Three days in New York City with three kids.
That was our Spring Break trip with them this year. And we had a fantastic time!! I’m not going to lie, it has been an adjustment getting back into the swing of things, blogging, and unanswered emails while we were gone for almost a week, but it was totally worth it.
Now since you have seen our video (created by my talented videographer/hubs Scott of JaWaViFilms!) I will share a few pics from our road trip adventure up to the Big Apple below.
Yes, we drove like crazies instead of flying. All the way from Georgia to NYC with NO dvd players! Just good old fashion family conversations and singing to the radio with each other. I’m only gong to post a few because after you have looked through them, be sure to head on over to my husband’s blog, JaWaViFilms, to read his in depth post on exactly what we did and where we went in the city with our three small people ranging in ages from ages 5 to 9.
Spoiler alert, there is a TON to do in New York City with kids! We sadly couldn’t fit it all in 3 days but we sure did as much as we could.
Two things I found were key to insuring a good vacation :
1. Stay in a central location. We got lucky to hook up with The Court, a St. Giles property in Murray Hill area of NYC, right near Grand Central Station. So hopping on the subway was a breeze to go anywhere we wanted and we felt very safe!
2. And if you can, try to book a room with a view! Hotels act like home base throughout the day, and with kids, that’s usually needed as they are unpredictable as to when they might break down or you just need them to rest in between sight seeing. With the terrace view we got from our suite (remember my Instagram shot) it made a huge difference to have a room with a view and more square footage than some apartments have in this city! The 5 of us never felt like we are on top of one another and the kids actually asked to go back to the room whenever they could! The staff at The Court also made it a joy to come back to because everyone was just so friendly and attentive to what we needed. So I thank them for that!
. 
These two pics are from Philly and D.C. which were the two cities we stopped off in along the way.
We have taken the kids to D.C. before (two blog posts on our trip here and here if you are interested) so we just stayed one night. But we did visit the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on a Friday night as we were invited by some members of the church as we were walking home from dinner. We thought, why not?! It was a breathtaking church and the kids got the chance to light a candle and say a little prayer if they wanted.
In Philadelphia, we also only stayed one night and saw the Liberty Bell (of course), ran around a big patch of grass (note pic above!), and ate at the most touristy place in the world, the Hard Rock Cafe. But man was it good and the kids loved the loud atmosphere and crazy decor!
From taking the (free!) Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, walking through Chelsea Market with all of its food & shopping options, to playing in Central Park and spending hours in the Natural History Museum, we did as much sight seeing as we possibly could! My fitness bracelet tracker was about to explode from the amount of steps I took! (My UP2 bracelet which comes in a variety of colors is my new obsession.)
Remember to head over to JaWaViFilms to read more about our trip from my husbands perspective!
We drove back home to Georgia on the last day by the way. Straight through – New York to Athens, GA. Over 15 hours, because well, Scott was driving and wanted to. I’m just glad I wasn’t behind the wheel!
We really enjoy traveling with our kids. And I think they enjoy traveling to new places more and more. I am super proud of them and they way they acted, hung in there, and handled themselves. Of course I love getaways with Scott, but I really love traveling as a family and making these memories together. We are already dreaming about where we want to go next time! If you have any suggestions on great cities or places to take kids, please share in the comments below!
