So today would be a light day. We had a kids birthday party hosted by our friends Neil & Megha — their twins Rohan & Kareena were celebrating their 2nd birthday this month. They live in Manhattan, so the party was being held down in the West Village. I’m glad we were able to aim this whole vacation around Josh’s two days off from school, my interim unemployed period, and the kids birthday party in Manhattan. Not bad, eh?

What we did have to figure out was how to make it to the party without carrying all of our luggage, make it to the party, then catch a reasonable train out of NY Penn Station. We decided to:

1. Check out of the hotel around 12 noon
2. Leave our bags with bell stand
3. take the subway down to the West Village
4. Have fun at the party unencumbered
5. Go back uptown to get our luggage
6. Head back to NY Penn to catch a train around 3:53pm
7. Get home!

We made to the party easily enough, albeit with more walking from the subway station than I anticipated. By the end of the walk, I’m glad we decided against bringing the luggage in tow. Lily would not walk, so we took turns carrying her. A number of guests were there already, and the children present were doing free play. “Free play” lasted a long while, but the people running the show eventually moved on to some singing. We spoke to a few people while the children ran amuck.

Soon, it was time for the kids to eat pizza, blowing out the cake candles, etc. We departed the party a little after 2pm, made our way to the Lex & 53rd St station. Num’s & the kids opted to wait for me to run up and out, get the luggage, and bring it all back to the station. We hustled, and caught the 3:53pm train out of NY Penn. I’m not sure how we caught it, but a little hustle will never serve you wrong.

Now for the monkey wrenches!

The train was packed. Why? Based on all the people carrying beer cans and wearing Jets jerseys, I guess there was a game today over at MetLife Stadium. Rats. Still, it should empty out after Secaucus. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only problem. Somewhere before Princeton Junction, the train crew informed us that there was a disabled train ahead. Oh no.

In order to get passed, the train would sit for a while, the eventually bypass and go straight to Trenton. We would have to get out, and wait at Trenton for another northbound station to take us back up north to Hamilton. Argh. We were tired, but we made the best of the situation and got home an hour later than expected. Oh well, that’s life.

So that was the big trip. It was a lot of fun, and I’m glad (in hindsight) to have listened to my wife about not filling up the itinerary. I wanted to visit the observation deck at 30 Rock, hit the Children’s Museum, and see downtown. However, trying to shoehorn all of these places in would have stressed and tired everyone out, and been ultimately counter productive. This was a good model — a vacation with only a few things to do, with a healthy amount of downtime. I don’t know where we’ll be going next year, but a few low-key weekend trips like this would be nice.

Now I get ready for my fresh start tomorrow.

Waiting for the train

A few weeks ago, with the break between jobs in mind, we began planning out an extended weekend vacation trip. I had hoped to have a entire week off, but the background check took longer than I expected. In the end, I only have a four day break (Thurs-Sun) before I start my new life at Prudential. I would have liked more days, but it seems they want me to start right away. No matter. I suppose four days is good enough. Between NY Life and Citi, I only a weekend to enjoy any time off.

We looked at a few cities, e.g. Baltimore, Philadelphia, but ultimately on New York. Nums and I spent a romantic weekend in New York back in 2006, and that was a lot of fun. I took Josh to the Museum of Natural History last year via the train, and he had a blast. Sounded like a plan.

Lunch at Dos Caminos

So here we are after our first day. We packed most of clothes and things last night, with a few more items this morning, and caught a late morning train to NYC. Why did we opt for the train when we have two cars and a bus that hits our complex? Eh, the kids like the train.

We got to NY around noon, and we were able to check into the Marriott Courtyard New York Manhattan Midtown East on 3rd Ave early. We were supposed to meet up with our friend Kathy for lunch, but it was getting late for her at this point. Oh well, maybe next time.

Instead, we walked down 3rd Ave and ate lunch at our favorite NYC Mexican restaurant — Dos Caminos. Lunch was pretty good, even though Lily was fooling around on her side of the table, bumped her face against the table somehow, and is now sporting a well-developing black eye. I swear she didn’t walk into a doorknob.

Toys "R" Us Times Square

Everyone was a little tired, so we walked back to the hotel to chill out. In the evening, we strolled down to Grand Central Terminal to show the kids, then had lunch down in the lower level dining concourse. Afterwards, we took the Times Square Shuttle to 42nd St. We showed them Times Square at night, visited the big Toys “R” Us in Times Square, and even rode the ferris wheel. Best of all? We resisted their requests, and didn’t have to buy them any unnecessary toys!

We hung out in the store until it closed at 10pm, walked further north to check out the rest of Times Square, then walked the long walk back to 53rd and 3rd Ave. It wasn’t an action-packed first day, but it was relaxing.

My wonderful wife

Last night while I rested, Nums took care of packing up our stuff. I appreciated this, because I wasn’t in much shape to do much. This morning, we were up early to wrap it up, get the kids ready, and get the car loaded. When my sister and her husband came over yesterday, they brought a cooler for us to store the leftover food we had. No reason to waste, you know?

