Another day in the city!
This time we did the uptown bus tour. Fortunately for us it was a very sunny, nice day. Unfortunately for us, the busses were very busy and it was hard to find one that had 5 seats available. But we managed to board and away we went.
First on the agenda: Museum of Natural History. That’s right, the stuff of Night at the Museum. Which it was nothing like, btw. But my kids LOVED it!!! Well, the older 2 anyway. Miles was more just along for the ride.
This place blew the Smithsonian in DC out of the water! We could’ve literally spent a month there alone. I’m so glad we went, but disappointed that we didn’t get to spend more time there. We’ll definitely be coming back.
We spent the most time in the dinosaur exhibits. Ever since Blake was a toddler he’s had a special affinity for dinosaurs. He rated the exhibit an A+. And he knows his dinosaur exhibits! Miles was less than enthused but Lance also really enjoyed it. They had lots of neat things to see, much more comprehensive than the Smithsonian. I liked their displays better also. Here are some of our favorites…
A dinosaur egg nest.
And I loved the placenta exhibit! LOL!!
We looked at a few more exhibits before getting to MY favorite…the meteorites!! Lance also shares my passion for space rocks so we totally geeked out in that section. We saw some amazing and rare specimen as well as some pieces of the same meteorites I have at home. Such as the Canyon Diablo, from the most well preserved crater on earth in Arizona. We got to touch one of the largest meteorite pieces ever found. This thing is mammoth!
It was time to move on, to see more of the city. None of us wanted to leave. Well, except Steve and Miles LOL! We went to the bus stop to try to get on but after seeing bus after bus drive by, too full to accommodate us, we decided to cut through central park to catch the bus on another stop.
Wow. Central park is deceptively huge! I remember thinking that the last time I was in NYC. But wow. We cut through the “short” way and it took near forever to reach the other side. And it’s really easy to get turned around in there. But it’s gorgeous! So peaceful and serene. Sounds of nature, lush greenery. Blue skies, people relaxing, walking, biking, picnicing. The boulders were awesome. The kids loved climbing all over them. We were just thinking we must be lost when I started to hear the sounds of the city again, the traffic, the horns. And I knew we were close. It’s a strange feeling walking out of this sanctuary and into the craze of the busy city. Civilization we found!
We finally hopped back on the bus and finished the uptown tour. We switched busses and were back on the downtown tour. Next stop: The Empire State Building.
A little background, I’m terrified of heights. And yet I’ve walked across the Blue Water Bridge from Port Huron, MI to Sarnia, Canada. I’ve been in the Sears Tower. And now I was faced with The Empire State Building. I only did this for my son, Lance. As homeschoolers we read a lot and one of the things I do with my kids is read to them every day. We’ve recently read the Percy Jackson series which takes place in NYC for part of the storyline. The Empire State Building is a main place where things happen in the series. So Lance was especially interested in seeing and going all the way to the top. Ugh. I’d rather have a root canal.
Miles has a lot of anxiety. He’s afraid of allergy foods, crowds, getting lost, losing his teeth, allergy testing, endoscopies, doctor visits, spiders, wasps, bees, hornets, dogs and being without me. When we were in line he was getting more and more anxious and afraid because I was. I told him I was afraid of heights and he quickly adopted that as a fear of his as well. So the whole time we were in line he was nervous. I told him we could be brave together and face our fears together. He was ok with that but was understandably on edge.
We finally got on the first elevator to take us to the 80th floor. They packed us in like sardines and I could feel my ears popping on the way up. Gross!!! We got to the 80th floor and they told us it would be another 20 minutes to board the elevator to the 86th floor. Or we could take the stairs. So that’s what we did! Climbed the remaining 6 flights of stairs to the observation deck. It was actually a good distraction for me.
Once we got to the deck I really started to feel sick. I found the innermost wall and faced it. Steve took Lance out to the outside deck. Miles and Blake stood back with me until curiosity got the best of them and they actually went outside to look! Miles overcame his fear and everyone spent WAY TOO LONG peering over the edge of that tall building. So nasty!!! When they were done the rescued me from my standing fetal position at the innermost wall and we booked it down the stairs again. It felt much better to be on the descent, although I wasn’t comfy again until my feet were firmly planted on the ground level. I hope to never experience that torture again! Please note that NONE of these pictures were taken by me. I’m even having a hard time admitting to myself that I was even up that high in the sky!!
We went to dinner at a local tourist trap (yuck!) and then walking through Times Square again on our way to the car. And then we were headed home, to Stamford, once again. Another great day, minus the Tower of Terror.
