July 4th in NYC

Today was about exploring Central Park. After a quick stop at Starbuck's, we walked over to Central Park. This apartment is so conveniently located to the park, and I love it! Our first stop was the Diana Ross Playground.

Diana Ross Playground ~ Central Park

Playing in the dreaded sand

Beatrix climbing the ladder

Steven keeping a close watch on Charlotte

Of course, Charlotte was trying to do things that scared us, but we stayed for a little bit. Charlotte cried upon leaving, and it was obvious she wasn't ready. Next stop was the Carousel. We passed the Hecksher Fields on our way, and Steven grabbed this nice shot of the buildings.

View from Hecksher Fields

Beatrix loves carousels. Any chance she gets to ride on one, she takes it, and today was her lucky day. The credit/debit card machines were down at many locations we came across at the park, but the the nice man at the booth told us we could go ahead and ride at no charge. I'm so glad he did that because we would have had one sad little girl. Steven took the girls on the ride. Charlotte initially sat on a horse, but got leary as she sat waiting, so Steven picked her up. About halfway through the ride, she wanted back on, and she was not a happy camper when that ride stopped and she had to get off. Alas, all good things must come to an end.

Steven with the girls on the carousel

Complete blur, but that's why I like it. That and the colors and shapes.

We had planned on eating lunch nearby in the park, but with no cash, and credit card systems down, we had no choice but to leave the park to find food. On our way out, we passed the Victorian Gardens Amusement Park. Beatrix wasn't happy about passing that one up, but I reassured her that we will be back.

We found our way to the Shops at Columbus Circle, as it was one place Steven knew in the area that would have food. Well, it brought back memories from years ago when we had been in NYC and visited the same shopping center. We remembered quickly how the place didn't have many options for food. Seriously, we ended up at a French bakery, Bouchon Bakery, ordered grilled cheeses with soup (3 orders as the girls shared), and paid $48! It wasn't a full service restaurant either. You order at the counter, and pick up your food, then find a seat in a general sitting area to the side of the walkway between the restaurant and a railing. Nothing fancy at all. Steven took a photo of his dish, so I will show you what we got for our money. It was tasty though...very tasty. (note: I've since been informed by a friend that there is a nice restaurant that is kid friendly at this mall called Landmarc. Apparently, they have a yummy cotton candy dessert for kids. Hoping to try it out before we leave. Maybe for Charlotte's birthday on the 27th.)

Photo of grilled cheese meal to come

After lunch, we mustered up some energy to walk all the way back to 73rd. Another quick stop at Starbuck's, and back at the apartment to rest up for a bit before dinner. We are back at the apartment as I type, resting just a bit before heading out for the big Macy's fireworks show. We don't know exactly what to expect, other than possibly large crowds and cranky children, but we will leave here shortly anyway. We've got ear protectors for the girls, since very fireworks show has brought them to tears. I'm really hoping these do the trick! I will update later...

So, we didn't stick around for the fireworks. We didn't go as far down as we had planned either, which would have given us a better view. We had planned on walking to Dewitt Clinton Park, which was a little over a mile away, but after seeing many people heading to Riverside Park, we decided to go there. It was already pretty crowded, but we found a space in the grass to sit, unfortunately, next to some very loud children (one bossy one that was particularly loud, who kept shouting in my ear) who seemed to be quite territorial about the space around them.

Waiting in the lawn

We moved up a little after several minutes of torture. I knew we needed a blanket to sit on, but we weren't able to find one to purchase prior to heading to the park, so we just sat directly on the grass. It was very itchy, and Bea wouldn't even sit. The girls were doing great. We had about an hour longer to wait, but I just was not comfortable, and Steven started thinking the view we would have just wouldn't be worth the wait, and fighting the large crowds to leave, so we decided to go ahead and head back to the apartment and catch the fireworks on TV. We snapped a few photos at the edge of the river before heading out.

At the Hudson River with Beatrix and Charlotte

Steven and the girls at the Hudson River

Love this photo that Steven captured at Hudson River

On our way out, I decided I needed to change Charlotte, so I pulled over to a darker field. I quickly realized that there were little lights flickering all around us. Fireflies! I haven't seen a firefly since I was a child. The girls enjoyed watching them for a bit. It wasn't fireworks, but a light show of some sorts.

Video of fireflies to come.

Since we bailed early, we stopped and got some yummy gelato from Grom (thanks to a Storknet friend who recommended the place to us). Vanilla for the girls and Tiramasu for me and Steven. We started hearing the booms as we got closer to the apartment, and Beatrix expressed her concerns for her safety. Glad we weren't closer to the fireworks!

We got back to the apartment, put the TV on to watch the fireworks, and the girls put on a little dance show for us while watching.

Happy fourth!