After the troops had packed up- we forged on to breakfast, which was enjoyed in a sidewalk market. The store owners utilized every square inch of space - fruit hanging in baskets overhead- muffins in display windows, etc - it was amazing how much was in a small-closet like restaurant. I wish I had taken a picture of it.
After a bathroom break at our hotel, we boarded the red double decker bus. Little Runcie was beaming from ear to ear. Ever since he saw a Thomas the Train episode with a double decker bus, he as been going on and on about how fun it would be. Well, today, his dream came true. Another highlight of his trip was when we pulled up next to the General Lee - It was ironic to see a "General Lee" car (with 'rebel flag' painted atop) wearing a NY licencse plate.
Starting at Central Park, we slowly wound our way south through the shopping districts, SoHo, Greenwich, TriBeCa, Wall St. etc, etc. The tour guides kept our attention with quick wit and interesting descriptions of the city. Also, since the buses were so high, you could literally reach up and touch signs and there were times when someone on board got smacked with a tree limb.
I included this picture of the market - because you see them so much - and I have always thought it would be such an adventure to live in a city where you could walk or take a subway everywhere and shopping would be done within a neighborhood market- where there are such unique communities and traditions within the city. It's hard to explain, but it just seems so picturesque and magical.
Going back to the North vs. South thing (General Lee with NY plates), I have to be honest, everywhere we've been, everyone has been so welcoming and helpful. Today, several people helped us with our subway adventure - in which we had to take several routes back to Central Park. Subways are still foreign enough to us that as Runcie was trying to take a pic of our train - the doors suddenly started to close and he almost missed it - thankfully, he flexed his muscles and pryed the doors apart. One other mishap, we thought it would be fun to let each child have his or her own seat. Even though Gigi may look sturdy enough to stay planted, as soon as the train took off, she went flying of her seat to the floor. Needless to say, she was a little traumatized.
Once we came out of the subway tunnels, the skies poured with rain. The city transformed instantly to accomadate to the wet weather. All the vendors had plastic wrap over their goods - and each had his own stash of umbrellas to sell. Even though we had only 5-6 blocks to walk, we ended buying each child his or her own umbrella - as well as one for me. Navigating around the city on foot with a stroller and a 3 yr old and a 5 yr. old is challenging enough - throw in 4 umbrellas that are constantly poking other pedesterians.... well, let's just say I was glad to get to our car.
Afternoon and evening were spent in the car - more tollbridges in New Jersey turned into farmland in central Pennsylvania. (we think it maybe dairy farms this time).
Living up to our tradition of finding good Mexian restaurants on roadtrips, we ate at a great one in West Virginia. The kids were pretty punchy during dinner, so afterwards we went outside to let them jump and run and act crazy on the sidwalk outside of the restaurant.
Tonight were in Virginia. We'll be dangling on the border of West Virginia tomorrow and it'll be a short drive in to Welch - we may check it out. Other than that, we may just coast in to Franklin tomorrow night.... unless we find something interesting along the way...
No comments:
Post a Comment