This weekend Keith & I took an impromptu trip to New York City. He had Friday-Sunday off, so we figured a BabyMoon/Anniversary Weekend were in order. We've been together for 6 years this year!
We took the bus from Binghamton, NY right into the city in Midtown Manhattan (3.5 hours). We stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel on Madison and 45th and it was lovely! We were in walking distance of 30 Rock and Times Square, right in the heart of everything!
 |
The Roosevelt Hotel's biggest claims to fame:
Aude Lang Syne was first performed here & more interestingly, Don Draper stayed at The Roosevelt during season 2 of Mad Men.
|
 |
| I had a prego-safe California roll :) |
We arrived on Friday around 12:30, went straight to the hotel & checked in, then we headed out to lunch at Monster Sushi. We were trying to eat in Times Square, but due to a map reading fail, ended up walking in the wrong direction (I'm rolling my eyes) - we found this sushi place that looked safe and took a well deserved seat. We both ordered one of these lunch boxes and it was so good!
Friday night we went to the NBC Studio tour at Rockefeller Center. We got to see the Today Show set and it was surprisingly small! No pictures were allowed on the tour, but it was a lot of fun. Poor Ann Curry. After that, we went to the west side and ate dinner at Mario Batali's restaurant, "Otto". It was delicious!! Homemade pasta dishes for $10/plate and really good pizza. Can't beat that. We (I) were (was) exhausted from the early morning, bus ride, tours, taxis so we called it a night after that. I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant, cut me some slack.
Oh, about the taxis, holy shiz, I thought I was going to die when we got in one. I understand that time is money for them, but I think I developed a stomach ulcer from stress the minute he started driving. He almost killed 3 pedestrians! Just a new experience!
Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and headed out to Dunkin Donuts for a quick breakfast before we went to our ultrasound appointment to see Lia. The office was right across the street from the Empire State Building. Pretty impressive start to our day. Keith wasn't there for the last ultrasound at the doctor's office and I really wanted him to see Lia like I did. The office was so nice and the technician spent a lot of time with us. She confirmed that Lia was still a girl (had to get a 3rd opinion) and she got some nice shots of our little one. Unfortunately, about 5 minutes into the ultrasound, Lia decided to get into the pike position and stay that way the rest of the show. So most of her pictures are her with her leg(s) in her face. She is currently faced head down (hopefully she stays that way for me, I really don't want a c-section) and the tech said her placenta is behind her head and Lia cuddles up to it like a gross pillow. According to Dr. Keith, this causes me to feel her punches and kicks a whole lot more since there is no cushion from the placenta. I had already figured that out! She likes to remind me in the middle of the night! Keith thinks she's all me.
 |
| Look at that smile! |
 |
| I'm biased, but that's one good looking fetus. |
 |
| There's that leg! |
 |
| There is my 3rd opinion |
 |
| I asked if she had hair, but since her head is against the placenta, Keith and the tech couldn't tell |
After our date with Lia, we headed out to Battery Park and took the ferry over to see the Statue of Liberty. I've been once before with my grandparents when I was little, but it seemed more impressive as an adult. I guess kids are hard to impress.
Maybe this is TMI, but I had to pee on the ferry over to Liberty Island... I couldn't shut the tiny stall door because my bump was in the way. I had to wait for the handicap bathroom stall. I even tried standing on the toilet to make it work but I got scared cause I was thinking, "What if I squeeze in here and then can't get out? How will I explain myself? What will Keith think?" It was awkward.
 |
| I'm not fat, I'm pregnant (and a little fat) |
 |
| I love this shot, you can see it all: SofL, ESB, the new One World Trade |
After this, we tried to go see the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero. Once we got there, we found out we needed to make a donation and reserve tickets in order to get in - which we had not done. Bummer, we wanted to see it. I don't think it's right that they set it up like that. Everyone should be able to see it! I remember seeing the World Trade Center buildings as a little girl, so it was crazy to go back and imagine how terrible it must have been. So we just took pictures of the new towers and moved on to our next destination - lunch! This pregnant belly was hungry! We went to Katz Delicatessen, famously featured in "When Harry Met Sally". I've never seen the movie, so this reference is lost on me, but I have seen it on Travel Channel and the Ruben sandwich was calling my name...
 |
| The Ruben was delicious, the pickles were nasty. |
We went from Katz on the Lower West Side back up to Midtown to the Empire State Building Observatory! By this time, I think my feet were swelling and my toes were little Vienna sausages. It was hard because I needed to stay hydrated, but that also meant finding a bathroom every 20 minutes. But I soldiered on!
 |
| View of Central Park |
 |
| Wayyy in the back right you can see a tiny Statue of Liberty. |
By this time, I just need to sleep. I was EXHAUSTED! Back to the hotel for a shower and nap. Final stop of the trip was to Robert DeNiro's restaurant, Tribeca Grill. We enjoyed a nice dinner and I had the best hot chocolate ever in my life. I did accidentally bump another patron in the head with my belly on the way back from the bathroom. She was sitting in her chair, I was passing her to get to my chair, I was squeezing by to get through and didn't account for the extra space I needed and BAM! It wasn't a hard hit and she kinda smiled when she realized what I hit her with. Whoops. Unfortunately, Keith got super sick from his scallops and ended up having a really terrible night starting around 2AM. So sadly, I do not recommend eating at Tribeca Grill, sorry Bobby. Needless to say, we were ready to get home. At least it happened our last night there, so it didn't ruin any plans, but it was a buzz kill. I needed a foot rub for my Vienna sausages and he was all, "I'm busy!" ;) Poor Keith, I felt really bad. But I got him some medicine from the gift shop and he made it home without incident.
Here's some pictures from after the restaurant and before the illness. This might be the last time I'm dressed up for 18ish years:
All in all, it was a great trip for us. I'm really glad we went. Keith had never been (weird, right?) and I think it's such a cool place. There is something for everyone. I just don't see us going back for a long long long time. Unless we don't bring Lia, but who wants to travel without their baby? That's not right! While we were walking around, we were like, "Okay, I foresee a lot of all inclusive resorts in our future. There is no way we're traveling through big cities like this with a baby, stroller, diaper bag, toys, yuck!" I can see us sitting on a beach with some beers and a baby. I'm looking forward to those trips! But I really enjoyed the last "us" time and I'm thankful we got to go. It's bittersweet knowing we won't be 'just the 2 of us' anymore, but just thinking about little Lia is so damn exciting! 11 weeks to go!
Oh ya, I got her and I matching I <3 NY stuff:
