The Longest Day Ev-er

Yesterday was incredibly long. When I think back to the events of yesterday morning, it feels like they took place months ago. Am I aging quickly or just staying young??

Monday was our last day in New Jersey. We wanted to take AJ in to the city - she was there last year but obviously had no recollection of the sights and sounds. And I had hit the Tasti D-Lite once on Saturday (my MIL took me and SIL to see a Broadway show) but I just had to go again before leaving the East Coast. Tasti D-Lite is one of my favorite NYC treats - a delicious ice-cream-like swirl of creamy goodness that is supposedly low-calorie, although that's probably a farce.

So we woke up at 7:45 a.m. (or 6:45 CT) and took the 9:15 a.m. train into the city. My father-in-law had intended to go his own way, but he stuck with us and we really enjoyed having him along. Plus he helped us to carry AJ, since we somehow forgot to take a stroller.

We started by taking the subway uptown and walking over to Rockefeller Center. I think they are lighting the tree tomorrow maybe? It had no decorations so AJ was not impressed. But she loved watching the ice skaters, including a few girls who obviously knew what they were doing and a very tall man who flew around the ice.

Then we stopped at St. Patrick's Cathedral where I made AJ say a prayer and she whispered that she wanted a drink and a snack. Classic! I do think she was impressed with the grand scale of that gorgeous church though. At this point my FIL wanted to take us to a Citibank building for a train display. We decided to go along with it....and it turned out great. There was a really intricate, detailed model railroad show, and it was free. AJ just stared at the trains, barely moving. We even had a quiet leisurely lunch in the cafeteria there, a tough thing to find during lunch hour in Manhatten.

Next we went to FAO Schwartz, where AJ played with tiny pianos and stood in awe of the sheer number of toys crammed into the store. We then walked past Central Park, a mistake since she wanted to ride the 'horseys,' and all the way down to Hell's Kitchen, our old stomping grounds, where Tasti D did not disappoint. Even FIL thought the long walk had been worth it.

We took the subway downtown, caught a 1:45 p.m. train back to NJ and started to prepare for our plane ride home. We got to Newark with plenty of time only to find all O'Hare flights delayed. We got to O'Hare in time to catch an earlier flight home, so we kept running between the gates for the three flights trying to depart for our tiny airport. What a mess - all I can say is that we finally got home at 1:00 a.m. (that's 2:00 ET!) and we are glad to be here.

So we need a few days to recover. Blogging will resume when the blogger feels a little more settled. That one day took a lot out of this little family.

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