No Sleep Til Brooklyn

Back in the spring, Luke said to me "Mom, if I get good grades this semester, will you take me to New York City? "... which is super sweet, but also a little comical to me 😍

One... "if he gets good grades".. 

He's in second grade, and he's never gotten anything lower than a 97... I think we're all set there, buddy.

Two, this girl doesn't need special circumstances to justify taking a trip to NYC!  If you wanna go to New York with me, I'm all in!

And so we did!

In my attempt to imagine what a fun trip to New York City looks like for an 8-year old, I decided to find us a hotel with a rooftop pool... Low and behold, Manhattan actually doesn't have many of those, so that landed me in Brooklyn... DUMBO to be exact (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) at the One Hotel Brooklyn.

I was a little reluctant... I don't know Brooklyn. It's not as convenient to all the things... I'm not familiar with the restaurants and the parks and the people and general area...  

But we decided to go for it.

Best decision ever!

First, if you know me, you know that I basically want my house to look like the wall Luke is standing beside...! I freaking love it.

And these were the keys to our room.. 

I don't totally get it, but I'm all in. I love them.

And this here was the view from our room.

Yep, that would be the Brooklyn Bridge...

Luke felt like a king wearing his very own extravagant robe and slippers.

God, I love this kid 💙

From the hotel rooftop, we could see Lady Liberty.

And the bridge again.

There was also an amazing restaurant in the hotel... with very versatile napkins (I LoVe this picture of Luke...  I could eat him up)

And there was a very fabulous pool with the most incredible views of lower Manhattan... but I'll get to that later..

We have tickets to the Museum of Ice Cream over in SoHo... so we gotta grab an Uber and be on our way.

What a cool place...  Ice cream for days!  Pink, pink, and some more pink..  popsicles, swings, slides, foam pits of sprinkles... and more ice cream!

Luke took his last ice cream cone to go... and mama got some wine, oysters, and sushi at a nearby restaurant.  We sat outside and watched the people go by...  one of my most favorite things to do in New York.

From there, we had to hurry on up a dozen or so blocks to get to a good spot to catch the sunset.

Coincidentally, we were in New York on one of the very few days throughout the year that the sunset is perfectly aligned with the east-west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan. They call it Manhattanhenge, and apparently other people had learned about it too ;)

We were right near Union Square.  

It was fun to be a part of it and pretty spectacular to see!

Big adventures awaited us the next day...

We got up early to swim as the sun was rising over the city.

It was a site to behold...

Truly spectacular views of lower Manhattan.

This sealed the deal... it is my most favorite place I've every stayed in New York.  Simply amazing.

We got our morning coffee and a light breakfast and enjoyed it alongside the pool and this view.

Then we were off to Manhattan...  via a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  Iconic.

I'm such a NYC fangirl... I will cherish these memories and these photos forever.

We headed over to the One World Building, which is the former site of the World Trade Center Buildings.  

I have never been in it... and since it has the fastest elevator in the city, I thought it would be a great shared experience for Luke and I.

It was truly spectacular.

And the elevator took my breath away... it was intense...!

They've created a very cool experience for visitors...  It was really impressive.

And, of course, the views from the top...  

You're so far up... and are seeing such a vast number of buildings across such an expansive space.  It's difficult to put the whole thing in perspective. 

It would be interesting to know how many people are currently in the space you are able to see from up there.

Now back down to Earth where are feet are planted firmly on the ground...

Luke, the punkster, heading through mid-town in the back of a taxi cab.

Next stop... Central Park. 💚  My fave.

We just wandered and explored.

Luke was on a search for all the tall rocks so he could strike a pose at the top.

We took frequent breaks in the shade (it was HOT) to give our feet a rest ... and to just be silly and still.

Have I mentioned how much I love this kid?

Now, off to some iconic kid spots in mid-town Manhattan....

Rockefeller Center.

FAO Schwartz.

The Nintendo Store.

And the M&M Store.

In typical New York fashion, we were eXhAuStEd by 8pm...  blisters, sun burned, sweaty, stinky... the whole bit.  

And it was absolutely fabulous!

I hope it was a memorable first experience in New York City for Luke. I know his mama will never forget it 💙