Bright Lights, Big City



One of the things I remember as a kid is always tuning in to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thanksgiving Day.  It was something that I watched rather intently as a kid, I always loved the anticipation of what balloon was next or what performance would happen right there in the middle of the street?! 

 

We were blessed this year to actually spend the holiday in New York and one of the main events was making sure we got to experience that very parade that I have such vivid memories of watching via my living room!

 

Illness actually struck the Eddins household, not an ideal way to start such a fun trip.  Leading up to our departure both Lila and I visited the doctor, the diagnosis...Mom had a sinus infection and Lila had an inner ear infection.  We were sure to take our doses as instructed so we would hopefully be in tip-top shape for our adventure!





 

 Our trip began on Tuesday, we loaded our suitcases up and headed out in the foggy weather to the airport.  We made it to our terminal only to find out that our flight had been delayed, so the waiting began!  We waited and waited, so long that we knew we were going to miss our connecting flight in Detroit, so we had to find new flights for when we did get there.  But, no big deal...it couldn't dampen our spirits, we had plenty to keep us busy!

 

NYC + ME = LOVE!

Thank goodness for DVD players!

We finally boarded our plane in Cedar Rapids several hours later than we expected, but either way, we were on our way!!!  We arrived in Detroit and had a few hour layover.  Due to the delays we had to rebook the group on 3 different flights, so it was Mike, Lila, myself, Carson and Cade on one flight!  As you all know traveling via air can be quite the experience!  When we got to our counter in Detroit we found out that it was over booked by 10 people and Cade wasn't actually ticketed.  We had documents stating he was, but they didn't have any records.  Uh-oh! 

Leaving Cedar Rapids!

Anxiously waiting in Detroit to get on the plane to NYC!

The winds must have been blowing in our favor after our already hectic travel day and someone gave up their seat for a later flight...we were off! 

We were so happy to see Newark!

Due to the delays we had while traveling it was much later than anticipated once we got to the hotel.  We even had to reschedule our Radio City Rockette performance for the next day.  We all met down in the hotel restaurant, had a quick bite to eat, and then it was up to the rooms for a restful night sleep, we had a lot to do the next day!!!

Lila's big bed!  She was out cold in seconds!

When we pulled into Time Square on Tuesday night the Disney sign was so bright!!!  Lila is a Disney nut, particularly the princesses, so we made a deal with her that we would go to the Disney store first thing Wednesday morning...she held us to it!  It was our first stop of the day!  I must say, it is hard not to feel a little magic whenever you are in the presence of Disney anything...they just know how to put an experience together!  Little did we know that this wasn't the last time we would be in this store!

Patiently waiting for Daddy to checkout!

After our quick stop at Disney we met everyone at Bubba Gump's for lunch!  Not only does Bubba
Gump's have delicious food, it has the BEST view of Times Square! 

Lila & Celia @ Bubba Gump's
(checkout Lila's new friend, Rapunzel, you will see much more of her!)

Once we were through with lunch we headed out to do some walking.  It wasn't long and Grandpa was pulled over on the side of the road with a street vendor letting the little girls pick out new hats!

She has NY attitude!

The girls and their new, warm hats!  Thanks Grandpa!

With their new gear in tow, we made our way towards Radio City Music Hall.  We were able to rebook our show for that afternoon.  Jason knows the lead director and choreographer of the Christmas Spectacular, Linda Haberman's, sister, so we had amazing seats to the show!  We were all really excited to see the show as it was a new experience for the kids as well as the adults.

The city was starting to get ready for the holidays!

Radio City Music Hall

 

Our little elf!

  

Cotton candy for the show!

The Christmas Spectacular show was fantastic!  I am a sucker for holiday music and shows and this one was really fantastic!  The precision of the dancing was absolutely amazing to watch!  If you are ever in the city during the holiday season put this on your list!

A spot-on kick line!  Amazing!

 

Toy soldiers who moved in perfect unison

A fun number with a full size double decker bus on stage!

Santa's workshop!

 

My favorite part of the show -- A live nativity scene!

With Jason's connection we were invited to head backstage after the show!  What a treat for the kids!  Not only were they able to go onto the big stage, but they were able to see the camels from the live nativity and meet a real Radio City Rockette!

 

Doing the famous Rockette pose w/ a real Rockette!

Meeting the camels who stole the show!

 

 

Wednesday night found us heading towards Central Park.  We had heard that it was quite the event to see the balloons for the parade being blown up in the park, so we wanted to see what it was all about.  Mike, Lila and I got a cab to take us as close as we could get, most cabs wouldn't take you up that far north because of the mass of people, it is too hard for them to get around.  We got dropped off at 72nd Street and we needed to get to 79th and Columbus to get in to the park to see the balloons.  Little did we know what kind of a task that would be?!  It was insane!  There were so many people that it was tough to walk and maneuver with a stroller!  The rest of the group met us coming from the other direction and experienced the same kind of crowds!  Once we were finally able to meet up we decided that the mobs were too huge and opted to cut out and go in search of food!

