The Heatons in the Big Apple

New York is a series of contradictions.  You will find, walking down the street or in the subway, the latest and greatest technology available in the world.  And yet, it is common to find a restaurant that only accepts cash.  I think this is why NY is so intriguing to me.  Well, that and the subway system for which I have this unexplainable affection.  There again, you may be sitting next to a very successful banker or you may be sitting next to a homeless guy.  You just never know what to expect.

The greatest personal contradiction is a 'guys' trip' and a 'family trip'.  With the guys, you can buy an airplane ticket ($200), split a hotel bill ($200ish), buy your subway pass ($30), and have a great time spending money on little else.  Grab some pizza on the street and go hang out in the park somewhere.  A family trip, even if it is just a couple days, is very expensive!

I just counted and this was my tenth visit to New York, maybe eleventh.  I haven't travelled very much either, which tells you how much I enjoy going.  If you're interested, here is a rundown of all we did.  Keep in mind, it was VERY hot, sometimes, 100 degrees!

Thursday
4:30  Wake, get dressed and out the door
5:30  At Mom and Dad's in Tucker.  Dad took us to the airport
7:30  Flight leaves
9:30  Land, grab a cab.  "Look kids!  There's Queens!"  "What's Queens?"  "It's kind of a part of New York that's wholly uninteresting to tourists."  Here's something to note.  I have never been taken this route before.  Our driver opted for the Midtown Tunnel.  If you are at LaGuardia and need a cab to Midtown, ask your driver about the Triborough Bridge traffic.  A much better ride if not horribly backed up.  OR, for an even more direct route, the 59th Street Bridge.  That tunnel was not much fun and very congested.  I think he was trying to jack the fare up.
10:30  Arrive at the hotel, check the bags, and we're off on the NYC subway system!  A nice man told us Annie could ride for free.  Not sure why, but this saved us $30!  "Look kids!  Our first subway ride.  First one to spot a rat wins a coke."  We didn't see one rat the whole time.  It was too hot for them!  Anyway, it is immediately clear that my subway skills are rusty.  We're trying to get to 72nd Street on the B/D.  Our train goes right by our stop ... and kept on going!!!  All the way to 125th Street!  You tell me if you can tell this by the map here.  http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm.  It seems, we needed the B and got on the D.  Oh well, we hopped right back on.
11:30  We're at Central Park!  Look kids, there's where John Lennon was shot.  Who's John Lennon?  Ah, nevermind.  We're walking.  Everyone's getting cranky because of the heat.  OK, maybe this was a bit much to start off.
12:00  Lunch at a cool spot - Central Park Boathouse. 
1:00  With some food and drink in us, we all feel much better.  Unbeknownst to us, Taylor Swift was in the park this very day.  Don't know how we missed her.  We meandered our way down to the southeast corner of the park.  "Look kids!  There's a whole bunch of other people who don't live here!"  Annie and Mom decide they're going to check out the Plaza while Tucker and I try this little carnival out. 
2:00  Tuck and I walk in FAO Schwartz at 58th and 5th.  Best air conditioning in the city!!!  We had so much fun there, too!  Everyone agreed that this was much more fun than the big Toys R Us.  Very classy place and only spent $15.
3:00  "Look kids!  There's the most expensive retail space in the entire world!"  I try to get some interest going for Tiffany but the girls are tired and so we walk a couple of really LONG blocks back to the hotel for check in and a little rest.
4:30  Back on the subway!  Headed for Heather's favorite spot ... Canal Street!!!
5:00  We're on Canal and it is clear that the contraband is harder to acquire than when we were here last.  Thankfully my golf shirt, visor, and AUTHENTIC Maui Jims signal that we are not native to the area and we attract plenty of attention.  After 30 minutes or so, we procure a sought item.  I want a watch but these prices are pretty crazy for cheap imitations.  I decide I don't want one that badly.  We end up in Little Italy at a really cool little pizza place.  H is satisfied with her purse, though she clearly wants to go back down there to see what other bargains might be available through Chang Wu.  The children are non-plussed and perhaps, a little frightened, at both the Third World conditions and their Mom's deteriorating sense of propriety.  "Kids, this is what happens when Auburn sorority types smell Prada, even imitation Prada."
8:00  Times Square!  "Look kids!  There's ... everything you can imagine!"  We run in several places here, and blessedly find a bathroom in Toys R Us.  We had checked at a Walgreens where bizarrely, 200 people decided they needed something from the most crowded pharmacy in the free world.  Yes, we rode the ferris wheel.  Toys R Us was nuts and I don't recommend unless you're just seeking mass chaos.
10:00  We are exhausted and back in the room.  But Dad had to go back out to the Duane Reade (next to David Letterman's place) for some melatonin and bandaids.

Friday
9:30  That melatonin did the trick.  We slept pretty well.  Now, we're back out on the street!
10:30  Look kids!  Rockefeller Center!  Dad, what's Rockefeller?  "He was one of the richest men who ever lived.  Owned Standard Oil.  The story of Rockefeller Center is very interesting, it all started with a need for a new opera house.  You see, kids ..."  "Dad, look, there's a Burger King."  - ate breakfast at a little place called Burger King in the Concourse.  What can I say, the kids like the familiar!  It's a pity all my knowledge of the Rockefellers and the Center went to waste.
11:30  After wandering around the Plaza, we pop in St. Patricks for a quick look.  Annie thinks she might want to get married there.  No problem as long as I hit the lottery.  Oh wait, we're Protestants, aren't we?
12:00  Look kids!  There's Grand Central Station! ... It takes a lot to impress my kids.  Jump on the subway.
12:30  Tour of the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn.  Just kidding.
1:00  Somehow we ended up on the 1 train, though I don't remember how.  Turns out, it was a good choice.  Spit us out right at the Staten Island Ferry.
2:00  Ferry ride!  Yippee.  Great view of the Statue of Liberty, the southern tip of Manhattan, and the center of the world!  Only it was hotter than you know and everyone else in the city had the same idea we had.  "Kids, there's Staten Island!"  "Is Staten Island a part of New York?"  "Well, kids, that depends on who you ask.  Staten Island certainly thinks so."
3:00  Heather is itching to go back to Chinatown but we opt for a rest at the hotel.  We go to Starbucks for the 17th time for some refreshment.  Heather negotiates a good price for tickets to Mama Mia.  But she has seen it twice and I've seen it also.  She runs down to 42nd street and puts her Canal Street training to work on the ticket guy.  She scores front row balcony seats to Mary Poppins instead.
5:00  Times Square!  Dinner at Carmine's.  It was very good and fun and we're so stuffed that no one has room for Cheesecake at Junior's.  "Look kids, there's the naked Cowgirl and Cowboy!"
6:30  With time to kill, Tuck and I go to Modell's, a sporting goods store on 42nd near the New Amsterdam theatre.  Tucker finds some Under Armour shorts that he says, "you can't get in Atlanta."  I bought.  He knows a sucker when he sees one.
7:30  Show - it was excellent!
10:30  We hang around to meet Mary Poppins.  She was great and talked to the kids a long time.  Perhaps the highlight of the trip.  11:00  In bed and tired!

Saturday
10:00  After another good night's sleep and some danish in the hotel lobby, we head down to 34th Street and go up the Empire State Building!  A great day for visibility and the day isn't nearly as hot as Friday.
11:00  We kicked around trying to get one last site in but figured we had seen and done enough.  We hung out at the 51st Street Starbucks again (sort of our home away from home) and Annie bought a purse from a guy off the street.  Our New York state of mind sated, we jumped in a cab and headed back to LGA.

Great trip, lots of memories, and all in a little more than 48 hours!