With nearly 25 full days away from Iowa, our 2017 adventure could be classified as our most ambitious to date. Amanda’s cousin Cassy is joining us on the journey, which includes time in New York City, Iceland, Berlin, Lisbon and the Portuguese island of Porto Santo. While the first 10 days feature a jam-packed itinerary, we’ll slow things down a bit with more flexibility and time to relax for the second half of our trip.
A group photo, taken early Saturday morning at the Des Moines airport.
Des Moines to Newark
Day one started early, as our flight to Newark was scheduled to depart at 6:00 a.m. A few miles from home Amanda realized we neglected to pack Eilidh’s refrigerated medicine. Fortunately, Gee Gee and Papa were able to quickly meet us, and we ultimately were through security and at our gate in the Des Moines Airport with plenty of time to spare.
All three kids were champs on the airplane, and we landed in Newark on schedule despite a delay taking off in Des Moines. The older kids were giddy during the last few minutes of the descent. “Big Buildings!” “Trains!” Emmie let nearly everyone on the plane know her excitement about seeing the “Golden Gate Bridge” from her window.
Noah with our full collection of luggage, upon arrival at the Newark Airport.
Newark to New York City
Google Maps sometimes makes journeys look easier than they are, especially when any combination of walking, public transportation – or travel with kids – is involved. On paper, a 25-minute, 3-stop ride from Newark to Manhattan sounded great. In reality, we lugged ourselves and our luggage up and down several flights of stairs and a half-dozen escalators, in addition to spending more than 30 minutes on an overcrowded train to the city.
Waiting for the AirTrain, the first of two trains required to get to New York City.
Noah did not want to sit down on the train to NYC, but once he did, he was asleep within a few minutes.
Cassy’s help on the trip proved immediately valuable during the jaunt to our hotel, helping reign in the kids and the suitcases as we navigated through Penn Station and the streets of New York. A late morning arrival time meant the room wasn’t available, so the hotel stop yielded only a simple bag drop before our first stop of the day: Shake Shack.
The obligatory photo outside the Shake Shack.
I’d been a bit down on Shake Shack after eating there a week ago in Chicago, but our New York City experience provided a bit of redemption. Noah and Emmie both devoured their entire Burgers with Emmie even declaring “Best. Cheeseburger. Ever.” near the end of her meal. In addition to banging her head to the music coming through the Shake Shack speakers, Eilidh enjoyed a handful of French Fries and loved the Black & White shake.
Emmie declared this to be the “Best. Cheeseburger. Ever.”
After Shake Shack was a brief stop at the adjacent Macy’s, known for its title as the World’s Largest Department Store. An overly-wet diaper meant Eilidh needed a new outfit, so we made our way up six sets of escalators to the children’s section. We found and changed Eilidh into a fun, summery dress, and also learned of two issues holding Emmie back a bit in the city: Her fledgling ability to get on and off of escalators and use revolving doors.
Empire State Building
Our main attraction for the afternoon was a trip to the 86th floor observation deck of the Empire State Building. I’d purchased ‘express’ tickets well in advance, which proved to be easily worth whatever extra expense they required. Upon showing our tickets, we were given VIP wristbands which provided the opportunity to skip pretty much every line. Within a few minutes, we’d made our way up to elevators and were taking in the views in every direction.
Noah and Emmie take a long look at Manhattan from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, reminiscent of their photo from the Eiffel Tower in 2014.
Eilidh and Amanda found a spot inside to relax once while the rest of us spent a little extra time looking at New York City.
It was fun to see the major buildings in the New York skyline from above, like the Chrysler Building with its iconic architecture and the United States’ tallest building, One World Trade Center. We also pointed out New Jersey, the state where our plane landed, and Long Island City, where Caley, Caleb, Nola, and Nina live, and we’d be visiting later in the afternoon.
