This year we decided to head up to New York City on Thanksgiving weekend to see the tree, stop at the American Girl Doll store, and find out what else we could do on an overnight trip. We drove up to Newark and parked outside of Penn Station. From there we rode the PATH to 33rd Street and went to our first destination, American Girl Doll Store! This place had everything from a salon where both the dolls and their owners could get their hair done, to a little recording stand, to every doll and accessory you could want.
Zoe really enjoyed it. After she picked out a relatively modest amount of stuff, we then made our way to our hotel, which was only a few blocks away. There was a lot to see on the way, so we stopped by a Christmas tree before heading up to our room on the 23rd floor.
After laying around for a bit we decided not to waste the daylight and went back out. We went past the tree, which we learned would not be lit until Wednesday. I'm assuming the police officer we asked had only answered that question 3 billion times that day. We then hit up the LEGO and Nintendo stores, which were really crowded, but pretty cool.
By the time we were done shopping we had to head out to Dos Caminos for our dinner reservation. As is typically the case, we wound up playing games over dinner. Somehow we got to making word searches, and even Zoe made one for us to play. Zoe was also kind enough to take some pictures of us at the table. Some of them turned out better than others.
Everything was going really well until Zoe reached in to touch the lit candle that was sitting on our table. Cheryl and I both reacted in the same way, with a startled shriek, much to Zoe's bewilderment. Scrunching up her eyebrows she said, "What? It's not real." She then proceeded to pick up the LED candle as we both laughed. I insisted she pretend it was a real candle so that we could properly document what may have gone wrong. She did amazing work.
In all of this Zoe somehow convinced us that we should take her back to the American Girl Doll store. I think it was a wager we lost on a word search game, but I'm not really sure. Either way, we wound up back at the store, completely ruining the modest amount of stuff she had initially purchased. Either way, it was totally worth it.
After that, the only thing left to do was to get some dessert. Through the rain we made our way over to Junior's for not one, not two, but three slices of cheesecake. It is hard to say who had the most fun but it was clear who ate the most dessert: Zoe.
Once dessert was consumed and then packed up to go, we went back out into the rain to find our way back to the hotel. Cheryl flagged down a man with a bicycle who offered to take us all the way back to our hotel. This was, by far, the best part of the night. My only regret is that I didn't capture the screams and laughter as we wove our way through traffic. When we finally got back to the hotel, it had been a long day and someone went right to sleep.
The next day we had plans to meet Nick and Monique for lunch. Before that Cheryl brought back bagels for breakfast, which were amazing! We then made our way out to Bryant Park to walk through all of the shops that were set up in that area. There were so many of them and, of course, Zoe was able to immediately sniff out the macaroons. They were quite delicious.
During lunch Zoe was mostly mute, but that was okay because we fed her before we got there. Once the meal was over it was time to head back home. We picked up our luggage and made our way to the Ace Hotel to take advantage of their photobooth. From there it was a quick walk back to the train station and a PATH ride to Newark.
The trip was a lot of fun, and we will most likely do it again next year, just maybe on a different weekend. There are a number of extra pictures on Flickr if you'd like to see more.
Zoe really enjoyed it. After she picked out a relatively modest amount of stuff, we then made our way to our hotel, which was only a few blocks away. There was a lot to see on the way, so we stopped by a Christmas tree before heading up to our room on the 23rd floor.
After laying around for a bit we decided not to waste the daylight and went back out. We went past the tree, which we learned would not be lit until Wednesday. I'm assuming the police officer we asked had only answered that question 3 billion times that day. We then hit up the LEGO and Nintendo stores, which were really crowded, but pretty cool.
By the time we were done shopping we had to head out to Dos Caminos for our dinner reservation. As is typically the case, we wound up playing games over dinner. Somehow we got to making word searches, and even Zoe made one for us to play. Zoe was also kind enough to take some pictures of us at the table. Some of them turned out better than others.
Everything was going really well until Zoe reached in to touch the lit candle that was sitting on our table. Cheryl and I both reacted in the same way, with a startled shriek, much to Zoe's bewilderment. Scrunching up her eyebrows she said, "What? It's not real." She then proceeded to pick up the LED candle as we both laughed. I insisted she pretend it was a real candle so that we could properly document what may have gone wrong. She did amazing work.
In all of this Zoe somehow convinced us that we should take her back to the American Girl Doll store. I think it was a wager we lost on a word search game, but I'm not really sure. Either way, we wound up back at the store, completely ruining the modest amount of stuff she had initially purchased. Either way, it was totally worth it.
After that, the only thing left to do was to get some dessert. Through the rain we made our way over to Junior's for not one, not two, but three slices of cheesecake. It is hard to say who had the most fun but it was clear who ate the most dessert: Zoe.
Once dessert was consumed and then packed up to go, we went back out into the rain to find our way back to the hotel. Cheryl flagged down a man with a bicycle who offered to take us all the way back to our hotel. This was, by far, the best part of the night. My only regret is that I didn't capture the screams and laughter as we wove our way through traffic. When we finally got back to the hotel, it had been a long day and someone went right to sleep.
The next day we had plans to meet Nick and Monique for lunch. Before that Cheryl brought back bagels for breakfast, which were amazing! We then made our way out to Bryant Park to walk through all of the shops that were set up in that area. There were so many of them and, of course, Zoe was able to immediately sniff out the macaroons. They were quite delicious.
During lunch Zoe was mostly mute, but that was okay because we fed her before we got there. Once the meal was over it was time to head back home. We picked up our luggage and made our way to the Ace Hotel to take advantage of their photobooth. From there it was a quick walk back to the train station and a PATH ride to Newark.
The trip was a lot of fun, and we will most likely do it again next year, just maybe on a different weekend. There are a number of extra pictures on Flickr if you'd like to see more.
Glad to see this is still going strong! xo
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