Adventures with Marah--The Finale

The grand finale of Marah's vacation here was our day trip to NYC. We're 3 hours away, which is definitely do-able, but not particularly enjoyable (especially for 6 months pregnant girls). We parked in Newark and then rode the subway to the WTC station, which threw us off conveniently close to where the ferry takes off.

In my pregnancy-induced stupidity haze, I failed to realize that the Statue of Liberty Ferry and the Stanton Island Ferry do NOT leave from the same spot. It was pure luck that Jon spotted the terminal as we were booking it away from the 6 hour line to get on the Statue Ferry. The Stanton Ferry may not take you directly to the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island, but a 15 minute wait and free ride DEFINITELY trumps a 6 hour wait and $15/person. So Marah got to see the Statue of Liberty from a distance, but she saw it and that's what counts. And I was really ticked off when they made us all exit the ferry at Stanton Island so we could go stand in line to get on again. Grrr...

Jon had this fabulous plan for our trip--he had every subway station labeled on the map and a note telling us which train to take where. So, of course, NYC had to complicate things by closing half the stations in lower Manhattan and taking the 1 train off the tracks for repairs. Luckily we figured things out fairly quickly and were able to get everywhere we needed to go.

Our next stop was Chelsea Market, which is my favorite place in NYC besides Central Park. Thank you, Daniel & Wendy, for introducing us to this place. It has all these fabulous little stores that we never have time to go into, but I always want to. I don't even like chocolate, but the brownie smell coming from one particular shop almost makes me forget. We grabbed some surprisingly good lobster bisque from The Lobster Place and then raided the nearby stores for free samples. No gelato this time, but there were cheeses, bread, and chips for my eating pleasure.

We then booked it over to Central Park so Marah could see it before it got dark. I have to say--Central Park is just not as impressive in the winter. Lots of brown trees and fenced-off grassy areas. The one place we really wanted her to see was the Bethesda Fountain, which was, of course, on the exact opposite end of this GIGANTIC park. My feet were not pleased, but it was totally worth it when we got there and the same Indian man was there singing opera duets with himself while dancing around with his violin. Another of my favorite sites in NYC. And please excuse the picture, as I look (and felt) like a bloated cow.

Next stop was FAO Schwartz--the toy store. Jon was not impressed, but Marah & I enjoyed looking at all the dolls. And this Lego Chewbacca was pretty sweet, too. I took her past Tiffany's next, but she refused to go inside (wimp). So we just enjoyed the diamonds from outside the display windows.

Marah's one demand while we were visiting NYC was that she must find and purchase a Coach Purse. Lucky for her, there was no shortage of people selling them. Here she is in front of the Coach store with her purse that she, of course, purchased totally legitimately from the counter inside. For only $30. Moving on...I was surprised to see the rink still up in Rockefeller Square, but there it was. So Marah got to see all the skaters before we hurried her on to Times Square. Our last stop was going to be the Empire State Building, but the line was at least an hour long, and it was getting late. So Jon vetoed that adventure and we headed back to the subway. Marah got to enjoy getting up close and personal with strangers as we rode the horribly packed subway back to Newark. I wanted to get a picture but couldn't get my arm into my purse to find my camera. Oh, the joy.

By the time we got home we were too tired to do anything but go straight to bed. As I've said before, NYC is not my favorite place (sorry, Kris). Compared to Chicago and DC it's dirty, crowded, and stinky. But I have to admit--it's growing on me. Not being there during the Christmas insanity definitely helped improve my perspective. I also think I would enjoy it more if we had more time to explore--one day trips just don't give enough time to see everything.

HOWEVER, upon our return home, I made the following declaration to Jon: There will be no more touristing for me until this baby is OUT of my belly. You have no idea what an extra 10 pounds can do to your feet after 9 straight hours of walking/standing.

We had a blast with the Marah Fish here and were sad to see her leave. I'm sure she's glad to be home where she actually has some privacy and isn't woken up every morning at 6 am by me & Jon. Thank you, one bedroom apartment. Good thing we close on our house NEXT WEEKEND. Hallelujah!

And no, Amber Precious, I didn't forget your birthday. I'm just a total slacker and didn't email you or even comment on your blog. I hope it was most fabulous.