This morning David and Connor took off to find a local laundromat while Ryan and I met the Winklers for breakfast at Lindy's Deli. As usual the serves were enormous. Ryan and Josh chose the chocolate chip pancakes that came with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. When we saw the size of the stack we felt confident that they would not be able to eat it all. Ryan was up for the challenge though and powered through it all - after which his breakfast chamber was well and truly full.
After breakfast we made the short walk to the Gershwin Theatre to try to purchase tickets for the musical "Wicked". Given the prices we had been quoted by the concierge and had seen on line we were not sure it would be possible. We were very pleased to find that we could not only get tickets at a reasonable price but that they were centre stage and we could all sit together. A Broadway show has been a long term bucket list item so I'm really looking forward to it.
With the tickets secured the Winklers headed for the Subway to go and explore the financial district while Ryan and I went back to the hotel to meet David and Connor. With us all together again we decided to go to Central Park to do a horse and carriage ride. We had done our homework and knew the going rate (set by the city of NY) before we got to the company where we had a discount through the NY Pass. We were surprised to find the price was more than double the going rate. They tried to convince us that it was because their ride was twice as long and they had a $30 booking fee - our discount would be 10% of the booking fee - $3. We decided to just go to Central Park and negotiate our own arrangements. Once we got to the carriage line David spoke with the driver and negotiated a 40 minute ride that was the same length of time yet still $40 cheaper than our "discount ride" would have been.
We all climbed aboard and began our journey through Central Park. This is yet another thing that has been on my Bucket List for a long time. It was the first time the boys had ridden in a horse and carriage and the first time for David and I since our Wedding Day nearly 20 years ago. Although a little cold, it was very relaxing. The view of the park with the mix of bare fall trees and new cherry blossoms was beautiful. We covered the key features of the lower park including Strawberry Fields. Ryan used it as an opportunity to go squirrel spotting. From the frequency of "Squirrel" I can assure you that Central Park is a very highly populated squirrel habitat. Occasionally, when I would question him and ask "Where?", he would say, "I just like saying it" but they sure did seem to be in abundance. The boys were obviously comfortable taking some time to have a short nap.
When it came time to say thank you and goodbye to our horse "Lisa" we walked through Central Park to the American Natural History Museum at Central Park West. On the way we stopped and watched people playing mixed softball. All diamonds in the field were full and yet it was mid week.
When we arrived at the museum our NY Pass was worthwhile allowing us free entry. Each of the boys took a turn to chose what exhibits to guide us to. There we so many amazing exhibits to see. The boys remember seeing some of it in the movies "Night at The Museum 1 and 2". Even David was impressed by the way the museum displayed items and information. We really enjoyed it but could have done with a little more time. We really only scratched the tip of the surface looking at the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda, Asian Mammals, Hall of Asian Peoples, Hall of African Mammals, the Rose Center for Earth and Space, The Big Bang Theater, Scales of the Universe, the Halls of Gems and Minerals and the dinosaur wing. When it came time to leave we were reminded of Night at The Museum with the announcement over the PA that "The Museum will close in 30 minutes". We left the museum and walked back to the hotel as fast as we could to drop off the camera bag, pick up our Wicked tickets and meet the Winklers for dinner before the show. Another busy day, with a busy night.
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