This was the first day of a very different overseas holiday for us - a family holiday. Our son David was running in the New York Marathon and he asked John and I if we would like to go with him, Ang and the Little O's (Olivia who was 5 years old and Oscar 3).
Airport security was absolutely manic so it took us a fair while to check in and no time to sit back and enjoy a nice leisurely breakfast.
On the flight Oscar sat by the window, Ang in the middle and me on the aisle (a seat I never sit in, and will never sit in again, as you constantly get bumped by people going passed). Behind us sat Olivia next to the window, David in the middle and John also in the aisle seat. The little ones were absolutely amazingly wonderful the whole way over, although Olivia didn't sleep very much.
When we arrived in LA we caught the shuttle to the Crowne Plaza hotel, a favourite of ours and, thanks to my Priority Pass, we were allocated rooms straight away. We settled into our rooms but, as we always do, shortly thereafter headed to the bus station close to the hotel and caught a Big Blue Bus to Santa Monica
It was quite a gloomy day unfortunately so the pier wasn't as inviting as usual so we decided to walk up to the Santa Monica Mall...and to my absolute delight, there was a Carlo's Bakery there. I was so excited and the staff were so lovely that they called down Chad, one of the bakers on the "Cake Boss" show. And the cakes were amazing too!
Mid afternoon and we were sagging so we all trooped back to the hotel, had a light dinner and our lights were out by 4.30pm.
THURSDAY 2ND NOVEMBER 2017
A very early start to the day - 4.45am - to make our way to the airport for our flight to New York. We were the first to check in and had plenty of time for a lovely leisurely breakfast. The flight to New York took 4 hours and as we were approaching JFK Airport one of the passengers yelled out a good luck message to all those people on the plane who were competing in the Marathon on Sunday, and when the Captain's announcement came on, he too wished all the Marathon competitors well.
What should have been a quick collection of luggage and a drive to Nash Apartments E39th Street, turned into a major pain. John's luggage didn't arrive which meant lining up, filing out forms etc. But we eventually checked into our apartments, which were just wonderful. We all wandered up to The Shake Shack for dinner with burgers, fries and milkshakes the order of the day
But it was another early night for us and a good night's sleep (even though John had to wear a pair of my underpants to bed!).
FRIDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2017
We were woken at 7am by a phone call telling us that John's bag had been recovered and would be delivered to our hotel later in the day. With that wonderful news to start our day our happy little family headed up to the Marathon Expo so that David could register and collect his running pack and tshirt
This took quite a while due to the large crowd of people there, so by the time we got out it was lunchtime and we were all pretty hungry. We decided to treat ourselves to a bang-up Italian feast at Carmine's in Times Square
After lunch the kids went back to their apartment but John and I stayed in Times Square and walked around for several hours, finally ending up at Bryant Park. We may not have been running in the Marathon on Sunday but we certainly felt as if had walked a marathon!
SATURDAY 4TH NOVEMBER 2017
Today was a fun family day, especially for Olivia and Oscar. We walked all the way down to Central Park from our apartment and ended up at Central Park Zoo
The little O's had a wonderful time...and so did we!
From Central Park we took the Subway back into Times Square and to the M&M Shop. After our busy day we bought ourselves a takeaway on the way back to the apartment where David bunkered down for an early night before Marathon Day tomorrow.
SUNDAY 5TH NOVEMBER 2017
Marathon Day! David was long gone by the time we woke up this morning, but when Ang messaged us to say that she, Olivia and Oscar were ready, we got ourselves sorted and went out to spend the morning with them. First of all it was a visit to St Vartan's Park
followed by a walk along the waterfront
After lunch it was time for us to find a vantage point to see our David run by. There were SO many runners, but fortunately Ang had a tracking app on her phone so we were able to catch a glimpse of him as he ran past, with the kids yelling at the top of their lungs "Go Daddy!"
We then went back to Ang and David's apartment (which Oscar called "The Holiday") to watch the finish of the race on live TV.
Before David arrived back, John and I decided to spend a couple of hours at Grand Central Station. We found Magnolia Bakery, and just as we were sitting down to enjoy a cup of coffee and a cake, we received a message from David that he was hungry and in desperate need of McDonalds. There was no way we could refuse this request from 'our conquering hero' and besides, we wanted to see him to congratulate him on his achievement
Tonight our we all walked down to an American BBQ restaurant for a special dinner
MONDAY 6TH NOVEMBER 2017
This morning we all returned to St Vartan's Park so that the kids could have a play. Today was David's celebratory Marathon Lunch with Ang, so we picked up some lunch treats on the way back to the apartment so that we could spend the afternoon with Olivia and Oscar.
