My Happy Place

New York City... I love it.  When I'm feeling anxious or stressed, I picture myself in the city.  I think of all of the things I love to do there, Central Park, Museum of Natural History, Times Square, shopping, cab rides.  I picture the view from the top of Aunt Patti's building, looking down over 3rd Avenue or out to the East River.  I think of my favorite meal, Sala Thai's Drunken Noodles with spring rolls (mmmm...carrot sauce for dipping.  I'm drooling on the keyboard).  I think of the excitement I feel every time, without fail, when we approach the George Washington Bridge and I see the skyline.  Seriously, I'm like a little kid on Christmas Eve, with so much anticipation that I'm about to burst.


I was having a rough week in July and needed a break.  The mere thought of the city simply was not enough.  I needed the real thing.  So, on a Wednesday afternoon I decided that we were driving down the next day, Thursday.  And by we, I mean just Claire and me. I was a little worried about doing the 5(ish)-hour drive just the two of us, but I needed to go.  I knew Claire needed some Mommy time, so off we went!

 Claire was so excited to be there!

I was having some fun playing around with shutter speed.  Yes, the buildings are crooked and I'm sure there are a million other things wrong with this picture, but I still love it!


Claire loves the city, too, and becomes such a little "city girl" when we are there.  She starts fitting right in, paying attention to which subways we take, and she knows which way to go to get to the subway closest to Aunt Patti's apartment.  She knows that "Patti lives uptown and Shea lives downtown" and she calls Aunt Patti, Shea, and Shea's roommate Daryl her "city friends".  It was during this trip in particular that I realized how not a baby she is.   I didn't have to carry a diaper bag, a change of clothes or a sippy cup at all.  We left the stroller in the trunk of the car, parked in a parking garage, on the upper level (likely stacked on top of another car, mind you), 2 blocks away...aka, totally inaccessible...and we didn't miss it at all.  We took the bus, rode the subway, took cabs, and Claire just tagged along. We didn't have to stop what we were doing for a mid-afternoon nap. She got dressed up and we went to Arturo's for a delicious Italian dinner.  At 8:00 at night.  We didn't bring a bib or a lunchbag of food, and Claire sat through appetizers, dinner...and dessert.  Claire has become an awesome travel companion.  I foresee many girls' weekend trips to NYC in our future!

Claire's favorite city playground, just around the corner from Aunt Patti's apartment!

Lunch at Moonstruck Cafe

Claire loved waving to the people walking by on the street.  It was funny to watch everyone's reaction to the silly blond girl in the window...most people smiled and waved but then there were the people who pretended not to notice her, or were too involved in their cell phone conversations to see her.  I felt bad for her when people didn't smile and wave, but she just kept at it!

Aunt Patti treated us to manicures and pedicures.  Clearly, Claire enjoyed it!

Blowing bubbles on the roof instead of taking a nap.  Claire's idea of a great time!

I love this girl, more than she will ever know.

Turns out, the loveseat is a perfect bed for a 3 year old!

Blueberry pancakes at The Barking Dog.  Yum!


Somehow, the topic of The American Museum of Natural History came up at our house one day.  Jeff and I told Claire about the things she could see there, like dinosaur bones.  She became obsessed with the idea of going there, so I knew we had to take her on this trip.  Of course,nothing could have prepared her for what she would see there and the enormity of the dinosaur fossils. As we walked in to the crowded entrance and she saw the barosaurus (bet you thought that ginormous dinosaur was a brontosaurus, too...nope!  We learned on this trip that it's a barosaurus!) she got very nervous and told us that she wanted to leave.  That didn't stop me from forcing her to stand in front of it for an obligatory picture...or 3.

Poor kid, she was not happy!  Add this to the list of events in Claire's life that will haunt her and cost me hundreds of dollars in therapy bills to fix...


Luckily, we were able to entice her into going into the actual museum (there may or may not have been a bribe involving the gift shop) and she ended up having a great time.  She still talks about the dinosaurs she saw and tells anyone who will listen, "The barosaurus is my favorite dinosaur!"

We continued our day by going downtown to meet Shea, went out a secret window in her building to a secret rooftop spot, ate a very late lunch at a great cafe near her apartment (I can't remember the name!), and took a visit to Chelsea Market where Claire got to attend her very first sample sale, make a wish at a wishing well, watch bakers bake some delicious-looking bread, and we ate some of the best gelato I've ever had.  Chocolate orange?  Yes, please.  We finished our day with shopping for new sunglasses and a trip to a playground.  We covered more neighborhoods in a few hours than I ever thought possible, especially with no stroller!

We can't wait for our next trip!