It would be apt to call New York the ‘Big Apple’ of Uncle Sam’s eye. A lot is said and written about New York. I personally feel New York City is the best city in the world, but not only because of Time Square or Wall Street or for that matter Central Park, it’s also because it’s the melting pot of diverse cultures and ethnicities, from the cuisines to the celebrations. You can never get bored in New York and that’s the bottom-line.
But a few months ago while planning a boy’s only trip with my son to New York; my wife asked me a question that left me stumped “What is there to do for kids in NY?” As a kid I had never been to New York, and when I go now we go out for drinks or to that new eating joint, or we catch a late night show on Broadway, so I had never faced the question of how I could keep my kids entertained while in the city. After been posed with this challenging question by my wife I started some detailed research and found that actually there was so much for kids to do in New York that we have to carefully choose what my son would enjoy the most.
We began in Central Park, where he hopped on to a carousel; although an old fashioned ride, the carousel holds its own against the rides of today, and my son loved it. Later, he was so excited to see Ida and Guss; the two majestic polar bears at the Central Park Zoo. We also watched a sea lion been fed which he was amazed by. From Central Park we then moved to the Upper East Side where we visited the Guggenheim museum, where in addition to enjoying the incredible artwork he loved swirling down the spiral ramp within the museum. Next we visited the famous “Serendipity” restaurant where I let my son relish some frozen hot chocolate. We also stopped in to Dylan’s Candy Bar, where we indulged in a few more treats. While still swirling from the sugar rush we next paid a visit to the Upper West Side; where they have the animal-themed playground at Riverside Parks, something I knew my son would enjoy. By this point I really was seeing a whole new side to New York. We then visited the American Museum of Natural History which I had visited once, many years ago. But now looking at the exhibits through the eyes of my son, I was left with a renewed sense of awe and wonder. The Fossil Hall with the life-size Tyrannosaurus Rex and the other dinosaurs left him and I both excited and fascinated.
The last stop on our visit was to Lower Manhattan. I just had to take my son to meet the lady; we took the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island. We loved the surrounding view and the Statue of Liberty itself was incredible. It’s amazing how certain things are right in front of your eyes all your life and you take them for granted, but a kid comes along and overhauls your perspective completely. Anyway, with it getting late and knowing his mother would be getting worried, I decided to call it a day. But not before I had treated my son to dinner. We decided to head to Chinatown, I thought in addition to having dinner it would give my son one last exciting experience before heading home. We began with dim sum and soup dumplings, and ended with tapioca pearls in a bubble tea. My son simply loved the food and the sights. In hindsight, it was a wise decision, certainly a better one than stuffing him with fried chicken or burger and fries; his mother definitely agreed. Once back home, my son regaled his mother with stories of our day so fast that I don’t think he even took a breath. The day left my son and I with so many amazing memories that we can’t wait to plan our next New York Vacation together.
