Photo courtesy of iStockphoto

Guest post by Diana Miller

Taking your teens to New York, New York? You might be intimidated by the city that doesn’t sleep. The concrete jungle. But don’t be! We were welcomed to the jungle once again, this time over Spring Break 2009, with mild temperatures and no rain.  The Navy Lodge on Staten Island was a short and free ride over to the mainland of New York, and the ferry dropped us each day at the subway station in lower Manhattan.  The Ferry Station offered some of the best prices around for souvenirs.  For instance, we purchased t-shirts for $7 that were $15 on the street. Going over at mealtimes, the food on the ferry is tasty like ballpark treats but MUCH less expensive. Nachos with cheese and a pretzel with cheese are each only $2.50.  They also offer fast made meals, salads, and alcohol, all reasonably priced. And while you are enjoying all that ballpark food and beer, crossing from Staten Island to Manhattan and back again, you get to see Lady Liberty holding her torch aloft, strong and proud she stands welcoming you every day and watching over the island at night.  This was New York.

Sweet Tooth?

Dylan’s Candy Bar on 3rd, near Central Park, was a fabulous 3-story candy store. We ate lunch at the candy bar: candied apples, fountain cokes, chocolate cupcakes with cream filling, and blue mint ice cream with chocolate chips.  Kids said it was the best lunch served in NYC.  The floors are made of candy, the walls are candy wallpaper, even the light fixtures are candy shaped. There’s a fudge tasting and chocolate dipping fountain, and every kind of apparel a candy-loving girl could wish can be purchased in the store. They even have a candy bath-bar with soaps and lotions all made of or smelling like candy.  Chocolate in every version, of course, and bulk candy is also on sale. We bought 8 inch caramels for $6 each (worth it!), and took a turn dipping rice crispy treats, pretzels, and marshmallows into the chocolate fountain. Each dip and treat was only a buck.  It was great fun.

See It from the Sky!

Jordan got a birthday helicopter tour that she shared with her sister. The girls took the New Yorker Tour for a bird’s eye view of Manhattan. They saw Central Park, the Hudson River, the Chrysler building and Empire State building, the World Trade Center holes and the rebuilding going on, the Rockefeller Center, Yankee Stadium, and various other landmarks. It’s a quick tour and not inexpensive, but a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and exciting for every minute.

The Tallest Building in New York (since 9/11)

The Empire State Building is near Penn Station and Herald Square. It has LONG lines no matter the time, visibility, or day.  The line around the building moves really quickly and can be deceiving.  Three sides away from the entry, we still entered within ten minutes.  But while that long line might only take minutes to get you inside, once you are inside you snake thru what seems like miles of stanchion and rope mazes to get to security and more mazes to get to the elevators.  It took over an hour for us to get thru the mazes and up to the top.  If you can manage it, take the stairs for the last 6 floors (rather than doing the 2nd set of elevators.).  That’ll save time for sure. It is quite a site to see and something you just have to take the time to enjoy.  If the lines are too daunting, the Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock building moves faster and has more space on the observation deck.  But, nothing is quite “the” Empire State Building”.  Even so, once you’ve done it you can say “been there, done that.”

Macy’s was in the midst of their fabulous Spring Flower Show when we were there.   Their famed picture windows were stages filled with flamingos and art-by-flower arrangements that were marvelous to see and enjoy.  In fact, just entering the store was an olfactory delight whether you never spent a dime and just enjoyed the sight and scent of the floral decor.  Lots of tourist types were inside snapping photos while patient and kind-hearted sales people still gave great customer service to those who were buying.  For an inexpensive treat, I let the girls get a makeover at the Clinique counter and bought each a small makeup treat, eyeliners, which also got them a free gift-bag filled with travel makeup treats as a “gift-with-purchase.”  Now they can say they had their makeup done at Macy’s and they’ll remember the storefront when they watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV in years to come.

Leave Time for Times Square

Times Square was fun and impressive.  Though crowded and busy, we came with the right expectations, hid our wallets, wore really comfy sneaks, and enjoyed the people-, sign-, police-, taxi-, and clothing-watching. We saw the 2009 crystal ball, saw the military recruiting station in the middle of Times Square, sat on the famous Red Stairs, and enjoyed Lego Land and Barbie Land at Toys-R-Us too, after first posing by the crazy indoor ferris wheel inside Toys-R-Us Times Square. We took in the street shows and visited the street vendors, and ate lunch looking out a huge picture window staring through the neon lights overlooking the street while eating a reasonably priced meal at Applebee’s.

