By the time you read this Zach, Sami and
I will be in New York City after our eight hour drive from Toronto, barring any
weather related challenges.
J When I asked the two of them what they’d like
to do for our week at Christmas they both responded that they’d like another
road trip to Florida.
So here we are – on the road! As you remember the rule when we travel
together is that each of us has a half-day (time permitting) where the
individual becomes the tour guide and have to research and define an itinerary
for their time as tour guide, included in this is arrangement is an
understanding that the other two have to go along with whatever each of us
decided to do irrespective of whether we want to do it or not. So positioning and polling each of us is an
important first step on the way to solidifying the itinerary.
Zach has already announced, weeks in
advance by the way that his half day is going to be spent in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
exploring the music scene and soaking up the cool, hipster vibe. Sami has made
it clear that her half-day is going to be shopping on 5th Avenue. In addition, she’s thrown in Bloomingdales
and Dillon’s Candy store on 60th.
So when they questioned me about what I’d like to do I told them skating
at the Rockefeller Center under the golden statue and 60 foot high Christmas
tree. During the discussion we all
chorused that we’d all like to spend some time in and around Union Square and
in particular the Strand Book Store at Broadway and 12th, sure
nothing more I like that to spend an hour browsing through a book store,
especially love the Strand!
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Greetings from NYC! Well, yesterday was memorable for all sorts
of reasons, least of which was my 2:30 am wake up call so we could leave the
house by 3:00 am. I can hear you all
asking why would you do that when you’re already on holidays? Well, if you knew me well, you’d also know
that I have a tendency to pack a lot of stuff into my days, so the day before leaving Toronto I
booked the three of us in to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center from 4:30 –
6:00 pm as it was something that we all had wanted to do, plus its such a cool thing to do at Christmas in New York City.
Therefore, to ensure we made it to NYC
with plenty of time I decided that I’d have the car packed the night before,
rustle the kids at about 2:50 am and bundle them into the car so they could go
back to sleep while I drove.
It was a smart plan! I had to
wake them for the border crossing at Buffalo but other than that they slept all
the way through to breakfast at 8:00 am, so an additional 5 hours of sleep in
the car which was a bonus. They woke, non-the-worse for wear.
Driving at that time of day is perfect as the roads were completely clear of
traffic all the way to within 40 miles of Manhattan, plus I like
to drive. I think I enjoy the solitude of the road...
We made it to our hotel via the Holland
Tunnel just before lunch, and after dropping our bags we headed
out into the clear and chilly city. Both
yesterday and today have been particularly beautiful with blue skies and lots
of sunshine! The afternoon saw us take
the N-R-Q line down to Union Square so we could visit the Strand as per our
collective plan. Then a subway ride back
up to Time Square before the walk up to 50th street and over to
Rockefeller Center for our skate date around sunset.
I’m thinking that Rockefeller Center has
to be one of the most celebrated and photographed places in NYC, especially at
this time of year with the 60’ high Christmas tree, golden statue and ice
rink all laid out and lite up. The crowd was at least 5 – 6 deep with
everyone hoping to get a glimpse and perhaps an unimpeded photograph of
themselves in front of one of them.
Fortunately for us the pre-paid ticket was a blessing as they only let
150 people on the ice at any one time, so after checking in and getting our
skates (yes, figure skates with the toe picks) we laced them up with excitement
and anticipation.
It wasn’t until we were all set to go
that Sami asked when the last time I took them skating…
Hhhmmm, it would have been at least five
years ago I said, with that she let out a nervous laugh as we all watched the
Zamboni finish its final lap of the ice surface and head to the gate.
I’m putting it down to the damn picks on
the skates, but I can tell you I was soon acting as though I was a human
Zamboni, as I found myself spread eagled on the ice quite a few times…yes,
there may have been a curse or two under my breath as I landed heavily on the
ice for the umpteenth time. Now I realize why I was never a big fan of ice skating, that surface is incredibly hard!
Meanwhile,
Zach had picked it back up pretty quickly and although his style is – shall we
say “Australian” when it comes to ice-skating he was soon moving pretty well around the rink. Sami was taking it a little easier by the
boards, and after a few laps built her confidence enough to venture out into
the rink proper, eventually making her way around without falling once.
At one point a little guy, probably 5 or
6 years old skidded and fell near her, she bent down and picked him up, next
thing she knows he’s taken her hand and is skating with her confidently around
the rink. Well-played Sir! Personally I think he’s figured out that
if he falls in front of a pretty girl and she helps him out, then she’s fair
game to skate with. Smart kid indeed!
At one point I stood against the boards
(no, not only cos’ my body was killing me from the constant spills) but because
I wanted to soak in the atmosphere and moment that I was sharing with Zach and
Sami. We dragged ourselves off the ice
at 6:00 pm, all exhausted but still reeling from the amazing experience we’d
just shared.
I hope this memory will be one that they
will look back on with fondness and joy and they remember our stories from the
road.
Happy holidays everyone!
Agree TW...No other place like NYC on Christmas and New Year...enjoy ur trip with the kids on road....And Happy Holidays!
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