2019 is off to a great start for the Strange Crew! We started the year by taking an early morning flight on New Year’s morning to head to New York City for a few days. This was a Christmas gift for the kids. Emma is totally enamored with NYC and Eli loves adventures, so we decided to go for it! I recounted our adventures on Instagram and have posted those notes below.
NYC | Day 1
It’s been a great first day introducing Emma and Eli to New York City. Clint and I have both been here before…but never together and never with our kids. We love making new memories for 2019! Thanks to so many who made great suggestions for our crew! + ATL > JFK
+ Air Train & Long Island Railroad to our hotel
+ Checked in, unpacked, and began exploring
+ Fun to stroll Times Square where the confetti was still swirling and people were still celebrating
+ Lunch at John’s Pizza…two thumbs up!
+ More walking, checked out the Rockefeller Tree, NBC, FAO Schwartz (re-enacted the scene from Tom Hanks’ BIG)
+ refueled at Starbucks…Emma is counting how many she has seen so far
+ Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes…incredible show! Pleasantly surprised at the gospel presentation at the end.
+ Dinner at @burgerjointnyc in the Parker Hotel…awesome burgers!
+ Strolled back to the hotel looking at Christmas lights and store windows. Visited the Rockefeller Tree again to see it all lit up. So glad all the decorations are still up!
+ Back at the hotel watching college football#7000days
NYC | Day 2
Day Two…the Strange adventure continues! + Breakfast at the hotel as we finalized plans for the day
+ Subway to One World Trade Center Observatory..amazing views! Really incredible to see the way that they have redesigned that space. + Short walk to the 9|11 Memorial and Museum. We had to wait outside for a bit to get in. As we were standing there between the North and South reflecting pools, I couldn’t help but think of what it must have been like to be in that exact space 17 years ago. A very clear reminder that evil is real. Being there reminded me of walking through Auschwitz and Birkenau…the feeling of death and oppression. Grateful for the opportunity to learn about the incredible people who were lost in the tragic events of that day. It definitely made an impression on Emma…great conversations!
+ Late lunch at Dos Toros in Birkfield Place…great people watching and a beautiful luminary display!
+ Got mixed up on the buses and just decided to walk fast to the Whitehall Terminal to catch the Staten Island Ferry. A nice and brisk 1.5 mile walk…but we made it! The Staten Island Ferry was a great way to see the Statue of Liberty up close and we were treated to the lights of Manhattan on our ride back.
+ Subway back to the hotel for a quick break.
+ Empire State Building…as beautiful as ever! Grateful for a fun family pic to remember this evening!
+ Pizza for dinner at Little Italy at 33rd/5th. Amazing! Especially the spinach pizza!
+ We walked and shopped (Macy’s on 34th Street and others) all the way back. Scored some fun deals for a whopping $20 total!
+ What a day with my people! We love this city! #7000days
NYC | Day 3
Day 3…The fun continues!
+ Ice Skating at Lasker Rink in Central Park. What a beautiful day to be outside! The rink we chose is also the site of a huge pool in the summers. We had a great time Skating and then enjoyed walking through a bit of the park afterwards.
+ We met a dear friend Emily (Brock) Canders for lunch at Bareburger. The food was great, but the chance to catch up with Emily was even better! I remember vividly when Emily was a young middle schooler with stars in her eyes about living in NYC one day. After graduating from UGA, she moved up here and is living the dream as a publicist for a publishing company. So cool to hear about all of her adventures in the city!
+ After lunch, we strolled Columbus Circle and Times Square so thankful for the sunshine! M&M world was a big hit for our crew!
+ We took the subway back to the hotel for some naps (much needed…at least for the adults!)
+ Early evening we hopped the B Train headed Uptown to Lincoln Center to catch The Big Apple Circus. Their Director of Hospitality, Natalie Brock (Emily’s Sister), hosted us for an amazing evening! She totally hooked us up with the VIP Experience. They had a room for us to hang out beforehand with all kinds of circus activities and free snacks. Emma would want me to mention the “all you can eat cotton candy”…oh my goodness! And then the circus was AWESOME! Natalie is so good at what she does and we loved hearing about all of the cool things she is doing and what a great job she is doing making sure families have a great time at the circus. Natalie has always loved the arts and it’s so cool to see the way she has put together some incredible experiences in New York!
+ As we were getting out of the circus, The Met was getting out from a show as well. Lots of excitement as everyone was boarding the subway at Lincoln Center!