 

A glimpse of the crowds waiting to see the balloons in Central Park!

We decided to take the subway back towards our hotel since a cab was hard to come by!  This was a fun experience to share with Lila since we don't have that kind of transportation available at home.  Not to mention she loves trains, so this was right up her alley!

Waiting for the train with Grandpa!

First subway ride!

Dinner & a shoulder ride @ Connolly's!

Thanksgiving Day was finally here and we were headed to watch the parade!  Our hotel was perfectly situated so we could walk right out our door and less than 20 steps to the corner of 6th Ave. which was the direct parade route!  The weather in the city was actually really nice for this time of year, we had average temps in the 50's, but this morning was a bit chilly, so we watched the parade with a bit of Starbucks and we were all happy campers!

 

All snug in our spot!

Much like the night before in the park, there were tons of people out to watch the parade.  The route was spread out over 40 city blocks and people lined the streets several feet deep.  We had heard that 3 million people were in attendance, viewing the parade that day...to put that into perspective, that is the population of the state of Iowa!!!

Serious parade watchers had ladders!

And so it begins...

A sea of spectators!

We are having SO much fun!

Intricate floats accompanied the balloons

Check the parade off of all of our bucket lists!

We had reservations at a restaurant called The Boathouse in Central Park for Thanksgiving dinner.  We got cleaned up and headed out on foot towards the park.  It was a beautiful day and as we got closer to the park it was fun to see so many people out enjoying the great weather! 

 

Entering Central Park

The "kids!"

Almost to the restaurant

The Boathouse

 

Yum!

After lunch it was back outside to enjoy the beautiful day!  The kids had a fun game of tag going to help work off all of our delicious Thanksgiving meal!

On our walk back to the hotel Lila finally gave in and fell asleep around Rockefeller Center.  I am sure it was the perfect combination of the fresh, crisp air, her full belly and all the fun that she had, had up to that point!  Mom and Dad were glad to see her take a bit of a break, so we wheeled her around for awhile popping in to a few stores that were open, all preparing for Black Friday the next day.

 

 Mike, Lila and I took that evening to walk around the city a little more.  A very important stop was at 123 W 44th St. -- my old apartment building!  It was kind of crazy bringing my family to this very doorstep!  Mike had obviously been there, but to bring Lila there and tell her about the time that Mommy lived in New York and did her internship was almost surreal!  My how life has changed!!!  While I wouldn't change where I am today, I do often look back at the memories of living there and smile as it was a fantastic experience, one that I am so happy I was able to have.

 

 



Friday was our final, full day in the city.  We all met up late that morning to cheer on the Hawkeyes as they played Nebraska.  There was a fantastic bar/restaurant down the street that had the game on, so we pulled up some tables and hung out for awhile.

The girls were itching to do some more shopping, so off we went -- to the Disney store (for the third time)!  And then Jen, Celia, Ruby, Lila and I took off on another walk, this time to FAO Schwartz!

Photo opportunity on the way to FAO! -- These girls really do love each other!

After our visit at FAO we decided that we weren't really interested in walking all the way back to the hotel, yet it didn't seem quite far enough to justify a cab, so we flagged down a rickshaw (bike cab) to take us back!  Lila wasn't sure at first, but after she realized that it was a fun way to get around, she perked up!

For our final night in the city we had tickets to see Mary Poppins!!!  We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then off to 42nd Street it was to catch the show! 

I have to admit, this was up there on my list of exciting things for this trip.  I remember watching Mary Poppins as a kid with my Grandma Harvey.  The movie, the songs, the whole thing is surrounded by happy memories for me, so I was excited to see if the musical was even half as good?!  We weren't disappointed!  The theatrics and the effects were amazing!  They really did a fantastic job of wowing the audience with all sorts of neat tricks.  I think it made us all feel like a bit of a kid again!

 

Mary Poppins on Broadway

We were asking an awful lot of a 3 year old to sit through a Broadway show that was 2.5 hours long, that didn't start until 8:00 PM, but she was a trooper!   She fell asleep with about 20 minutes left and snuggled in to her Dad for the walk home!  She has even asked me several times since we have been home if we can watch the movie!

 

Saturday came so quickly, it was time to head home.  We were hoping for a much smoother trip home since we had some delays getting there...low and behold things went as planned and we were home late Saturday afternoon!

 

 

We had such a wonderful time!  We enjoy traveling so much and we are so thankful that we are able to share these amazing experiences together as a family!  We hope all of you had a blessed Thanksgiving that included making memories with the people you love & cherish the most!