before we finally got to the top and, when we did, my daughter looked at me and said, "We just waited all that time to see the same thing we saw during the day at Top of the Rock?"

Why, yes, we did.

But it was beautiful. See?

I'm really so grateful to have the pics even though Tonto thought we could have bought the same pic on the street for $5 or less.

There's just something about seeing it for yourself, you know?

Once we finally made our way back to the street, Tonto tried to hail a cab. It's easier said than done at 11:30pm apparently. Eventually a nice gentleman from a car company picked us up and took us on an alternate route (due to construction) that had us both wondering for a while if we were being abducted.

Not. Kidding.

Tonto told me later he was going through all his medical training to figure out how he could incapacitate the guy long enough for us to jump out of the car.

But he wasn't taking us anywhere other than our hotel. Just via a different (ie longer) route than we'd come before. And he was a really nice guy. And, yes, I tipped him 25% since I felt guilty about assuming the worst. :-)

And then we all fell into bed and passed out from extreme exhaustion. A 12-hour sightseeing trip will do that to you.

Times Square

Luckily, Rockefeller Center isn't all that far from Times Square. I say that because we had all just about had it with walking at that point. I mean, it's New York so there's tons o' walking but eventually you just get plum worn out.

The girl was mesmerized by the busyness and brightness that is Times Square. We didn't stay until nighttime last year so we made a deal with her that we'd hang around long enough for darkness to arrive and the lights to take over.

Our first stop was the visitor's center where you can find the Centennial Ball. She really wanted to see "where the ball drops" and thought seeing this one up close was really neat. She thought it was "huge" compared to her expectations. :-)

Next she wanted to spend her money from Nana and Boppy and Maw Maw. It was clearly burning a hole in her pocket. While on our way to Aeropostale, we noticed the Naked Cowboy. Tonto sprung to action and started snapping away. Apparently a number of folks had asked him if we saw this guy on our last trip. No, we did not. Had no idea he's an icon!

The girl picked up a new hoodie (yes, in June) at Aeropostale because "it came from the one in Times Square." She also bought a "New York" hat, some "I <3 NY" sunglasses and a "NY NY" bracelet.

And then we decided it was time for dinner. She chose the largest TGI Friday's in the world. Why? Well, because we no longer have this restaurant in Waco and she LOVED it. And also because it's the biggest one around. :-)

After dinner it was finally dark (takes forever in NY) and we snapped a few pics for posterity.

A very nice woman stopped and asked if we'd like a couple photos of the three of us. And then she asked where we were from. Turns out she's from Austin and works at UT. Small world!

It was a very sweet gesture and we, of course, returned the favor as she was traveling with her daughter. This may have been Taylor's favorite part of the entire trip although the 911 Memorial was super special for her as well (don't worry - that one's coming soon).

After saying our goodbyes to the new friend from Austin, we headed over to the Empire State Building to see the city at night...

Top of the Rock

During our trip last year, Tonto and I walked by Rockefeller Center numerous times (it was on the way back to the hotel) but we did not go up to Top of the Rock. This year, though, that all changed and we learned what all the fuss was about - the views are absolutely amazing!

Why, yes, that is the Empire State Building between us.

And again.

This was on a lower deck...

...and that's Central Park behind the girl.

Love this pic - personally, I think it should be his new profile pic on Facebook. :-)

Next up was what the girl had been asking about for a solid year: Times Square.

FAO Schwartz

After being revived by a sugar rush, we happily headed on another jaunt over to FAO Schwartz. As it turned out, the girl didn't really care about seeing the toys or the giant piano. She headed straight to the sweet stuff.

Did I mention we encountered a rainstorm on the way? And that Tonto bought some teenager's umbrella off him so I would get soaked? :-)

Love. This Picture.

Even though we were there just a year ago, the store had undergone some significant changes. At least in the area we were shopping.

She was fascinated by all the choices.

Such a fun atmosphere.

This is where it's at, friends.

Obviously I was enamored by the decorations.

After browsing all of the selections, the girl finally chose some gummy rattlesnakes (they were at least two feet long) and a chocolate I <3 NY candy bar.

This was probably one of her favorite stops because she also got to see the glass Apple store. Though she didn't want to go underground and see it (the cube was dripping a bit in the rainstorm), she thought it was super cool.

Revived by super and shopping, we headed over to Rockefeller Center to view the city from Top of the Rock...