We had to check out by 10am, and no issues, we were on the road by 10:10 to drop off the keys and activity pass badges. A quick stop to get gas and a donut for Lily, and we were off! First stop? Lunch at the Dover, DE, Waffle House. We let Josh decide, and he was in the mood for a waffle. Me too, actually. I tried a bite of Lily’s waffle earlier this week, and it was way better than a frozen Eggo waffle. A fresh waffle is delicious!

Lunch @ Waffle House

Nums took care of driving on the way to Dover, and I drove from Dover to home. We beat the traffic, and got home in the afternoon. I got the perishables in the fridge, and everyone wanted to rest/nap. In the evening, I decided to play it safe, and I went to the Brunswick Urgent Care. Took about 90 mins of waiting, but I eventually saw an ER doc. Prognosis? I’m just banged and bruised up, and I’m lucky that’s all it is. Treatment? Higher strength naproxen (“Alleve”), so that’s it. I’m going to take it easy for a while.

That’s basically it for the big part of the vacation. It was good, despite the car accident yesterday. We’ve got church and Labor Day, and then I’m back to work on Tuesday.

Beach day

Beach day!

We stocked the cooler with sandwiches & drinks, filled up the beach bag with snacks and blankets, and we took the local (and free) shuttle bus down to the beach. I had to take a status call from the boardwalk, but eventually joined up with the family down by the water. The beach was certainly in better shape than it was back in 2009. Everyone had a good time relaxing in the sun and playing in the water.

In other news, we forgot to pack boardgames with us, so my wife and I (mostly my wife) have been teaching Josh how to play chess on the chessboard that is here. I’m happy that he’s learning, but I’m a little frightened of a 6-year-old who can play chess. Nothing good can come of this.

I can’t believe tomorrow is September 1st.

An exhausting but fun day

In the afternoon, I made us all lunch (sandwiches), then I took Lily on a small run to the nearest sports store. You see, I apparently snore. I’ve been using this mouth guard plastic thing to keep my air passages open when I sleep, which isn’t the most comfortable way to sleep, but it helps keep the peace in the bedroom. Of course, I forgot it Monday. The good news is that I found a sports store in Dagsboro that carries them, so I took Lily along on my outing. Mission accomplished, so we all hit the pool. The water was a little good, but let’s call it “refreshing.”

We just came back from briefly checking out the situation at Bethany Beach, and the good news is that the beach is in good shape. Tonight, the evening promises to bring old episodes of Tiny Toons and Ducktales after dinner.

Checking out Bethany Beach

Lily & Nums @ Waffle House

We’re finally here! We finished packing this morning, loaded up the car and the bicycles, bid farewell to the cats, and were finally on the road by 10:45am. It was a bright sunny day, and a nice drive down to Delaware with no traffic. As per tradition, we stopped at a Waffle House for lunch somewhere close to Dover. We made to the vacation condo around 3pm after picking up the keys and activity pass badges.

The condo looks great. Two bedrooms, and the kids get to enjoy separate beds and a television (and DVD player) in their room. We’ve got a nicely appointed master bedroom, and our own separate bathroom. The living room and kitchen are large and comfortable, with a decent-sized Samsung LCD HDTV in the living room. There’s also a screened-in porch in the back.

They like their room

Everyone is relaxing at the moment. In the evening, we are heading to the local Super Giant supermarket to purchase food supplies for the week. The plan is similar to our 2009 Delaware vacation — we cook the entire week, which reduces meal expenses. My wife is currently compiling a grocery list and meal schedule as only she can do. We’ll probably budget one day out towards the end of the week (Thursday / Friday) to eat lunch out on the boardwalk and have a family dinner at a nice local restaurant. I’ve been fancying myself a good steak for a while now. This might be the week.

Relaxing in the condo

My wife and I are looking forward to the inventive cooking. Many years ago, she and I rented a place out on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. This was before the kids came around. The island had no restaurants, so we purchased groceries and cooked up inventive dishes based on whatever ingredients we had. It was a fun trip, and we still talk fondly about that experience.

What does the rest of the week hold for us? We’re planning to:

• spend time at Bethany Beach
• spend time at the pool here at Bear Trap Dunes
• hit up the Ocean City boardwalk, and also a boat ride
• more beach and pool time
• I’m going riding so I can mark Delaware and Maryland off the places I’ve bicycled
• playing board games and watching movies

Sounds good already!

Today, no big plans to go outside. We’re staying inside, doing laundry, cleaning up the house, and packing for the trip. We expect to leave tomorrow morning, and the weather looks to be sunny and 80 degrees the rest of the week!

Tonight, we’re cooking tandoori chicken for dinner, and watching Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder. The kids have been clamoring to watch it, so we’re renting it on Vudu tonight. And yea, it’s the 1970′s version starring Gene Wilder. None of that Johnny Depp crap.

I also have to Netflix movies to watch this weekend — 3:10 to Yuma and Avatar. Yeah, I’ve already seen Avatar in 3D at the theater back in Jan ’10, but I want to see how it looks on my HDTV. Shut up, you haters.

In evening, the Jacob’s invited their clan over for a BBQ, which was nice. There was some tentative talk about going to  a water park, but we weren’t up for it at all. After all the hub-bub over the past few days, it was nice to relax today.

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