Erik had a work event in New York City, so we took this opportunity to turn it into a family vacation!

Firstly, I want to say that I’m proud of the girls and myself: we didn’t check a single bag! I bought some compression bags and toiletry pouches and showed the girls how to pack their own carry-on luggage! We all had extra room in case we needed to bring home any souvenirs.

Our flight was at 5:50am, so we woke up at 3am to start getting ready. We all dressed appropriately so we could hit the ground running in New York. With our carry-ons and personal items in tow, we all made it to the airport and through security with time to spare. (Read: enough time to stand in line for coffee.)

The flight was an hour and 45 minutes, so I squeezed in what little sleep I could. (I am not a plane sleeper!) We landed at LaGuardia, grabbed an Uber (shocking the girls with NY driving), and made it to the hotel before lunch!

Here’s a summary of our days…

Wednesday:

• Lunch at one of Erik’s work events
• 2:00 “Hadestown” – with Erik. This is one of Bug’s favorite musicals. We thought it would be a good show for all of us since Roo & Erik have never seen it.
• Early dinner at NY Pizza Suprema.
• Times Square – the lights, the people, the M&M Store, and the Hershey Store!
• 8:00 “Gutenberg! The Musical!” – Just us girls! This show is still in previews, and it is AMAZINGLY FUNNY!!! Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells are GENIUSES!

Thursday:

• Erik had work all day, so it was just us girls!
• Empire State Building
• Macy’s
• Return to Times Square – we saw SAG/AFTRA strikers and Bug stood in solidarity from our side of the street! We returned to the Hershey Store for a Wicked Shake and a Reese’s PB Cup S’more.
• The Museum of Broadway – this was like a theme park for theater lovers! We had so much fun here! We loved seeing all the memorabilia and taking pictures!
• Radio City Music Hall & NBC’s Rainbow Room
• Rockefeller Plaza & Madison Ave.
• The Lego Store
• 7:00 “Shucked” – this was a fun show with LOTS of innuendos! Alex Newell brought down the house, and I don’t think I would have liked it as much if it weren’t for her!

Friday:

• Erik was done with work, so we spent the day together. This was the day that NYC flooded! We waded through ankle-deep waters to get umbrellas & ponchos. The subways were shut down, so we were at the mercy of Uber drivers and traffic conditions!
• Statue of Liberty
• Ellis Island
• NY Stock Exchange
• 9/11 Memorial

Saturday:

• This was our last day with our flight in the afternoon, so we squeezed in what we could!
• American Museum of Natural History – we could’ve spent all day here, but time only allowed us to hit the highlights. Word of advice: download the museum’s Explorer app to help find what you’re looking for and get real-time directions!
• Central Park – we couldn’t leave NYC without stopping at this iconic park!

Well, that’s that! The girls learned a lot of history and a LOT about traveling! Packing necessities, consolidating & repeating outfits, having convertible backpacks/tote bags, carrying kid-sized refillable water bottles (they’re smaller & lighter), bringing portable phone chargers…. We had an amazing time and we can’t wait to go back again … specifically to see more Broadway shows!