Yesterday was a great day. We took to the streets and definitely crossed “some things to do and see” off of our list. As is pretty typical for any summer day, the kids did their sleeping in thing which gave Jim and I plenty of time to figure out where we are on the map in relation to necessities and attractions, get some basic groceries, and plan our afternoon and evening.

There is a small snack type grocer less than a block away which is good for chips and soda and water and beer and then we also walked to the Whole foods in the building off of Columbus Circle which is located at the southwest corner of Central Park. Its in a giant building, down an escalator, and it took us a few minutes to figure that out. We walked around the block and stood on the circle (for me mostly marveling at the size of the buildings) and tried to puzzle out on our phones where it was that could be 1 minute away and not in plain sight. That walk was my first real glimpse at the city in the light of day.

Feeding 4 teenagers (plus us) is no small task and getting supplies for breakfast and lunch is an absolute must. We got five full bags of stuff and took an Uber back to the apartment. For posterity I will add that in one day we went through an entire gallon of milk, container of strawberries, and most of a loaf of bread. They eat a lot of nacho chips and cheese and we accidentally bought dairy free and they won’t touch it. I have a feeling trips to the grocery will be pretty regular this trip. Thats enough about that.

We let the kids sleep until 1ish and I even got a quick nap in before they came down the stairs (I feel asleep on the couch). We ate lunch together and then set out for Times Square on foot. We are staying in Manhattan and are at a great location. Where we are is really quite simple to navigate and I got my bearings pretty quickly. We walked all the way through Time Square and navigated the crowds and the people dressed up in costume trying to get pictures for money.

I made the mistake of pausing and was swarmed by a group of mini-mice and a spider man. My daughter got caught up in it too. They came to us and tried to grab my phone to take a picture, literally. I kept my phone in my hand and took a selfie of my daughter and I and then they had the nerve to flash cards at me that say “tips please”. One woman even looked me in the eye and said “we work for tips”. I get it, but I didn’t ask for them to approach us or take our picture. It was very aggressive. I looked back at her and said “I know”, and kept walking. I guess I learned a little lesson about stopping even for a second.

We then rode the subway from Times Square to Central park which was only two stops but a cool experience for everyone. It was also well worth the money as the day was very hot and sweaty by then. The kids had never ridden a subway before, and I haven’t for about 10 years. I’m sure it will not be our only ride this trip.

Central Park is cool, but so large and it’s hard to know what to do if you haven’t done research. We did a carriage ride on the main road through the lower half and that was cool. We could not hear or understand our tour guide who kept pointing things out. There were a few stops for pics along the way but I was glad when it was over and it didn’t seem worth the money it cost. After, we got food and cold drinks from a street vendor and sat in chairs near a tall structure with a statue. We ordered too many fries and fed the pigeons. They swarmed just like the cartooned characters in Times Square did.

We stopped at a CVS on our route back “home” to pick up a few items we forgot to pack. Then, back at the apartment, we chilled out for several hours before heading back out again.

Z and I walked to that corner market and around the area in search of Pokemon and PokeStops. Z and C and I are playing while we are here as its a fun thing to do while you walk AND they have different stuff in different geographic locations so there are Pokemon here that we can’t get back home.

In the evening we walked less than a block for slices of pizza and chipotle for dinner and brought it back to the apartment. By then the sun was nearly down and so we waited for it to get dark before going back to Times Square to experience what that is like at night with all of the people and the lights. It was truly more busy at night than in the day and absolutely chaotic. We didn’t stop at any street performers, which had large crowds gathered round them. We did a loop around the entire are and then walked back home. I promised Z we would go back today or tomorrow and pop in a few stores she wanted to stop at. The boys would not have been interested in stopping at Disney or Forever21.

Back at the house again we settled in and watched a movie, “Dante’s Peak”, and then went to bed. It felt like a very full and satisfying day. Jim wanted to hit the Museum of Modern Art but that will have to wait for a day or two.

Right now it’s only about 7:30AM and everyone is still sleeping. I have more writing to do for school and I’m going to capitalize on this alone time to do that. Today should be another fun-filled, action-packed day. The first activity on my list? Get more groceries.

Peace and Love Until Tomorrow,

~Miss SugarCookie