Hamilton!!

Today I turn 42.  Not yet.  I still have four hours before I was born, so I'm relishing these last few minutes of 41.  I had an awesome year.  On any given day, I had special times with Little Lewie, date nights with my husband, and shopping dates with my mom.  In the midst of work, school, swim lessons, roller skating lessons, Cub Scouts, and plenty of pool parties, we still managed a few overnight trips, including our great escape to the Grand Canyon.

This weekend was yet another AMAZING experience.  My husband's good friend Michael  scored us tickets to see Hamilton on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.  These were not just any tickets.  They were Row C (the third row away from the stage)!!  We saw the acting, the singing, the dancing, the costumes, the props--EVERYTHING--up close and personal.  We laughed, we cried, we applauded, and in the end, we gave the cast a standing ovation.  The actors, actresses, dancers, and musicians were beyond talented.  They kept us engaged for three hours, teaching us the good, the bad, and the ugly scandals of our founding fathers.  At the end, you came away recognizing that our founding fathers were brilliant, but, nonetheless, human.  They had human interest stories of their own.

At the end of the show, we had the pleasure of meeting up with Michael for dinner.  Our other good friend, Paul, the costume designer for Hamilton, couldn't join us (he's working on another production in London).  Still, seeing Hamilton made us have so much appreciation for his work.  We spent the evening talking about the experience and how much work goes into a great performance like that.

We took the 8:36 p.m. train from Grand Central back to Connecticut and arrived home around 10:30 p.m.  I always love visiting the city, but this time it was extra special...all thanks to our very good friend, Michael.

Overnight at the USS Intrepid

Last year, our Cub Scout Pack slept overnight at the Mystic Aquarium, and this year, our Pack stayed aboard the USS Intrepid Aircraft Carrier.  The ship, now docked on the Hudson River in NYC, is the focus of the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.

Before the USS Intrepid retired, the ship had a colorful history.  It was first launched in 1943 during World War II and survived five kamikaze attacks and one torpedo strike.  The ship later served during the Cold War and the Vietnam War, and then served as a NASA recovery vessel in the 1960s.  Movies in the museum explained that at one time, there were over 3,000 men living aboard the ship.  For months on end, they slept on cots piled up in rows.  Today, new ships use nuclear fusion to move, but this one used diesel; my husband said you could still smell it, even after it's been decommissioned since 1973 (over 40 years ago)!  I can't imagine how they survived being squished together and forced to constantly breathe in the diesel fumes and exhaust.

I didn't get an opportunity to go on this excursion with Lewie, but I soon learned that most moms didn't go.  For example, out of our small Bear den, only three father-son teams went.  Big Lew and Little Lewie (us); Big Tim and Little Timmy; and Big Chris and Little Chris.  (As you can tell, all the boys are named after their fathers.)  About 20 family teams from our Pack went in all.

Both Lew and Little Lewie thought sleeping on the "USS Intrepid" was an "interesting" experience.  Parts they enjoyed were the 4D movies or simulation experiences.  They went on "Stories of Intrepid," the "G-Force Encounter," and the "Transporter FX" (a drone flying experience).  They also had a chance to see many different types of planes, a submarine known as Growler, and the space shuttle Enterprise.  They had the museum all to themselves and toured everything from 6 until 11 p.m. at night.  Then, they unrolled their sleeping bags and slept on cots until 6 in the morning.  (They were forced to vacate at 8 a.m.)

The Space Shuttle, Enterprise

Little Lewie and Little Chris pretend flying an aircraft.

Sleeping on cots, much like the sailors had to do years ago...

I'm disappointed that I didn't go on this trip, but at the same time, I did get some much needed R&R.  While the boys were running around going on drone simulators and pretending to fly supersonic jet planes, I was walking with my friend Tracy and shopping leisurely at my favorite organic market.  The next day, I even had a chance to do a full day of shopping at Olde Mistick Village with my mom.  It was a nice weekend!

The Holiday Train Show at the NY Botanical Gardens

Last year, I learned about the Holiday Train Show at the NY Botanical Gardens, and I wanted to take Lewie desperately; unfortunately, by the time I learned about the event, the show was sold out!

This year, I kept the show on my "holiday bucket list" and scored tickets.  I chose Black Friday for our date because 1) we all had the day off, and 2) I thought the lines might be less since most people reserve Black Friday for shopping.  My assumption proved correct.  The lines were much less, and we had another unexpected bonus--the weather was close to 67 degrees (in November!)

We took the Metro North Railroad to 125th Street and then hopped on another train to the Botanical Garden stop.  The railroad transportation couldn't be more seamless, and once we arrived at the Botanical Garden train platform, all we had to do was cross the street to get to our destination.

From the moment we started our little adventure, Lewie couldn't stop beaming.  Not only did he enjoy the train ride into the city, but he couldn't wait to see the model trains inside the gardens.  Stopping to have a bite to eat at the Garden's Pine Tree Café was torture for our seven year-old who didn't want to wait one second longer to see the trains.  Still, we made him eat something before we went inside.

 

Outside dining at the Pine Tree Café.

Once inside, we were in awe of the majestic train display running inside the gardens, over our heads, and beneath our feet.  Part of the allure is that favorite NYC monuments are painstakingly made out of twigs, pine cones, seeds, leaves, and other natural elements, which are then displayed with trains running around them.  Our favorites were Grand Central Station, Saint Patrick's Cathedral, and the Statue of Liberty!

Grand Central Terminal

We spotted Thomas!

The NYC skyline

The Statue of Liberty

 

 

At the end of the show, we took a tram ride to see the rest of the gardens outside (mostly in hibernation during this time of year) and then left the Botanical Gardens to visit Central Park where we had a nice lunch/dinner at Tavern on the Green. 

After dinner, we asked the doorman of the restaurant about getting a cab; he politely recommended that we take a pedicab back to Grand Central, so we could weave in and out of the congested NY traffic and take in the sights.  The added expense of a pedicab wasn't part of our plan, but in the end, we couldn't be happier with the ride.  The driver gave us a little history about NY while pedaling all three of us up 5th Avenue.  He made sure to take us by Rockefeller Center, Time Square, and 42nd Street before dropping us off at Grand Central.  It was still warm outside, and so the gentle breeze hitting our faces as we took in the sights and listened to disco music (that's right--like Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff") made us giggle with delight.  Lewie was in awe of seeing the Big Apple this way, and he admitted that he loves disco music. 

Tavern on the Green - What delicious food!

Central Park

Front entrance to Tavern on the Green

The doorman

The pedicab!

My attempt at a selfie!

I saw this smile all day long!

All in all, we had an exceptional day in the city.  I knew it would be fun, but honestly, our experience went way beyond any of our expectations.  Lewie called the day "epic" (his new favorite word from classmates at school), and I couldn't agree more.  Our visit definitely inspired us to get into the holiday spirit.  What an awesome time of year!