More on New York City and Children

I feel that my children live a pampered life compared to many others in the world. While we don't have too much money, we do have heat, food, electricity, clothes, clean water, and all the other necessities. We also have many non-essentials such as a Wii, 3 televisions, a Nintendo DS, every Hot Wheel ever made, every action figure known to the younger generation, and all forms of building blocks. You get the idea.

We arrive in New York late at night because our plane was delayed. We are all tired by the time we reach our hotel. Uh-hem, Hostel. We check in and find out we are on the 4th floor and we have to all pile into a tiny elevator that moves at the speed of a snail. We step off the elevator onto a floor that I can only say looked like somebody threw up raspberry sherbet all over the walls. I tell the kids we will be fine and this will be an adventure, then we head to our room. Once the door is open, all of us start looking for the light switch. About 3 minutes later, I notice something hanging from the ceiling. It is a piece of string to which I then pull and the only light in the room comes on. Maybe we should have just kept the light off. My middle child, being the pampered middle that he is, exclaims "what is THAT about? This room doesn't even have a switch?" I then explain to him that this is still a common observance in some parts of the world and we will survive pulling the string. Well, the hostel didn't have bugs, or rats, but there was a bird in the room next door and we weren't sure if it was the occupants' or one that had taken residence from the outside. We shared an interesting experience sleeping in this different form of a hotel and we know we will laugh about those raspberry walls for years to come.

Wanted: Interior Decorator for the Candy Hotel/Hostel in NYC

P.S. I would have taken a picture but have to admit, I didn't want others to see where we had been willing to stay to save a few bucks.

New York Review-Fun in The Big Apple!

Our trip to New York City was a great success. I highly recommend a visit for all of you who truly love a city vacation. There were so many exciting things to see and interesting people to meet and observe. Some of our favorite adventures follow. Enjoy.






Ah, Central Park in fall. I have to admit we were all very impressed with the beauty of it. An oasis amidst all the business of the city. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk through it. Funny- mentioning the walking, I do have to share that for the 4 days we were there, we spent most of the time walking. My sister-in-law wore her pedometer and we clocked 50miles around the city-JUST walking. The boys were actually great sports about it after a new pair of shoes for one and Red Bull for both. Walking is really the only way to get the most out of seeing the city.

The subway certainly provides a different form of transportation and entertainment. As it was Halloween weekend, we did expect to find people dressed up in costume. As we were obtaining our Metro cards for an early morning subway ride, I was poked in my back 3 times only to turn and see that next to me, was a young man 3/4 naked, dressed in a Chippendale tie, cuffs, and bikini. He got on our subway and ended up standing right next to us. I couldn't avoid commenting to him how daring that costume was and ask him where he put the money for the subway. He proceeded to share how he got stranded at a friends with no other clothes and now needed to get a pair of sweats purchased-FAST. I agreed. My boys just gawked at first, then acted as if they see it all the time on the streets of Waupaca, WI.

Of course, we visited all the usual sights. I found myself answering many questions as to why the sights didn't look quite the same as the movies they were featured in. The most disappointing being the Central Park Zoo. My children, who have watched Madagascar too many times to mention, were wondering where Marty, Gloria, Alex, and Marvin were. The zoo didn't even have any of these animals, but my children noticed that the clock in the movie was actually there. Thank you for small favors.

Lastly, we enjoyed the local wildlife. J and J (the boys) terrorized the pigeons, squeeled when a rat ran across the sidewalk in front of us one night, and admired all the New York "city" dogs. The reward of travel comes when my children realize how fortunate they are and empathize with those who don't have what most of us do. This trip taught them much, made them laugh, forced exercise (lots of it), and provided an experience I hope they never forget. You may hear more later as I share an embarrassing event that happened to me. Being able to laugh at ourselves is a true gift. WE LOVED NYC but it's good to be home.

Finding the Joy: Spending time together, especially while traveling, is a true blessing. We are thankful for the safe travel.