We stopped at one of New York’s many Starbucks for some tea and water, and to give Eilidh some more food. This is our first extended trip with Eilidh where we haven’t relied on milk, meaning the bulk of her nutrition is coming from 20 ounces of Nourish-brand blended food each day. Served via syringe and tube a maximum of two ounces at a time means feeding Eilidh must be a consideration anytime we have a few moments which could even remotely be classified as downtime.
During my last visit to New York City, Caley introduced me to Culture Espresso, which not only serves coffee but bakes and sells some incredibly delicious cookies. Made fresh throughout the day, the cookies feature the slightest crisp to the outside, paired with a chewy interior loaded with melty chocolate chips. A sign outside proclaims they have the best cookie in New York City, and we can’t make an argument otherwise.
Long Island City
From nearly the minute we landed in Newark, the question asked most frequently by Noah and Emmie was about when we would see their friends Nola and Nina. They live in Long Island City, in Queens, requiring a short subway ride from Manhattan and giving Cassy, Emmie, and Eilidh their first New York City subway experience.
Our arrival at the Lewis’ home may have been most exciting for Eilidh, who for the first time had a chance to run around and explore, flashing her biggest smiles while hanging out on Nina’s bed and old-fashioned rocking chair. Nola immediately shifted into her ringleader role, coordinating activities around the condo for Noah and Emmie. Amanda took a brief and accidental siesta on the comfortable couch before we made our way across the street for the kids to burn some more energy at the park.
Last year, Amanda and I celebrated our anniversary in Halifax, with a slightly disappointing meal at Chives Canadian Bistro. This year, I was more confident in my dinner pick, as Casa Enrique not only came highly recommended by Caley and Caleb but has the distinction of being the only Mexican restaurant in the New York City metro with a Michelin star.
The cozy restaurant was bustling when we arrived, and I was thankful I made the reservation a few weeks out. Our meal started with a house-made batch of guacamole which accompanied tortilla chips with the perfect thickness and crispiness. Amanda ordered a chicken mole dish which was pleasantly reminiscent of a similar entree ordered in Oakland in April. The wonderfully-seasoned pork and pineapple taco was the highlight of my ala carte taco order.
We took in the views of the Manhattan skyline from the Long Island City waterfront before reuniting with Cassy and the kids for more conversation and fun. Nola jumped at the opportunity to feed Eilidh, pushing her next two ounces of food through the syringe, becoming the second-youngest person to do so (behind only Emmie.)
On our earlier walk from the Vernon Jackson subway station, I mentioned the ice cream place to Cassy. Turns out she had watched videos of Thai-style ice cream being made and was interested in trying. Little convincing is required for me to inject ice cream into an itinerary, so I figured Something Sweet was the perfect end to our Long Island City itinerary, and say goodbye to our New York friends.
Times Square
As our time in Long Island City was concluding, it was apparent that Noah, Emmie, and Eilidh lacked the energy to complete the final stop on our Saturday itinerary: Times Square. Instead, we took the 7 and 1 subways to the hotel, where we checked in, unpacked, and Amanda led the effort to wind down the kids. Once they were on their way to sleeping, Cassy and I ventured back out to see Times Square at night.
By the time I placed the Amazon order for power adapters, so we can use our electronics in Iceland, Germany, and Portugal, the only place I could ship them without paying exorbitant shipping was New York. We unfortunately forgot to get them when we left Caley and Caleb’s, so our quick trip to Times Square needed to be preceded by a return visit to Long Island City.
The two closest subway stops were closed, so I decided to flag down a taxi. I figured this would be a classic win-win-win situation: less walking, less time, and the chance for Cassy to ride in one of the city’s famous yellow taxis. While the first and third boxes were checked, the bridge to Queens was backed up and the taxi driver seemed to do us few favors in the route he chose. Cassy’s most resounding memories from the 40-minute ride included honking, idling, and whiplash from constant speeding up and slowing down.
Even though we arrived at Times Square around midnight, it was busy, with crowds in the shops and on the streets. I grabbed a late-night green tea from Starbucks and we explored a few blocks before the mile-long return walk to the hotel.
Love all the pictures and stories.