+ As we came up the steps at Penn Station, we were greeted by a beautiful view of the Empire State Building all lit up. It’s amazing how packed the streets are at 10pm…things are just getting started in the city. The Stranges are calling it a night. We aren’t much for late nights 🙂
NYC | Day 4
Day 4…Today was for touring
+ Last full day in NYC started with a great breakfast at the hotel. For all your travel needs…please contact our friend and awesome travel agent Andrea Ferguson @afergvip. She got us a GREAT deal on this incredible vacation!
+ We started by hopping the F train from the Herald Square Station (steps from our hotel) to the Rockefeller Center station. We walked right up to the counter at Top of the Rock after about a two minute wait to exchange our NY Explorer Pass (great buy from Viator..thanks Andrea for the tip) for our tickets. We walked from the ticket counter to the elevator and were through security and at The Top of the Rock within ten minutes. Beautiful views from the top on a gorgeous New York morning! We even got to see a wedding take place!
+ Our next stop was the Hop-on/Hop-off bus through Big Bus Tours…also on our NY Explorer pass. We planned to take advantage of their tour and stops all day…and we are so glad we did! We rode the first bus to Chinatown.
+ Lunch was at Wo Hop 17 (basement location) and it was AMAZING! Thanks John and Beth McCormack for that recommendation! The food and service was so good! We walked around Chinatown and Little Italy and then hopped back in the bus.
+ We finished touring downtown and then hopped off for a snack at Schmackary’s. Their cookies and lattes were just the treat we needed!
+ Next we hopped on the uptown bus to do another tour. We started in Times Square and saw so many of the beautiful lights of New York while touring several landmarks and fun places to learn about. Our evening tour guide was the best! Funny and informative.
+ We hopped off the bus and rode the 1 train back to Penn Station in search of dinner. We chose Little Italy pizza again and it was still a favorite for our crew. After dinner we shopped around a bit and then headed in early to get organized to head home tomorrow.
NYC | Day 5
Day 5…The rain can’t spoil our fun! + We had lots of fun in our hotel room last night chatting about favorite experiences from the week. This is the WHY behind all of our travel. What a treasure to experience these things together with our kids!
+ This morning the kids were tired so we let them sleep in a bit which seemed to go well with the rain outside. We wrapped up packing and ate our last breakfast at the hotel.
+ We rode the Q train and the L train to get to Chelsea Market. With their combo of shops and restaurants, it seemed like a cool time to check it out and stay dry! We LOVED Chelsea Market! For my ATL Friends, think Ponce City Market, but on a bigger scale. Chelsea Market is housed inside an old biscuit factory. And not just any biscuit factory…the one where Oreos were invented! Super cool!
+ We strolled around several of the shops…Posman’s bookstore was definitely the family favorite! Of course the kids liked the shop that had brownie samples too! After we walked around for a while, we had lunch at Los Tacos (Emma and Eli) and Los Mariscos (Clint and Megan-amazing fish and shrimp tacos!). + From there we went to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery next door. I had heard of the Reserve stores, but never actually been in one. Super cool experience! There was a guy there explaining the coffee bean roasting process and he clearly LOVES his job. He made it fun for all of us! + For our last adventure, we decided to figure out a different route to the airport than the one we had taken when we first got to town…and it worked! We got to go to Queens…even just for a few minutes. We have had so much fun figuring out the trains this week. Eli said that was one of his favorite parts!
+ We had a super smooth flight home and landed 45 minutes early after being able to leave JFK earlier than planned. Like every good southerner, we found our car and drove through Chick-fil-A on the way home. What a week!
+ The best part of this adventure? Coming home with my people and dreaming up our next adventure! We always like to have the next one planned at all times!
Once we got home from NYC, we settled back into our normal routines with church, school, basketball, and family time. This time of year has meant LOTS of slime making for Emma and all of us enjoying time in front of the fireplace reading, watching movies, and just being together. Eli and I had some fun playing on my iPad. Eli’s class celebrated the 101st day of school by dressing up as Dalmatians. We had a snow day that turned out to be sunny, but we were all grateful for the break. The last day of January, I flew to San Antonio with the other administrators from NCCS and we had a great time at the Global Christian School Leadership Summit.
Acworth Basketball | Eli-Bulldogs, Emma-Owls
As long as this is how they love to spend their Saturdays…this is what our family loves to do on Saturdays! We love cheering on our kids and watching them have fun as they learn and grow. #AcworthBasketball #7000days
Noble and Main | Snow Day Reading and Studying
Special treat to get to spend time with this girl during our “snow day”. We spent time studying for History and Bible, but we had lots of fun doing it in the incredible new space @nobleandmain. We are so proud of @madidavis91 and Justin and the huge impact they are making for the sake of Christ in Cartersville! We love this place and will be back soon! #7000days
