The Kehl Family Times: New York Trip

Times Square-New York City

Tim and I spent four days in New York in celebration of his 40th Birthday. This was the first "kidless" vacation we have taken since we have had kids. It was much needed. We enjoyed every second of each other. It was just so perfect. We left on a Thursday morning, dropped the kids off at my sister Brooke's house in Bountiful and headed to the airport. We got there just in time to board the plane. We landed in New York around 3 PM eastern time and took a taxi from JFK to the city. It took a little over an hour to get to our hotel due to the afternoon traffic. We stated next to the Lincoln Center just a few blocks from Times Square at a boutique hotel called "Empire Hotel." It was a great location. We checked into our room and then headed off to explore the city. The first place we decided to go was to dinner. We got on to a subway and headed uptown to Serendipity 3. It has been a place I've heard about and was told they have the most amazing Frozen Hot Chocolate. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and ordered a Frozen Mint Hot Chocolate for us to share! It was divine! I must say, I am still dreaming of it. We then headed back to our hotel and decided to walk back through Central Park. That was the best decision. We got some amazing pictures of the park at nighttime. It was straight from the movies! Just prefect. We ended up stopping by a little fruit/vegetable cart on the side of the street and purchased some fruit to have for snacks during our stay.

Mint Frozen Hot Chocolate

Dinner at Serendipity 3

The view in Central Park

Taking a night stroll in Central Park

The fruit stand next to our hotel

The next morning we took the subway downtown to the 9/11 Memorial Site and to see the new One World Trade center that will be opening this year. We picked up our theater tickets down by South Sea Port to get 1/2 tickets or Les Miserable, then headed up to China Town for a little shopping. We picked up some trinkets for the kids, bought a few handbags and shirts and had lunch.

The One World Trade Center

The 9/11 memorial site

That afternoon, we took a double decker bus to explore the city streets. We purchased a subway 1 week pass, but thought it would be fun to see New York through the city streets up high. I must admit it's a whole new world up on top than being underground on a subway. Don't get me wrong, the best way to get to point A to point B is subway but to see the city the bus and boat was the way to go!

Riding on top of the double decker bus

The crowd in Time Square in the middle of a afternoon

Time Square

We went to dinner in the city and ate at this little Italian restaurant. It was very romantic, we then walked over to the Imperial theater to see Les Miserable. It was fabulous! I loved every second of the show. After the show we took the subway back to our hotel. We got off at the next stop and when we walked out from the subway stop we ran straight into the LDS temple! What a beautiful site indeed!

The LDS temple just a block away from our hotel

Les Miserable

The Imperial Theater

The next day we had decided to spend our time exploring the city. We took a cruise boat ride to see the Statue of Liberty. That was the in my opinion the way to see the statue vs. going to the island and being too close to get good pictures. We got a great view of the city as well as the Brooklyn bridge from the boat.

The city from the cruise boat

Brooklyn Bridge

Tim and I on the cruise boat in front of the Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

Another picture of the Statue of Liberty

We then rented bikes to go across the Brooklyn bridge for lunch. It was super crowded. I'm not sure if it was because it was a Saturday afternoon but that place was packed. The entire bridge was filled with people walking on top of each other. The bike lane wasn't nearly as crowded but people were all over the bike lane because the walking lane was so crowded. It was an awesome way to see the bridge and eat some good ole' Brooklyn pizza.

Taken on the Brooklyn Bridge

Taxi Cab in Brooklyn

Brooklyn Pizza

Our lunch in Brooklyn

That night we had pre-purchased tickets back home to see Wicked to ensure we got into see that Sold Out show, while we were in New York. We pretty much had planned the trip around those tickets. So, while Tim and I were at dinner I looked down at our tickets and for some reason I read: Friday August 22nd. I about died! That was the night before! I started freaking out! I hurried and called the Theater and the guy on the phone said, "I'm so sorry, we are completely sold out." I'm not sure if there's anything you can do. You are welcome to come down to the Theater and speak with the manager, his name is Erick. I said, "Great, I will be right down." It was an hour before the show and we hadn't gotten our food yet. We told the waiter we had to go, and took off running. We ran four blocks to the Theater. I was pretty much in tears.I couldn't believe I messed that up. I thought I had bought the tickets for Saturday night. How could this happen! The tickets say no refunds/no exchanges! We had spent over $350 for these tickets! I took a breath and asked to speak with the manager. He was soooo sweet and understanding. I told him we had planned this trip around this show and was devastated. He looked into my eyes and said, "Please don't worry, we will find something for you." Come back 15 minutes before the show and we will get you in. We went and grabbed dinner across the street from the Theater at a little Irish pub. We headed back to the Theater and the manager came out and greeted us. He exchanged our tickets for amazing seats, just 21 rows up from the stage! He handed me the tickets and said,"Hope this made your vacation!" I was so relieved and excited we were able to see the show!

Wicked on Broadway

The next morning, we went to breakfast at this little cafe shop right down by Central Park. I felt like a local. This was a place where most all of the people eating there were locals. You can tell by the way they act and how they knew the owners of the little cafe. We then headed to Central Park for a 60 minute pedi-cab ride through the park. Our pedi-cab driver was awesome. He took us through the park and we were able to stop and get out for 10 minutes at each stop to take pictures and enjoy the scenery!