Dylan's Candy Bar

Our plan after The Met was to head over to Serendipity and try the famous frozen hot chocolate. That plan was quickly shot down, though, when we learned the wait was 45 minutes. We were hot. We were tired. And we were in desperate need to sit down and have a glass of water.

So we walked down the block to Dylan's Candy Bar.

We quickly went upstairs to the Cafe and ordered some delicious goodies to go along with our ice water. Tonto and I shared a cheesecake sundae while the girl opted for a Coke float. It was sooooo good. And the atmosphere was super fun. The tables, for instance, were filled with gumballs.

After resting for a bit, we headed downstairs to check out some of the goods.

Every kind of candy/sweet/dessert you can imagine was there in some fashion.

The choices were almost endless...

...and some of the packaging was very creative. And amusing.

The decorations were eclectic and fun. 

And this was the largest gumball machine I've ever seen. We quickly gave the girl a quarter and she retriever her red ball only to learn gumballs lose their flavor as quickly in New York as Texas. :-)

Though we didn't buy anything to take with us, you can be sure the girl rectified that situation at our next stop...

...which was FAO Schwartz. :-)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

So on the map it looked like the Museum of Natural History and The Met were very close to each other. Let's just say that map was not quite to scale. We definitely walked off our hot dog lunch on the way but it was, in the end, absolutely worth it.

The interior is absolutely grand, y'all.

When you walk in, the wing to the left includes Greek and Roman art while the one to the right is Egyptian. We decided to go left first because both Tonto and I absolutely love Greek and Roman history. The sculptures were absolutely magnificent.

But there was one thing I didn't factor into the equation: my 'tween daughter around a bunch of (basically) naked sculptures. She has some questions, y'all. And we quickly made our way through all of the magnificence. :-)

We ventured upstairs where the viewing was a bit more appropriate...

...because we were on a quest to find the works of Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Manet, Matisse, Renoir, etc.

This is Van Gogh's self portrait.

My favorite painting of the day.

In the middle we wandered into an area with modern art. These two pieces were my favorites.

Funny story about this painting - when I was in the 4th grade, there was a UIL event called Art Memory (or something close to that) and I memorized the title and artist of each one. I actually did very well because I can memorize almost anything. (Comprehension is a totally different ball of wax, y'all.)

Anyway, this was one of the paintings. It was so cool to actually see it in person!

And a little Picasso for good measure.

We also wanted to see some Egyptian artifacts so we headed back across the way...

...and found so many magnificent pieces. The craftsmanship was stunning.

Tonto and I enjoyed this stop a great deal. I don't know that the girl has that much appreciation for it yet (I didn't when I was 12) but my hope is she'll look back on the experience one day and say, "Wow - I was actually at The Met." :-)

This was the last museum of the trip as we moved on to more kid-friendly adventures.

Next stop - Dylan's Candy Bar.

Museum of Natural History

Our very long day of sightseeing in NYC began with the Museum of Natural History. Well, it actually began with some major attitude from a super tired 'tween and getting on the right train but going the wrong direction.

Let's just say it wasn't the best way to begin what turned out to be a lovely day.

We did finally make it to the museum, though, and after trying to enter through the wrong door (the one pictured below), we finally made it inside and traded our City Pass vouchers for actual books. Let me say this was a very good investment. We didn't use one of the tickets but still made out like bandits. The cost of the book is 45% of what you would pay at all the attractions. Super. Steal.

The foyer was incredibly beautiful. And grand.

As were the exhibits down each hall. These halls were long, y'all. And each included animals from a different area of the world.

They were super impressive...

...and we even spotted a Baylor Bear!

Included in our admissions was a planetarium show, which was visually stunning but the narration almost put all of us to sleep. Just keeping it real.

After a short trip into the ocean area and then finding ourselves in an area that was exclusively about evolution (when I questioned this, Tonto did remind me we were in a museum about "natural history"...whatever, it's still not what I believe :-), we declared ourselves through with this particular attraction.

It was beautiful. And the dioramas was amazing. Truly. But there wasn't a whole lot to "do" if you know what I mean.

Once outside, we decided to partake in a New York tradition and ate hot dogs from a street vendor. At least the girl and I did...Tonto opted for a pretzel. And then we began what was quite a trek over to The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Now that museum was absolutely breathtaking. And that post is up next :-)

Happy Tuesday, y'all!