Get Their Pictures with the Stars (Sorry, no autographs…)

Madame Tussaud’s was wonderful and worth the price of about $25-30 for each ticket.  To actually get to “see” Hollywood and political stars up close and person, even if just their waxy visage, was a treat not to be missed.  Tyra Banks is absolutely stunning, as is Rue Paul, though he/she was an interesting parent feat of explanation.  Beyonce, Usher, Madonna, Britney, Lindsey, Paris, JLo were all amazing.  Mr. Lincoln, the Pope, President Washington, Dahli Lama, Marilyn, and Jackie O were interesting to see up close. We reveled in seeing Billy Jean, Yao Ming, and Kareem up close too.  The girls were excited to stand beside Zack, sing with the Jonas Brothers, and get an eye-to-eyeful of Jessica, Britney, and Lindsey.  Even Brad, Angie, and Jenn were together, yet apart.  The Donald is taller than I thought and Rachel Ray is teensy.  Made after 2.5 hours of measurements and looking extremely lifelike and often stunning, it was a rare treat to be up-close and personal with the figures of culture, news, entertainment, politics, and industry.  We easily spent the 2 hours suggested in the museum plus some, and spent another half hour having the girls’ hands waxed. We brought home a waxy replica of each girl’s hand; Jordan’s says  “I love you” in sign language, and Kathryn’s is giving the “peace” sign.

A Carriage Ride in the Park

The ride through Central Park in a horse and buggy was great and not-to-be-missed.  The posted prices are just that–posted.  You still have to negotiate for the time and price with street-smart horsemen.  We chose the ride, the sites, and set the price after a good 30 minutes of negotiation between rickshaw and buggy hawkers.  Finally we settled with a nice man who met our conditions and price.  The girls particularly enjoyed “the Friend’s fountain” in the park, made famous by the TV show “Friends.”  I enjoyed seeing all the places I’d seen so often in the movies. And our tired feet got a rest while we took in the sites we’d seen so often in movies, all from the comfort of a buggy with a warm blanket over our laps.  We got to stop a few times for photo-ops and it was well worth the price ($60 for an hour’s ride for all three of us).

Yeah, You Can Figure Out the Subway

The subway was awesome and easy to figure out. I always felt safe and never too crowded.  After a brief snafu trying to cipher the codes and ticket prices, we eventually got it figured out enough to make our way around.  It’s not easy finding underground subway tunnels even when they are lighted up like a Broadway show sign, which many are (but they blend in with OTHER lights!), so we were thrilled that we had picked up a subway map ahead of time. It’s a must when negotiating the stops and finding the entry/exit tunnels.

For shows, a ticket ahead of time is usually worth it, even for a little more cost. We learned this time that the lines are long at the “outlets” and the tickets are sparse.  Nothing is usually available for the most popular shows and only the real New York City folk can take the time and the “in” to get the really cheap, last-minute deals.  If a show is in your budget, just buy the tickets and forego trying to save a few dollars; the hour or more wait in line just to be told “no tickets” is not worth it.  Jeans and warm clothing are just fine once inside the theater, and you can bring your water bottle and small snacks in your purse for the kids. The seats are all good and the shows really are terrific as we discovered last time.  Unless you are going as a fan of a particular star, catch the show off-Broadway. Luckily all the Disney shows are worth the trip to NYC and a wonderful family experience. Our previous experience seeing “The Lion King” was worth the trip to NYC.  It’s a memory my youngest will cherish forever and still lists as her “favorite vacation ever.”  We’d have rather seen Kristen Chenowith in “Wicked,” but the off-Broadway version and starring blonde had awesome pipes and it was considerably more convenient and less costly to see the show there. This time, we’d have enjoyed seeing “The Little Mermaid,” but we learned that the ticket outlets and last minute deals are rarely available for musicals—and the non-musicals are not usually fit for kids.

All in all, New York City is a BIG apple.  All of its separate small areas, all of its separate boroughs, all of its separate people are all joined together and teeming, like huddled masses on an island of cement.  It is not natural and it’s not quaint. The scenery is not beautiful or warm.  But it is exciting and parts of it are really inspiring. It is a wonder of humanity that seems to tremble like a lively, alive, bustling port of the New World. For our second trip, we were a bit more familiar with the streets, subway, and map. But we’d have to be there a lot longer to feel like we really knew it, much less could “make it” in New York, New York.