NYC meets Katie

For Katie's fall break, we decided to take her to visit Aunt Adrienne in New York.  So Whit and Katie flew to New York on Thursday while Scott was at a work conference in California.  The girls enjoyed a girls night and went out to dinner and then watched the 80's classic movie, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

Friday morning the girls hit the streets and did a ton of walking. Katie was a super trooper and kept up all day.  We just had to carry around a few extra apples and stop periodically for food to help her re-charge.  We walked along the Highline, through the Chelsea Market and in and out of almost every "spinny" door in New York.  We went up to the Top of the Rock for some spectacular views of the city.  Scott arrived around 6 ... just in time to get the key to the apartment as we whisked off to see Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam theater.  While the girls soaked up all the spoonfuls of sugar they could, Scott spent the evening touring the Chelsea bars with Adrienne's wonderful friend, Maria.

Saturday morning we were up early and on the first ferry out to the Statue of Liberty and then toured Ellis Island.  Katie had a headset and listened to the narration for kids at her own pace.  She learned a lot and was very patient with Scott and Adrienne (the two slowest museum tour guests ever).  After lunch we headed back to town and walked around Battery Park, Ground Zero, through Wall Street (and the protests) and halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge.  Again, Katie was a fantastic trooper.  Our last stop of the day was the Tenament Museum, which was very interesting.  The tour group was small and Katie was the only kid, so she got special treatment from the tour guide.  She even jumped in and asked a few great questions (i.e. where did the people who lived here take a bath?!?!).

Sunday was a little more laid back.  We slept in ... Katie until 9:30 and then headed to The Plaza Hotel and Central Park.  The 3 of us planned a surprise trip to the Central Park Zoo to see their resident Polar Bear, Gus.  After walking around the park for a while at a lazy pace, we ended up in the zoo and boy was Katie thrilled to see that there was a polar bear exhibit.  After the zoo, we visited FAO Schwartz, Tiffany's and the St. Regis Hotel where the rude bartender promptly escorted us out of the bar as Katie was underage (duh). Sunday night ended with Thai food at Maria's and then "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" on the couch at Adrienne's wonderful apartment.

Thanks to Adrienne and her marvelous planning, we had a fantastic time and wish we could have stayed longer. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

Click on the photo below to see all the photos at your own pace.