Start Spreadin' the News!

The next chapter in The Marshes Invade the Northeast included three days in New York City. Several points drove our desire to include NYC in our trip. First, Molly is obsessed with the Statue of Liberty. She can tell you who designed it, where it was built, what it stands for. Second, we and our children love musicals. They have seen traveling Broadway shows and community theater productions, but we wanted to take them to a show right in the Theatre District. Third, we wanted to share with them the city we frequented when we lived in Connecticut as newlyweds and then as very new parents. It really is a fabulous and unique place--watching all three of our girls experience the city was magical. They noticed things I'd never notice.

Rebecca (age 5) counts as her favorite parts of NYC:
1. Pigeons. She loved them. Announced their presence constantly. Ewww. She stopped counting at 127.
2. Subway. "It smells a little gross down here, but it's SO COOL!"
3. Taxis. She counted 71 of them in the first hour. Riding in one was "amazing!"
4. Tie: American Girl tea party and the indoor ferris wheel at the ginormous ToysRUs in Times Square.


Molly (age 7) names these:
1. Statue of Liberty. "She is Our Lady!" (what does this mean?)
2. Hot dogs from a street vendor. I cannot overstate how much Molly loves hot dogs. We ate one in Battery Park and then again in Central Park.
3. Pizza. (Are you picking up on the theme here?) We drove to Koronet Pizza at 110th and Broadway for the largest pizza slices you've ever seen for $2.50. They used to be $1.50 back in our poor college student days, but what can ya do?
4. Tie: FAO Schwartz toy store and climbing the rocks at Central Park.



Amelia (age 1) indicated from her looks of joy and giggling that she liked:
1. Riding in the backpack. She liked it so much she fell asleep in it.
2. Running around on the base of the Statue of Liberty. After waiting in very long security lines, she was ready for action.
3. Horses pulling carriages in Central Park. "Neigh-neigh! Neigh-neigh!"


Molly, Rebecca and I saw The Little Mermaid on Broadway. I let them choose the show from watching clips on the Internet. Note to self: do not do that next time! It wasn't awful, but it was by far nowhere near the best show I've seen (and I've seen a ton). The scenery and costumes were impressive, the actors are often on roller skates to create the illusion of being underwater, and that's where the cool stops. Molly and Rebecca loved it. Well, Rebecca slept through the last quarter of it, but until then. Peter stayed in the hotel with Amelia, since she in generally out cold by 7:30, and he did a little work. The next night, he went out with the big girls to the ToysRUs and its ferris wheel. He also let them get another street hot dog that night ("Don't tell Mom!").


Both Rebecca and Molly have American Girl dolls. These dolls come with a story specific to a particular period of US history and teach lovely little life lessons. The company that makes them does a wonderful job of making parents feel GOOD about buying all the accessories and gear to go with the "starter" doll set. After all, your children learn a lot from this toy. Whatever. Anyway, there is an AG store--a giant one--in Manhattan, and the girls and I had tea there. The dolls get a seat at the table, and we all dressed up for the occasion. Molly chose to get a bathrobe set for her WWII-era doll, and Rebecca opted to have her doll's hair done at the salon. Perhaps the best part was the hook in each bathroom stall for your doll to wait while you powder your nose. There's even a doll hospital in there.


Here we are on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and then in Midtown after breakfast: