New York Day 5

Today we had a day filled with shopping, walking, sightseeing and of course afternoon napping (although today was the first afternoon that Jesse took a nap but I didn't!!) We went to the Saugerties, NY lighthouse. The lighthouse is accessible only by boat or by a 10-15 minute walk, and it was a nice little walk to the very picturesque lighthouse. And before you ask, yes, I was snap-happy with the camera!

Hairspray and Yankees

We had a great time in New York City yesterday. It was definitely a jam-packed day, but we still had a good time. I hope I don't bore you with all the pictures - this is just a taste of what our day was like yesterday...

Times Square Toys-R-Us: there is a huge ferris wheel in the middle of the 4-story store!
O Humanity!

Naked Cowboy singing in Times Square...

To say that Hairspray was awesome would be an understatement. Meredith and I absolutely loved the entire show. It was such a true Broadway musical - 2.5 hours jam-packed with singing, dancing, costumes and big hair. Seriously, what more could you ask for?

Yummy stadium supper - hotdog and pop (I mean soda - no one knows what I'm talking about when I ask for a pop...)

Look Mommy - I see a big balloon in the sky (a.k.a. the blimp). Our seats at the Yankee game weren't the highest row - but there were only 2 more rows above us! The game ended up being a good one for the Yankees - unfortunately we had to leave just as they were making their big comeback. It was still pretty cool to be in "the House that Ruth built." Yup, that's right, it's about a mile straight down to the field! When the grounds crew comes out in the 6th inning to drag the field, they play "YMCA" and the crew actually dances to the song while dragging the field!

Hiking and Waterfalls

After reading my post from last night, I realized that I didn't say anything about where we are staying. We arrived at the resort in the Catskills Park on Sunday evening. The resort has seen better days and is a bit dated, but we are not letting that get us down! The condo has one room with a small kitchen on one wall, a dining room table, and sofa and chairs for the living area. There is only one bedroom, but it is fairly large, and it has a large walk in closet - which has been designated as Jesse's bedroom! There is a large indoor swimming pool and hot tub, and we've had fun swimming every day so far. The pool is quite a ways away in the main building - far enough that we need to drive. Which is actually nice because then Meredith isn't constantly begging to go to the pool.

This morning we went to Kaaterskill Falls, which is a 10-20 minute drive further into the Catskill mountains from here.

This waterfall (not Kaaterskill Falls) was right by the road, and also happened to be the trailhead.

Meredith was with me most of the time, and Kent carried Jesse or walked with him most of the time.

On our way to feel just how cold the water really is...

Kaaterskill Falls

Snack time with Daddy and Jesse.

Snack time with Meredith and I.

On the way back from the falls, we discovered that Jesse loved to walk along the trail - if you held onto both of his hands to keep him from falling.

Meredith and I are at the top of the falls - trust me, that really is us up there!

The rest of the day was occupied with napping and driving in the car (trying to find the elusive trails for Hunter Mountain, trying to go putt-putt golfing and finding out the golf course was closed, and looking for a fun ice cream shop in a scary, scary town.)

Tomorrow we venture into NYC. Our plan is to eat lunch somewhere around Times Square, then Meredith and I will go to the Hairspray Musical at 1:30, while Jesse and Kent will keep themselves occupied for a few hours (is anyone else curious as to what they will be doing??) We will then meet up, grab a quick supper somewhere (maybe a hotdog stand?) and take the subway to Yankee Stadium for the game. Wish us luck! Any last minute advice before we go?

New York or Bust

As I type this, I'm sitting in a timeshare condo near Catskill, NY. (Quite far from home in Iowa.) Yesterday morning we flew out of Moline, IL and arrived in New York City at about 4:00 in the afternoon. This was the first time Jesse has flown, and the first time that Meredith is flying and that she is old enough to realize what's going on.

Meredith was practically beside herself with excitement. As we were taking off, she announces very loudly "Mommy, this is SO COOL!" to the amusement of those around us.

Both Jesse and Meredith did so well during both the flights - the short one to Chicago and the longer one to NYC. They really did better than I ever dreamed. Jesse missed both his morning and afternoon naps, and was a bit fussy towards the end, but nothing that a treat couldn't take care of. I discovered the joys (and magical properties) of a sucker for Jesse. For both flights, I gave him a sucker and he kept occupied with that for a good 1/2 - 1 hour! By the end, he would take a wipe and wipe off his hands and mouth so I didn't have to stay so vigilant lest we all become a sticky mess. Traffic in Manhattan and the Bronx was of course awful - which I'm guessing is pretty normal. Except for a few wrong turns when leaving the airport, we followed the GPS and it didn't let us down. Kent was thrilled when we drove right by the whole reason for our vacation to New York - Yankee Stadium.

(He wanted to take his kids to a Yankee's game in the old stadium. Since this is the last season of them playing in the old stadium, it was now or never.) You can see that the new stadium is right by the old.

In case you can't read this, it says, "I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee" by Joe DiMaggio. I think this is a bit much, but Kent assures me that it's normal sentiment for a Yankee (or Yankee fan!)

Jesse finally has his nap - nevermind that it is now 6:00 - only 5 hours later than normal!

This is me pointing the camera behind me and saying "Cheese!" to Meredith. Tomorrow will bring hiking in the morning for all 4 of us and mountain biking in the afternoon for Kent (naps and blogging for the kids and I).