When David and Ang arrived back around 6.30pm, John and I decided to walk up to Times Square, first to Bryant Park where we sat by the ice rink and watch the skaters
Then we walked into the heart of Times Square and its magical lights
It was 11pm, on our way back to the apartment, that we decided to do a really 'New York thing' and stop in at a diner - Scotty's Diner - for coffee and New York Cheesecake
TUESDAY 7TH NOVEMBER 2017
John and I had a morning to ourselves. We caught a bus to the pier and went to the Intrepid Air Sea and Space Museum. It was good, but very similar to the Midway that we visited in Seattle.
By lunchtime we were back in Times Square and looking forward to meeting up with David, Ang and the Little O's. It had only been a morning but we were missing them! After a happy reunion we all went to Madame Tussauds for a marvellous couple of hours
By the time we came outside it was freezing cold and raining, so we walked down to Carlo's Bakery for a coffee and cake pick-me-up. I was enjoying my red velvet cupcake and as I was moving the last mouthful to my mouth I felt Oscar's little hand on my arm, with Oscar directing the fork towards his mouth. When Ang said to him that it was Nanna's cupcake, he replied "Nanna doesn't like it any more".
Tonight was another highlight - John and I went to a Broadway Show "Hello Dolly" which starred David Hyde Pierce, who played Niles Crane on 'Frazier'. It was truly one of the best shows that we have ever seen - every moment was a delight.
WEDNESDAY 8TH NOVEMBER 2017
Happy Birthday David! And a full-on family day today. First up we walked to Katz' Deli to sample their famous sandwiches
Next we caught the Hop On Hop Off bus to Battery Park, where we boarded the ferry which took us, first to The Statue of Liberty
and then to Ellis Island
By the time we arrived back at Battery Park it was late afternoon and absolutely freezing! Riding on top of the bus to the stop closest to our apartment was bone-numbing.
David and Ang went out to see "The Book of Mormon" tonight so John and I got to babysit our Little O's.
THURSDAY 9TH NOVEMBER 2017
Our last day in New York City and our day started with a text from Ang telling us that Olivia had told her that she liked our Los Angeles hotel the best because their room was right next door to us. What a great way to start our day.
We decided to have breakfast at Scotty's Diner first up, before heading back to the apartments and checking out. Fortunately we were able to store our luggage there as we weren't going to the airport until mid afternoon.
So until it was time to return in the afternoon we walked up to the Roosevelt Island Tramway and take it across to the Island
Then, after catching the Tram back to the mainland, we walked to Dylans Candy Store
David wanted to have a last burger at The Shake Shack, so we went there for lunch before walking back to the apartment to collect our luggage and wait for our shuttle to arrive to take us to the airport for our flight back to LA. Our flight boarded around 6pm but when we got to LA Airport the pram wasn't there. There was a lot of mucking about and paperwork to be completed, which meant that we didn't check into the Crowne Plaza until nearly 11.30pm. And through all of this our gorgeous Little O's were just amazing.
FRIDAY 10TH NOVEMBER 2017
Fortunately we were able to have a bit of a sleep in this morning before the shuttle arrived around 10am for the drive to Anaheim. Our hotel, The Courtyard Marriott, was just amazing...and there was a waterpark! Just what we all needed, a chance to chill out and relax.
Later in the afternoon we had a wander down to Downtown Disneyland for a look-see. John and I stayed on a bit longer than David, Ang and the kids did, but we did make it back in time to enjoy the fireworks from our hotel room balcony
SATURDAY 11TH NOVEMBER 2017
Happy Birthday John! Your present...a whole day at Disneyland. It was an absolute joy to watch the faces of Olivia and Oscar throughout the day as they saw all of their favourite Disney characters, went on rides, travelled by boat through "It's a Small World" and watched the Christmas Parade
A magical day at the most magical place on Earth.
SUNDAY 12TH NOVEMBER 2017
Today was the last day of our holiday, and what better place to spend it than at Disneyland. Today was at California Adventureland - lots of fun rides and super heroes for the kids (and adults) to enjoy
Around 4pm we said our farewells to Disneyland to return to the hotel to prepare for our shuttle bus pick-up which took us to LAX and our 11.50pm flight back to Brisbane.
TUESDAY 14TH NOVEMBER 2017
Back in Brisbane at 8.45am after an uneventful flight home, and losing a day in transit. It was so hard to say our farewells to our amazing family. It would be strange not waking up the next morning and not seeing the beautiful smiles of our little Olivia and Oscar, but the special memories of a truly wonderful holiday will remain in our hearts forever.
1 comment:
You missed your lesson learnt about not putting chocolate in your pocket - lol
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