Monday, May 03, 2010

If I can make it there I can .... never make it there

My family is planning a trip to New York. It's very exciting/terrifying. We've never been before (other than the one time we were and that hardly counts because we were there for less than 24 hours and I spent the entire time trying to appear casual) so it will be a fun new experience for all of us. I'm a little overwhelmed by all the options there are for things to do so right now I'm just trying to decide on a few main things. Here's what I've got so far:

1. Visit the World of Nintendo store. This is for Joseph's benefit. We'll be in New York during his birthday so there's no way I can say no to this.
2. See the Lion King on Broadway. Duh.
3. Baby snuggling.
4. Avoiding the subway like the plague because I am scared of it. Not scared in the "someone will rob me and pee on me way". More in the "we'll get so lost that we'll somehow end up in a dead end tunnel and we won't be able to find our way out and we'll have to eat pigeons to survive because I know so little about subways that I don't even really get that they're underground and there won't be a lot of pigeons around so we'll starve but I'll be to scared to ask anyone for help because I'm sure that if I do they'll notice our pasty white skin and tendency to adorably elongate our O sounds and they peg us as out-of-towners and they'll rob us and pee on us" way.
5. Visit the Museum of Natural History.

You would think a trip to new York would be no big deal for someone as cosmopolitan (ha!) as me but I'll let you in on a little secret: I'm totally neurotic when it comes to doing new things. Another secret? I can't keep a secret. I'm going to be in New York for 47 seconds before I'm standing on a street corner and yelling "I'm just a naive tourist! Please take pity on me! My cash and credit cards are in the side pocket of my purse!"

Oh my god you guys. I am going to die in New York.

Three years ago today this blog was the place to be when looking for giant schlongs.
Four years ago today I talked about shit.
Five years ago today I diagnosed myself with CHOFS.

4 comments:

Sarah Wynde said...

You are going to be really pleasantly surprised. Your ideas about New York are probably developed from crime shows of the 1980s, and it really isn't like that anymore. Times Square is like a kid-friendly tourist spot these days. Last time I was there, I was shocked--SHOCKED--by how many little kids there were and how few scary types. There was a police officer on every street corner so maybe that had something to do with it. But really--crime rates in NYC are so low these days that there wouldn't even be enough murders to go around for the number of shows there are on television. From Wikipedia: Among the 182 U.S. cities with populations of more than 100,000, New York City ranked 136th in overall crime (with about the same crime rate as Boise, Idaho). So relax. And have fun!

Cathy said...

Oh - have fun! I was there once with my college marching band - we marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Pararde - so much fun!

Don't have any pointers for you, though...

Stimey said...

I drove past/through New York once and I spent the whole time completely freaked out and terrified that I was going to take a wrong turn and end up in my own personal bonfire of the vanities.

I also went to NY once for a particularly disastrous interview with the people at SPY Magazine. Clearly I got the job and saved the magazine from extinction.

Eile said...

My son is 9, named Joey and is an aspie, we live in NJ, and his most favorite place in the world is the natural history museum. If you need a playdate while in NYC please let me know, lol

For your trip to the city there a few mommy things that you should know.

There is a ferris wheel in the GIANT toys r us in times square. You will end up going on it. Be prepared, it costs money. There is also a GIANT animatronic dino on the second floor of that same toy store...my Joey can stare at it for HOURS.

Also, note, that the HUGE M&M store in times square DOES NOT SELL CANDY...the street vendor outside it does SAVE!

The central park zoo is pretty neat, but not necessarily an all day activity.

The Lion king show is AWESOME. However try to go to a matinee. My 6 year old fell asleep just after the first act ended, and he can usually stay up through anything.

BATHROOMS!
they are scarce. use the restroom at restaurants, activities, anything you paid to go into. Most other places will claim that they do not have one. Even if you kid is cute.

Think about seeing the intrepid. Also google search for kids activities in NYC. There are lots of free things to do if you look for them.
Good luck. It should be fun.