Cora saved her money from dog walking all year to go to NYC and see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. It coincided with her birthday nicely, so I decided to take her out of school on her birthday to see the 2 pm matinee. Not just the play, but she got a few extra birthday surprises as well!!
We left the house at 5:30 am with the e-bike in the back of the van! We dropped Tim off at his seminary carpool at 5:45 and left straight away! We made it to the city by 10:30, in time to make a 11:30 lunch appointment at American Girl.
Cora noticed "the Book of Mormon Musical" postings right away
We parked at our parking garage near the hotel and walked the few blocks to Rockefeller Plaza to find the American Girl shop.
Rockefeller Plaza
We arrived to the store just before it opened, and excitedly looked around the store for 30 minutes before the café opened.
After I priced checked everything in the store and saw that I could safely offer her to buy one thing of anything she wanted in the store, she nearly cried. She was so excited and wanted to choose a doll.
Cora has never been very excited about dolls, so I was surprised. I honestly thought that she would choose a dress she saw when we came into the store. She was elated!! And knew exactly which one she wanted very quickly.
It was a HUGE dream come true for her and she chose KIRA,
the Aussie girl who treats injured Koalas.
Her excitement was so much fun!
She said it was the best surprise she ever had!
At the cafe, they gave Kira a high chair to eat with us. The food portions looked so dainty, but we ate so much that neither of us could eat dinner that evening.
Cora brought Lamby, her best friend stuffed animal to dine with us as well.
She didn't know that she would have a doll to dine too!
We were so full, we both agreed that we shouldn't have had the soda.
But we were glad we didn't order the extra "birthday party" menu which had an additional cake as well as the chocolate mousse!
I was glad that I threw this plan to have lunch here at the last minute.
I honestly hadn't planned on going here at first, and was lucky a few days before to get a reservation.
We could only have eaten here right at 11:30 am in order to get to the 2 pm show. They had zero reservations open the next day. This ended up being her very favorite part of the trip, so I was so happy it worked out for her this way.
We looked at the store as long as we could, and Cora got to pick up pajama accessories for Kira too.
Then we headed toward the show at the Majestic Theatre.
We saw the Lego Store along the way.
And we passed LOTS of souvenirs along the way.....MANY of which Cora was sure she wanted to spend her birthday money from Grandparents on. I told her to hold off until the end of the trip and she was glad she did, because she kept seeing things that were better and better!
When we arrived at PHANTOM, we were so excited! Our seats were near the back, so we had low expectations, but the theater was small, so the seats were great, and we were on time!
Only thing was, they charged $10 for a tiny water and we were SO thirsty, we would need 4. I ran out quickly to the pharmacy next door and paid $4 for both a HUGE water & chapstick and ran back in the theatre.
A penny saved!
Cora loved the play! We had a great time!
There was still a sliver of daylight when we left the theatre.
So we took this opportunity to jump on the E-Bike and ride to Central Park, which was only a few blocks away.
Cora was really scared at first to ride in the city, but after we got to the park, she relaxed and enjoyed the ride!
We looked all over for Balto, because Cora read about Balto at School.
She also chose to go to the Statue of Liberty next day because she was so interested in it, and found out that she would be learning about Ellis Island and the Statue later in the year.
I wish we could say we slept well, but we didn't sleep much. The blinds were not great in the room, and the city lights were very bright. WICKED was right outside our window and the light shone right into the room. We watched "Enchanted" and laughed and laughed at the "I've been dreaming of a true loves kiss" Prince.
Eventually, we did get some sleep, but we were up at 6 am to see more!
First stop: Get a New York Bagel!
Of all the choices, she went with Plain with strawberry cream cheese.
I got sesame with a schmear of some kind. Have to admit....hers was "betta"
Next Stop: The VESSEL at Hudson Yards
Next Stop: DETOUR
We biked back to the retail area to get Cora some new sneakers. Hers were too small and killing her feet. She just couldn't walk on them any more and we had some walkin to do!
The e-bike was so great for that. It was no big deal to ride a couple of miles back to the shops, and back to our destination: THE HIGHLINE
We were able to walk the whole highline trail, which is an old elevated train track. Now, it's walking path with greenery and benches along the way. No bikes allowed, so we just walked. A nice park employee told us after we walked with our bike that even that wasn't allowed. We were glad that we didn't know though, and could just walk the whole stretch without having to return for our bike. :)
Cora on the Highline in NYC
Neat views of the city from up there
End of the trail
This was amphitheatre seating with a great view!
Next Stop: LITTLE ISLAND
Little Island is a neat little man made island park on the Hudson Bay.
These seats were our favorite part
Now, the "Big Bumba!"
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY!
We had a great bike path from Little Island all the way directly to Battery Park.
We didn't have to wait long for the ferry. It was quite cold out, so we opted to go below top deck and stay warm.
The movie and visitor's center were first (so that we would appreciate the statue)
A life-sized replica of her foot.
We learned a lot about why the statue was built
and who paid for it and who made the engineering happen.
Most importantly, what it symbolizes to the world.
It's a great museum!
The museum is very interactive too!
View of the city from the island
The statue in real life
It was COLD, so we ran to the gift shop, where Cora was most excited to spend time anyway.
I got us hot fries, which I was most excited about.
We spent hours on Ellis island as well learning about immigration.
The sister missionaries volunteer helping people to find their ancestors at
Ellis Island with the Parks service!
We learned that Ellis island was not a great place to have to stay. It usually meant that you were sick and not allowed into the country yet. Some people had to wait a very long time, some were sent back. The living quarters were cramped and only a few lavatories for many many people.
Cora gave me a presentation about everything she learned. haha
Farewell Lady Liberty!
Lastly, we did the SeaGlass Carousel Ride at Battery Park at sunset,
before making the 30 minute bike ride back to ....nope....not our car, but the American Girl Store....one more time! She had decided to get Kira's Koala with her extra birthday money, and we caught the store open for just 10 more minutes.
Then, it was really time to go! We got our gear loaded in the car, stopped by the NYC Temple on the way home too so Cora could see it and headed out.
It was a LONG drive home. We really didn't leave the city until 8:30 pm.
I was immediately tired.
We didn't make it home until after midnight and I had to really work hard to stay awake. That was the hardest part.
Everything else was a fantastic experience, and a treasured memory!
We talk about NY all the time and our great adventure! Best. Birthday. Ever!
