Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Back in December we were supposed to go on a family vacay with 20 of our closest relatives to NYC.  Unfortunately, we got snowed out due to the big blizzard of 2009 and our trip got cancelled.  Noah missed getting to fly for the first time at the old age of 6 weeks. 

Fast forward 7 1/2 months.   Here we are, ready for our first plane trip to the big apple, the official "re-do" of our family vaycay. 

The plane ride went really well.... lots of snacks, lots of nursing (sorry to all the random people who got an un-requested sneak peak), lots of toys, and lots of walks up and down the aisle resulted in a tear free adventure.  Noah made tons of friends (imagine that) even though he slept a whoppin 20 minutes. 

Then we got to the exciting part of the trip... a 2 hour, 9 mile Super Shuttle ride from the airport to our hotel.  Um, trafific much? Luckily I found these super cool, all organic baby food pouches that kept the smile on N's face for another 2 hours (still no nap).  He was SO excited to see Cappy and Atti at the hotel!

Over the course of the next two days and nights, we traveled the city in (miserably hot) style.  We chartered a bus for the whole fam to ride around in so that Mimi could see the city with the rest of us (she needs a wheelchair if there is a lot of walking). 

In theory it was a great idea, until the AC went out the bus.  I never knew hot until I had a radiator clinging to me, wanting to be held, in a bus with no flowing air while it was 95 degrees outside.  Luckily, my personal heater fell asleep as we were out seeing something (note: this is the first real nap of the trip and it is Saturday afternoon at 2:00... we left Friday at 7:00am) and I was able to air out a bit.

Noah loved getting to see his Aunt Jenn, Uncle Ronnie, Aunt Chelyn, Uncle Buck and of course Atti and Cappy!!! 

The highlight of the trip was two fabulous dinners and two Broadway shows on Fri & Sat evening.  Noah loved dinner because just about every family member held him at some point, often taking him for a walk to meet a new friend.  Atti was his favorite... she took him to the bar for his first time where he met his first girlfriend, Mya.  We didn't get a picture of Mya, but I know he will always remember her!  Here's a few pictures of all the things Noah got to do at dinner time...

N also got his first taste of chicken nuggets and french fries... and I about freaked out.  HA!  I asked the waiter if we could have a small amount of chicken for N.  Never did I think to specify baked or steamed  chicken.  Noah was very thankful.  :-) 

We saw a Kristin Chenoweth at this cute little Italian place and my cousin and I decided to be the obnoxious tourists and ask for a picture.  She was SO super sweet and tinier and cuter in person.  If I wouldn't have been star struck, I would have gotten a picture with her and N instead of her and me, but I was giggling like a school girl and I momentarily forgot about my first born. 

Unfortunately, we got the boot after dinner because NYC doesn't believe babies can handle Broadway (I owe them a Thank You card for not having to try to keep an 8 month old happy and quiet hours past his bed time), so our evenings ended a tad bit early.  We did, however, get to escape for a few hours after Cappy and Atti got back from the show and went to the Empire State Building to see the city at midnight.  A storm moved in while we were at the top and we got to see a lightening show from the 103rd floor.  It was, to say the least, breathtaking!

Although the NYC leg of our trip was short, it was pretty sweet.  Being able to go on a trip with all the cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters was pretty special, and I hope that we get to do it again! 

On Sunday afternoon it was time to say goodbye to NYC and head to Mystic, CT to visit Micah's grandmother and uncle.  We thought taking the train would be a fun, relaxing way to make the trip.  Um, WRONG!  Little did we know, we were going to be traveling on a commuter train. (Perhaps our first clue should have been when we tried to check our luggage and we were told that the train we were riding didn't allow checked luggage?) I SO wish we had this documented in pictures so we could remember how absolutely ridiculous we must have looked getting onto a COMMUTER train with a baby, a car seat, a stroller, two suit cases, a duffle bag, a back pack, a diaper bag and a purse.  And of course, there were no two seats together.  Oh, and there was also no room for our luggage in one spot.  And Noah was crying.  It took everything I had to not just sit down in the aisle of the train and cry with him!  Somehow, we made the three hour train ride without becoming intoxicated, and were so excited for our "relaxing" stay at the beach that was to come....  more on that later!

xoxo,
~The Grant Gang