New York State of Mind

We love New York. We don't have a t-shirts that say it but it's true. This was our 14th trip to the "Big Apple" together and our 2nd with Sadie.

This trip into the city was different than our first as parents. Most notably was the fact that Sadie slept for most of the last trip and I carried her in her Sleepy Wrap. This time we brought the stroller and she slept there too, just not as much.

We stayed at The Double Tree Times Square which was a beautiful suite hotel with a great view.

Best of all, we were literally in the middle of Times Square. Here's Sadie, in her nightgown, waiting for Mommy to pick up dinner. This was right across the street from our hotel (TKTS steps).
During this trip Sadie saw her first (off) Broadway show. Kinda crazy, right? Taking an 18 month to the theatre? Yep. The show was John Tartaglia's "Imagine Ocean". You may be familiar with John from Disney's "Johnny and the Sprites" or if you are a theatre dork like us, he's from the OBC cast of Avenue Q.


The show was a black light puppet show. Sadie had fun but there were some tense moments in the dark because it wasn't just "theatre dark", it was black light dark. Also, we ended up forfeiting our front row seats when we got there because the stage was close, framed and we were warned not to grab the puppets. That didn't sound like a lot of fun so we moved to the very back, away from anyone we might annoy.
Sadie was a good girl. She enjoyed the show but lost interest during some of the slower parts and wanted to run down the aisle. The songs were good (all pre-recorded) but the most exciting part (remember, we're theatre dorks) was that John Tartaglia was in the audience and SITTING BEHIND US. Yes, this was SUPER exciting when he appeared because he wasn't actually IN the show so we weren't expecting to see him. After the performance Sadie was able to meet "Johnny"so not only did she see her first show, she "stage doored" for the first time too!

D also saw a show, "How to Suceed in Business Without Really Trying" with Daniel Radcliffe. I was jealous but opted to skip seeing a show since the tickets were $150 each. Plus, I'd already seen Harry Potter on Broadway a couple of years ago in Equus and in Equus I saw enough Harry to last a lifetime (entire scene done completely naked, limp wand wagging all around the stage).

Of course, a trip to NYC with a child (or without) woudn't be complete without going to FAO, Toys R Us Times Square (we rode the ferris wheel), and American Girl.

Sadie made out like a bandit at American Girl. The rule HAS to be, to ALWAYS bring a doll with you when you go or you'll spend big $$. We ended up buying her "Bitty Twins" which are a set of Boy/Girl toddler aged dolls. We gave her the girl doll right away and we have the boy stashed away for Christmas (this year, or next).

Other things.... We went to SoHo which as a terrible, awful experience that involved Sadie peeing on the floor of the subway train (ask yourself how that happened, it was something straight from the exorcist). We ate at our favourite tourist trap restaurant, Juniors. We went to the New York Public Library, and we crashed The Plaza to go visit Eloise.

Onion Rings at Juniors (they're more like Onion Donuts)

Sadie with Eloise at The Plaza

Waiting for the Subway

The trip into the city was exhausting and probably seems (to me) like a lot more fun looking back at the pictures but it was HOT, BUSY and riding public transit with a stroller was HELL. We'll do it again, of course, but I don't think we'll be going south of 34th until Sadie (and future child) can walk on and off the Subway. If anyone is actually interested in hearing about our subway ride, just let me know! lol