Friday, October 4, 2024
We flew into LaGuardia on Friday afternoon and took a cab to our hotel, NU Hotel in downtown Brooklyn. We checked in and dropped off our bags, then walked down toward the waterfront. When Mr. Strange and I visited in 2016, we discovered the deliciousness of Juliana’s pizza, so we wanted to recreate that experience.
It was around 4:30pm when we arrived and there was no line. We were seated fairly quickly and ordered a large pepperoni pie. However, Mr. Strange wasn’t feeling too well after the flight and LS wasn’t feeling it as much as we were, so I ended up downing half the pizza myself.
Afterwards, we walked to Brooklyn Bridge Park. We took some photos and LS rode Jane’s Carousel, then headed over to the Main Street Playground, which she was super excited was designed like a pirate ship.
We took the subway back and relaxed the rest of the evening.
Saturday, October 5, 2024
I got up early for a run around Brooklyn Bridge Park on Saturday morning. When I returned, I got the rest of the family up and we headed downstairs for breakfast.
We then hopped on the F train to Coney Island. We arrived soon after the opening of Luna Park, and there weren’t very many people at all. We purchased some credits, then went off to find Mr. Strange a pair of shorts because it was hotter than he was expecting. We then rode the Wonder Wheel, which is part of a smaller, separate park, so you have to purchase separate credits for those rides. After the Wonder Wheel, I steered LS back to the Luna Park section, where we rode on several of the smaller rides.
We grabbed hot dogs at Nathan’s (of course), I rode the Cyclone, and then LS went on a few more rides. We finished up with a couple carnival games before heading back to the hotel.
Sunday, October 6, 2024
On Sunday, we had reservations for a 10am brunch boat cruise, so we hopped on the subway to Chelsea Pier. The boat cruise was around 3 hours long and circumnavigated Manhattan, and took us near Liberty Island to see the statue. LS was excited to see the John J. Harvey, right off the bat, because we had just read “Fireboat” before leaving on our trip.
The food was very tasty, and it was nice to be able to get up and take in the views outside at your leisure. LS counted all the bridges we went under, and I avoided getting seasick this time.
After getting off the boat, we walked the High Line for a bit, then headed over to the Nintendo Store to do some shopping.
At 3pm, we headed over to the Summit at One Vanderbilt, which was quite the experience. They have three floors that you go through. The first floor has your typical view from the top of a skyscraper, but with mirrored floors and ceilings. You then travel through a room that is covered with shiny foil balloons; we never thought we’d be able to tear LS away! But (thankfully?) another kid threw up and they had to clear the room.
On the second floor, there was an opportunity to have your photo made while standing on glass that juts out from the building, so you can see the city beneath your feet. The line wasn’t too long, so we did this, though we didn’t purchase the photos they made. The other room on this floor had a screen covered in clouds where they used a photo taken of you in the beginning to make you into a cloud.
We had a bite to eat on the third floor, then went back down and through Grand Central Station and back to the hotel.
Monday, October 7, 2024
We ate breakfast and then headed over to the American Museum of Natural History around opening time. This was pretty much the main reason for the trip, and we ended up spending the whole day here! We had also gotten additional tickets to the Butterfly Vivarium, which was a timed entry at 11:30, so after exploring around the second and third floors a bit, we headed there. LS had loved the Schmetterling Haus in Vienna, and this was no exception! She asked to stay until a butterfly landed on her, and, with some luck, one finally did! She was thrilled.
We then grabbed some lunch in the food court, and then headed up to the fourth floor to see the dinosaurs! LS has been hugely into dinosaurs this year, so this was definitely a highlight for her. She was mainly excited for the gift shop, where she purchased a new stegosaurus stuffy that she named Plates.
We went through the gemstones and then finished up at the insects on the first floor, heading out right before closing.
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Since we hadn’t made it to the Met on the previous day, we headed there after checking out of our hotel and storing our luggage. We did a quick tour through the ancient Egyptian art, European paintings, American jewelry, and armor sections, then headed over to the ancient playground next door. LS said she liked it even better than the pirate playground in Brooklyn. Soon after, though, it was time to say goodbye to the Big Apple and fly back home. See you next time, NYC!
