{TEEN Trip} New York City - Day 4

We got packed up and headed out first thing to make it to our early lunch reservation at the Central Park Boathouse...

The weather sure has improved from our last trip into the park a couple of days ago!

We were seated right next to the window and had a great view of the (still frozen over) lake...

After lunch, we enjoyed walking through the park a bit...

before heading to one of the top spots on B's list, the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue...

We then headed over to the big New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street...

I've been wanting to get all 3 of the kids here for some time, to see the real stuffed animals that belonged to Christopher Robin Milne, son of A. A. Milne, the creator of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories...

You can really see the resemblance to the characters he created based on his son's toys!

From the library, we walked down to the Empire State Building...

a fitting place to visit on our last day in town...

We walked back up Fifth Avenue toward Grand Central Terminal to try and get a picture with the Cornelius Vanderbilt statue that stands outside the upper level right under the Tiffany clock, facing the Park Avenue Viaduct...

Cornelius Vanderbilt once owned the New York Central Railroad and constructed the Grand Central Depot, predecessor to Grand Central Terminal, in the late 1860s/early 1870s...

B is currently studying the Vanderbilt family and is headed on a field trip to the Biltmore Estate, built by George Washington Vanderbilt II, one of Cornelius Vanderbilt's grandsons, next week...

After a little investigation, we realized that there is no public access from inside, and you can't really get up there very easily on foot from outside (especially during the time we were aiming for), so this photo will have to do for now!

After collecting our luggage, we hit up M&M's World, another one of the top spots on B's list...

We cruised back through Times Square...

on our way to grab pizza for dinner, yet another item on B's list.

Coincidentally, we ended up across the street from the Majestic Theatre (where we saw The Phantom of the Opera three nights earlier) at John's Pizzeria...

With grateful hearts and full bellies, we ubered to the airport to catch our night flight home.

What a wonderful weekend full of special memories made with our very favorite teenager in the whole entire world...

{TEEN Trip} New York City - Day 3

This morning we caught the first train into the city (read 5:47am), and thankfully it was running about 3 minutes late. I'm not convinced we would've caught it if it weren't for those extra couple of minutes! Phew!

We arrived at Grand Central Terminal when it was just opening up...

grabbed a quick breakfast and caught the 4/5 Subway down to Battery Park...

to catch the first ferry over to Liberty Island!

Check in for trips to see the Statue of Liberty (from NYC) start at Castle Clinton, located at the southern tip of Manhattan in Battery Park...

We ended up 2nd in line to claim our elusive "crown access" tickets, that I had reserved online weeks ago, and boarded the ferry shortly thereafter...

When we got to the statue, we went ahead and made the steep, narrow climb to the crown first thing...

So glad that we did!

Success!

It was nice to be able to take our time and not be rushed once we reached the top...

 {looking down at her left hand that holds a tablet inscribed with "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" ~ July 4, 1776}

 {looking up at her right hand that lifts high the torch}

The way down was neat, too.

We saw the imprint of her face from the inside...

and the (now restricted) torch access that has been closed off to visitors since 1916...

Once we made it back down, we explored the pedestal, looking up at the statue from below...

before taking some time to go through the museum housed inside.

We snapped a few more photos...

before boarding the ferry bound for Ellis Island...

Once we arrived, we explored the Great Hall a bit, but spent a lot of time outside in back of the main building visiting the American Immigrant Wall of Honor exhibit, where thanks to my grandfather, my great-great-grandfather's name is inscribed...

We also took in the gorgeous views of Manhattan...

After lunch, we ferried back to Battery Park and took the Subway over to the Brooklyn Bridge...

where we took some time to stretch our legs, walking about halfway across the famous bridge...

From there, we continued north and made a stop at St. Mark's Church-In-The-Bowery to visit the grave of Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins. Tompkins served as the 6th Vice President of the United States under President James Monroe...

Sadly, the churchyard was all locked up, so we had to settle for paying our respects through the fence (his grave is located right by the bell)...

From there, we headed uptown for a special birthday dinner at The Polo Bar...

where we had a little celebrity sighting ~ Lorraine Bracco, actress on one of Hubby's favorite shows, The Sopranos...

B ordered the fish of the day ~ branzino and another half dozen oysters... 

After dinner, we bid farewell to Hubby as he headed off to the airport, and we caught the train back to Connecticut...

We got there just in time to catch most of the Super Bowl and another surprise cake for dessert...

Thankful for so many people taking the time to make our favorite boy feel so special...

Tomorrow is a catch up day to finish up what's left on the birthday boy's list...