NYC Day 3

Yesterday was another jam-packed twelve hours away until we returned to the hotel. It started with a walk down Fifth Avenue. More rain was predicted so we bought more umbellas. Now everyone has their own. We don't carry umbrellas back home even though it rains all the time, but here in NYC getting caught in a downpour isn't fun.

The first stop was American Girl Place! Rose was torn about being here. One part of her was happy but the other sad because she'd forgotten her doll at home. We checked in for our breakfast then looked around. Wow! Talk about little girl heaven. Everywhere you look are American Girl dolls, clothing and accessories. There's a whole section devoted to Bitty Baby and the Bitty Twins. Both are big faves at our house.

Breakfast ("brunch" on the menu) was a yummy affair. The table was set in pink and black. It matched the cafe decor. The napkin rings were black ponytail elastics with hot pink fabric bows. They had a little box with conversation starters. The girls had so much fun with those.

The cafe has thought about everything to make this an enjoyable outing for families. Rose had forgotten her American Girl back home. But the cafe has dolls the girls can borrow during the meal. This was so nice.

The appetizer was small cinnamon rolls. The girls had chocolate chip pancakes. They made me a scrambled egg plate with Canadian bacon and fruit since I'm eating gluten-free. Dessert was chocolate moose in these cute little flower pots with daisies sticking out of them. I received a pot of lemon sorbet!

After breakfast, we did a little shopping. Rose wanted a pink sweatshirt for her and her doll. We also bought the box of conversation starters and a couple other little things. We then met up with the boys who had breakfast across the street at another restaurant.

Our next stop was the American Museum of Natural History. The kidlets know this place from the movie Night at the Museum. They kept looking for things from the movie. It was a very cool museum with dioramas, replicas and exhibits. We watched the Journey to the Stars in the Planetarium. The dinosaur exhibit was totally cool.

I headed to my literary agency. I've been represented by them since 1999, but I've never seen the office. Though author John Saul told me about it when I met him at a BBQ thrown by Susan Wiggs for agency authors. It was so nice to sit and chat with my agents without the rush of conference surrounding us.

It's take a couple of days, but I'm finally figuring out who to use public transportation to get around town. The subway didn't take too long. Yesterday, I got to know the buses! I was even asked directions! That was nice, especially since I could tell her which subway to take and where to catch it!

After my meeting, I arrived at the pier just as my family was arriving on the Beast. They'd had lunch and then gone for a ride with their uncle while I was away. The Beast is a high speed thirty minute ride around the lower part of Manhattan Island. I purchased everyone a New York CityPass before we left home. They had a choice of different cruise options, but they wanted The Beast!

We then took a bus to Hell's Kitchen and ate dinner at Uncle Nick's. It's a Greek restaurant with good food and huge portions. Casual and loud. Perfect for a big group like ours!

After that we hit Nintendo World. The kids were in heaven! It's the only store like it around. They picked out T-shirts of their fave characters then played games. We had to drag them out of their. We stopped in at St. Patrick's Cathedral to pick up the Mass schedule for this weekend. Then we went to Dylan's Candy Bar for dessert. Three floors of candy as well as an ice cream parlor. Wow! Lots of sugar!!! A quick look at the Roosevelt Island tram, a bus ride and we were back at the hotel. A late night trip to the Jazz Standard Club to see a set capped off the night for a couple of us while the others slept. The surprise guest at the show was Cyril Neville. Some great New Orleans jazz.

We slept in this morning and now we're about to hit the town again. The boys will be doing one thing. The girls another! Fingers crossed we finally see the sun!