NYC visit: part 2

Hi again. I can't seem to find five extra minutes these days to post, 

but finally here are some NYC photos. 

We decided to drive in from Jersey and zipped into the city post-rush hour. The boys pointed out the Empire State Building over and over again. It was supposed to be a rainy, gross day, but the sun was shining! If you've ever tried to brave city streets in a non-city stroller, you know that rain can make the journey ten times harder. I was so thankful to see the sun. The dry weather opened up the possibility of a trip to the top of the Empire State Building. Since we had already promised dinosaurs, trains and toys, we stuck to that plan... and those three attractions took the whole day! The ESB will have to wait until the next visit. Good thing anticipation is sweetest at this age.

First up, dinosaurs! A visit to the American Museum of Natural History, which seems to have been modernized a bit since my last visit. Their dinosaur collection was very impressive, with lots of different levels available to check out the fossils. For those of you without kids, guess what? Brontosaurus does not exist anymore! I know, it was news to me when I reentered the world of dinosaurs a few years ago. So many dinos have been discovered since we were kids, the classifications had to change I guess. So don't go to this museum looking for a Bronto, but they did have an Apatasaurus, which from what I can tell, resembles the Bronto.

They even let the kids touch a few real fossils. How cool is that? 

These T rex teeth are fake (does it matter to those under age 5? No, it doesn't. It's still a dino tooth.):

But that bone the boys are leaning on came from an Apatasaurus arm.

We followed room after room of fossils, including a really scary collection of sea creatures.

We all loved seeing the triceratops, although this one should maybe be called biceratops because he was missing a horn.

So the scariest animal is the T Rex right? 

Well, I'm not so sure. There was a whole room filled with extinct mammals, many that lived concurrently with humans. Predictably, there were wooly mammoths and saber tooth tigers, but then there were huge mammals, somewhat resembling present-day elephants, rhinos and deer. But just much larger, with bigger teeth, weird-shaped heads and extra appendages. I felt ignorant as I had no idea that most of these animals ever existed. They resembled Star Wars creatures. This one below in particular I found disturbing. It was a huge bear, with almost a tiger's head. It lived in caves in Europe. Imagine meeting that on the Sound of Music tour. 

After all those creatures, the boys found the dioramas a bit ho-hum. Although I thought the elephants were impressive.

Before we hit the streets, we had time for one last dinosaur: the barosaurus.

Barosaurus was enormous! The boys loved it.

We skipped the rest of the museum, which wasn't as little kid friendly, for an adventure below the streets of New York. The subway was the biggest hit of the trip. We buzzed around mid-town on so many different trains. The boys couldn't get enough of the turnstiles, stairs, elevators, maps, updown/downtown, street performers, people and trains. In almost every new train we entered, Finnian would ask, "Is this train loco?" Well, a little. Although I had to explain each time that some trains are express and local ends with an L. Isaac would find a stranger and say, "We're riding the subway." With that opening line, he attempted to have conversations with all kinds of New Yorkers, some who didn't speak English. Unfortunately, I don't have a single photo from the subway as Mo and I had our hands full with boys, backpacks, baby and folded-up stroller. When we return in the warmer weather, at least we won't have coats and hats to deal with, so maybe I can take a few photos then.

We visited Times Square (and Times Square station), lunched off Bryant Park and stopped by FAO Schwartz. Which to me, was a bit of a let down. It was a beautiful toy store, but almost nothing was interactive. The boys enjoyed pointing out all the toys they want for their birthdays though. 

Finally, we headed to Grand Central, the biggest train station in the world. We walked through the main terminal at 5 p.m. on a Monday. Whoa. We were surrounded by a sea of serious commuters, 99% dressed in black coats. In our red, white, orange and blue coats, with double stroller, we were most certainly the tourists. But for the train lovers in our house, it was an amazing experience to see the platforms, trains and people rushing to get home. We had dinner there, visited the transportation museum and got back on the subway for one last ride to our car. 

Xavier couldn't quite stay awake for the whole adventure. Isaac and Finnian were asleep in their car seats just blocks from our parking spot, dreaming of our next visit, I'm sure. Until then, we'll keep reading Subway, City Hawk, Cool Daddy Rat, and A Walk in New York , our favorite NYC tales. The boys already have a list of spots to see next time: the ESB, the flat iron building, Central Park. Although, I think just a ride on the subway would be all it would take to make another great visit.