This morning we stepped outside our hotel into Times Square. It was 8 AM, so the streets were relatively quiet. While the family was buying croissants and coffee off the cart (we just don’t have time to sit and eat in a restaurant, it seems!) I bought our tickets for the GrayLine Tour, which is a fantastic way to explore the city. The tour consists of riding around on those the big red double-decker buses that I’m sure you’ve seen at some point in your life. The weather could not have been better. The sun was out, the sky was blue and although it was only about 40 degrees out, we were ready for the cold. We sat on the top of the bus because that’s where you get the best views.
The quality of these tours, like all tours, really depend upon the tour guide. Unfortunately, our tour guide had not yet mastered the English language, so none of us were exactly sure what sights we saw. According to our map though, we saw the following: Macy’s, Madison Square Garden, The Empire State Building, The Flatiron Building (NY’s first skyscraper), Union Square, Greenwich Village, SoHo, etc…
At one of the stops, the tour guide went down stairs to let some folks off the bus. Jackson got out of his seat, walked up to the microphone, picked it up, and in his best “tour guide” voice he said, “Okay, Ladies and Gentlemen! Let’s get this party started!! If you look to your left you’ll see some buildings.” I. Was. Mortified. Chad and Leah and the kids were cracking up laughing, but I wanted to crawl under my seat. I have to admit though, I chuckled when a couple of people obeyed Jackson’s instructions to “look to the left” before they realized an 11 year old boy had hijacked the tour. Once it was clear that Jackson wasn’t in any trouble and we weren’t going to be kicked off the bus, I relaxed and laughed about it. I know that Jackson’s ability to perform in strange places or in front of large groups will be a huge advantage for him in life. For now, it just makes me nervous when we’re out in public.
Once we were across the harbor, the kids wanted a snack so Leah offered to take them while Chad and I walked around and took pictures. Chad’s very first reaction to the Statue of Liberty was, and I quote, “She is SO much shorter and fatter than I thought she was.” The six of us spent time shopping and wandering around. The kids tried to climb the humungous pedestal on which the Statue sits. They made it about 8 inches off the ground.
Once we felt we’d seen it all, we got back on the boat and headed to Ellis Island. It was sort of an intense visit for me, as I was imagining what it must’ve been like for the immigrants coming to New York for the first time. I took some time to roam around and read the history, listen to recordings of first-hand accounts from actual immigrants, and walk around the Registration Room, which has been restored to resemble what it looked like when it was an operating immigration-station. It was a lot for the kids to take in – I’m not sure they’re at a good age to really appreciate it. I can see how, for a kid, it might be like, "yeah cool - a bunch of people rode a boat to New York a long time ago. And?"
By now it was lunch time so we took the boat back to Battery Park and walked towards the Charging Bull at Bowling Green to find a restaurant. Leah and the kids saw a Subway and wanted sandwiches. Chad and I bought falafel from the cart outside and brought it in to eat with the family.
After lunch we hopped back on the bus and finished the Downtown Loop part of the tour. Hoping our first tour guide’s shift had ended, we were disappointed when we discovered that she’d been replaced with an Arnold Schwarzenegger sound-alike who only seemed to know information about the Brooklyn Bridge. Which he shared for about 75% of the tour. From the South Street Seaport to the United Nations. That’s a lot of bridge-talk.
Jackson and Leah took a cab to FAO Schwartz to have some auntie/nephew time together. Chad, the girls and I got ready to go see The Blue Man Group down at Astor Place Theatre. We were to meet Leah and Jackson outside the theater at 4:45. We got a cab, I rode in front with the driver, and he didn’t say one single word to us. And for the first time for as long as I can remember, I didn’t ask a single question. I almost asked how many times he’s killed pedestrians when he came close to running one down over by NYU, but I decided not to. I almost asked him if he hated his job, but was too afraid. I came close to asking him what kind of music he was playing on his radio, but I chickened out there too. Instead I just took pictures of the poor people on the street that I thought he was going to obliterate, so I could turn the photos over as evidence in his murder trial. It never came to that though, so I just posted a pic of what I thought was a near death experience on Facebook and we made it safely to the theatre.
When Leah and Jackson arrived we found our seats, which were phenomenal. The people in the rows in front of us were all wearing clear plastic ponchos, so we knew we were in for a fun show. The theatre was cozy and casual with an sort of industrial-feel to it. I had seen bits and pieces the Blue Man Group on TV over the years. And I laughed my face off when Tobias Funke found himself auditioning for them on Arrested Development. But I was never really impressed. And I know now it was because I never paid attention. But for the next almost-2 hours, what we witnessed can only be described as brilliant. Chad and I just kept doing that slow turn-head-make-eye-contact-then-slowy-shake-heads-in-astonishment gesture that we do to each other whenever something blows both our minds. At parts we laughed so hard our faces hurt. At parts we got goose bumps from the music they performed. Other parts my heart would pound inside my chest because I was afraid when they came into the audience (it's a very interactive show) they would pick me and force me to do something. They brought the whole theatre together in a fun, interactive, creative way. These guys are artists on every level, and what’s so great about it to me is that they’re smart. I'm talking intelligent. And just weird enough that it didn’t completely distract from the show. We loved every second and I believe it now holds a position in one of the top 5 performances I’ve ever seen.
Leah gets the award for recommending it. I think her award will be a private performance by Chad and me once we find some blue paint and put an act together.
Our kids enjoyed every single second of the show and were just as speechless as Chad and I were after the show. Jackson bought some Blue Man drum sticks and Ashley got her picture taken with one of the performers. Chad and I are now talking about going to Vegas just to see their show. I cannot believe we just missed them in Seattle. Why did we never pay attention before?
We ate dinner at Cozy Soup ‘n Burger in Greenwich Village and we loved it! The food was perfect and I tried my first egg cream. I will give you a topic so you can talk amongst yourselves: the egg cream contains neither egg nor cream. Discuss. Leah said it tasted like a chocolate milkshake melted and then went bad. I don’t disagree so much.
Heading home we had a bit of trouble with the subway. Translation: we went down the wrong stairs and almost got on a train heading south and had to go back up and out and down the other entrance. That’s enough of that story.
Once back at the hotel, Ali and I decided to leave again because she wanted to shop at Forever 21, which is a block down the street. It was a good chance to get some quality time with my teenager. At 9:30 PM, the store was FULL. But we had a great time shopping and buying clothes. Oh, did I mention that place is 4 stories? Yeah. There were a lot of clothes.
Now everyone is asleep but me. Same as every night. Tomorrow, Leah and I are getting up at 5:30 and going to run up to Rockefeller and try to be on the Today Show. Rumor has it Matt Lauer might leave and since we got to see Merideth Vierra before she left, it would be cool to see this guy before he’s gone, too.
I cannot think of any lyrics to songs about New York and I’m too tired to try!
The Niemeyers
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