Guys. Guys. GUYS! It happened again. A stomach virus from hell invaded our family while visiting the city that never sleeps (read about the first time here). While in the grand scheme of things getting sick on vacation isn’t that big of a deal, the fact that our family was at the mercy of norovirus in New York City has me wanting to muster my best Nancy Kerrigan “wwwwwhhhhhyyyyyy????” and stomp my feet in frustration. We had originally planned to go to New York City over MLK Weekend but a snowstorm derailed our plans (perhaps that was a sign?) so we rescheduled our three-night stay for President’s Day weekend. We’d been looking forward to our trip for weeks.
We decided to take a bus up to New York City for the first time – we ended up choosing Washington Deluxe and booked our tickets a week out. On Friday morning we took an Uber to Union Station in downtown Washington DC to pick up our bus. The boarding processes couldn’t have been easier. Weston and Violet sat next to each other and Clay and I were across from them – we settled into our sets and before long, we were on our way. We weren’t even 15 minutes on the road when we heard a woman say, “Ummm – your daughter threw up.”
::record scratch::
We look across the aisle and our five-year-old daughter is covered in vomit. We had a change of clothes, wipes, and bags – unfortunately, they were all in the cargo hold of the bus and not accessible. Thinking fast, I took off my thin sweater (thankfully for the other bus riders, I was also wearing a tank top) and used it as a rag to mop up the mess. Clay grabbed toilet paper from the bathroom on board and I smothered Violet (and her clothes) in hand sanitizer. I spent the next four hours holding her as she drifted in and out of sleep. She didn’t get sick the rest of the ride and she was her normal vibrant self when the infamous skyline came into view so when our bus pulled into the Garment District, we chalked it up to car-sickness and hopped in an Uber to our hotel in Hell’s Kitchen – the Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Manhattan Central Park.
Our hotel room was nice – albeit a little small but that is to be expected in our price range for New York City. Would we love to stay at The Plaza Hotel? Of course. Can we afford to? Hell no. So Fairfield Inn it is! Our hotel was a short walk to Columbus Circle so we were close to a major subway station and I loved the old-school attitude of Hell’s Kitchen. After resting for a bit (and washing up!), we set off on foot to explore and eat dinner.
We ended up eating at Mama Mia 44sw on (you guess it…) 44th Street. Clay and I enjoyed some well-deserved glasses of wine and we had a great Italian meal. The kids really wanted to see Times Square at night so Clay and I yielded to them and braved the commercial and cliched tourist Mecca. Our kids loved seeing the off-brand Disney characters and going to M&M World and the Disney Store. The bright lights captivated them and they commented how it reminded them of our visit to Las Vegas. I’ll admit that I am a huge snob when it comes to Times Square but even I caught myself smiling despite the abundance of chain restaurants.
On Saturday morning, we were rested and ready to take on the day. We took the subway to the Upper West Side so we could visit the American Museum of Natural History. We opted to purchase our tickets that day rather than online ahead of time – something we’re glad we did because all four of us received free general admission due to Clay being in the Army.
We were blown away by the generosity of the American Museum of Natural History and grateful to experience such an amazing museum free of charge. Because we live in the Washington DC area, we have access to the Smithsonian and go to the various museums multiple times a year – they are wonderful. But the American Museum of Natural History is in a class of it’s own – we could’ve spent multiple days there but because time was of the essence, we limited our visit to three hours.
After the museum, we walked through Central Park down to 5th Avenue to ogle at the hotel we can’t afford (the Plaza) and to make our way Rockefeller Center. While there, we visited the LEGO store and the new FAO Schwarz, which opened in November 2018. While it isn’t nearly as magical as the original – the clocktower is back, as well is the iconic giant keyboard.
We grabbed a late lunch/early dinner at Sean’s Bar and Kitchen and then went back to the hotel to rest before heading back out after the sunset.
We then walked, walked, and walked. There is something magical about New York City at night and I will never tire of seeing the iconic buildings lit from within and under the moonlight. We then got hot chocolate and hopped on the subway to the Financial District.
While this was not our first visit to the National September 11 Memorial, it was our first visit at night. If you only do one thing at night with your children in New York City – take them here. We quietly walked around and had the place almost to ourselves. Our kids asked questions and we answered them to the best to our ability. I also shared one of my favorite quotes..
“What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.” – David Levithan
Around 10pm we decided that we probably should make our way uptown again. If it were just Clay and I, we totally would have stayed downtown and enjoyed the nightlife but kids. So we got on the 1 train at the Cortlandt Street station, which was completely destroyed in the attack – it only re-opened this past September.
On the platform is an Ann Hamilton installation, titled Chorus, which has text from the Declaration of Independence and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I was in awe and wouldn’t have minded waiting even longer for the train so I could look at the installation more.
We stopped and picked up some desserts on the way home and ate them in our pajamas. Little did we know that all hell was about to break loose that night…
Don’t worry – I’ll spare you the details but this was the only picture I took on Sunday – we didn’t even leave the hotel room. Weston was the first to fall. Then me. Then Clay. And there was Violet (likely patient zero), who kept herself occupied thanks to electronics. It was not a pleasant day – being trapped in 150 sq. ft. space with multiple sick people pretty much solidified that 100% tiny house living is not for us.
By Monday morning we were feeling okay. We were so disappointed to miss an entire day in one of our favorite cities. However, we weren’t getting on our bus until 12:30pm so spent a few hours walking around and getting some fresh air in Central Park.
This picture pretty much sums up how Clay and I felt on Monday. We were well enough to go about the day but utterly exhausted. We took an Uber back to the Garment District and met our bus. Thankfully – the bus ride back was uneventful and dare I say, even enjoyable. Clay and I were able to relax while the kids kept themselves occupied and I was able to keep my shirt on this time, which was nice.
Traveling with kids isn’t for the faint of heart. Clay and I have a saying about a lot of things in our life together – “If it were easy, everyone would do it.” But if I have to get violently sick with someone in a shoebox hotel room, I’d want it to be the man I’ve loved for 18 years. This trip to New York City wasn’t what we’d hoped it’d be but we’re thankful that we at least got one good day in one of our favorite places as a family. We’re planning another mulligan to New York City. In fact – we learned that once you get Norovirus, you’re immune for 14 weeks so we will likely be going back sooner rather than later. You know – just in case it’s three times the charm for us.
