Statue of Liberty Archives

Kicking Off the Summer in NYC: Part 1

Published on June 3, 2023June 4, 2023 by Cheryl Lock2 Comments

Ah friends, welcome to summer! Or at least, it’s summer for us! The school year ended the week before Memorial Day, so we decided to head on out! For as often as we visit New York state, we had yet to actually stay for multiple days in the city itself.

So we decided to change that.

Through the incredible generosity of a good friend of mine from college, we were able to stay in an awesome Brooklyn apartment for free, and spend our money on all. the. activities. And we did activities, friends. Boy, did we do activities 😉

I’ll break down our days into a couple of different posts so as to not overwhelm, but here are a few overarching highlights:

We miss our friends and family in New York like crazy. Trips like this are beyond memorable, especially now that the girls are getting old enough to remember them.
Taking the subway with three littles is … interesting. Hah. One day is was just me and a double stroller and three children. When Carla joined it was five children. We got onto the subway at one station and the (heavenly) woman who gave up her seat for the kids turned to me and Carla and said, “You’re doing amazing” and I could have kissed her right then and there. Or cried. Or probably both.
Both older girls really loved their time in the city (so did Em, but you know, she can’t talk a lot yet, soooo …), but I foresee a future where G goes to school there, or lives there after school … basically makes the city a bigger part of her life story.
On our last full day Grace must have walked over a mile from the High Line to the Color Factory, while she played a game of “veterinarian” with Lotte, who was in one of the double stroller seats. Em was napping in the other. It was an amazing moment I’ll never forget, and damn was I proud of her!

Without further adieu, here was our Saturday and Sunday, Manhattan Style!

Saturday

Because of multiple snafoos that I won’t get into, we didn’t end up arriving in Brooklyn until around 3 on Saturday morning. As such, I didn’t have the highest of hopes for our Saturday plans … but as is usually the case when it comes to my kids, I was proved wrong! These girls slept a cool four hours and woke up ready to explore! My friend Faye and her two kiddos met up with us. On the agenda were:

Seaglass Carousel at The Battery ($5.50/ride or $50 for a 10-pack)
The Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty! (FREE!)

There is also a fun playground in this area, too, if you’re looking to spend more time there.

First subway ride! The girls started out fascinated. Then they took it upon themselves to chat with anyone who would chat. Then they decided to use the poles as swings. And finally, by the 5th or 6th ride, they were content to actually sit and ride. The evolution of a subway ride, courtesy of a 6- and 5-year-old 😉

This carousel is expensive, but it’s a MUST if you’re here! It’s beyond gorgeous, and so fun to watch.

After the playground and carousel it was onto the ferry! The kids were more excited about snacking on a ferry ride than they were to take in the views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, but that’s okay. It’s all part of the fun!

Ah, the joys of forcing your kids to take memorable photos 😉

At least G was very taken with the water!

We missed the first ferry back to the city and had to wait 30 minutes to catch the next one, but that was okay because it gave us time to do more fun things, like get ice cream …

Back in Manhattan my friend ordered up some pizza and we ate it on her rooftop. It was the perfect ending to the perfect first day in the city.

Sunday

We had plans on Sunday to catch the train from Grand Central into Cold Spring to meet up with our family for lunch at the Cold Spring Depot. That also meant that Chris got a chance to give the girls his world-famous Grand Central tour when we arrived back 😉

No matter how many times I’ve ridden in and out of Grand Central (hundreds), she never ceases to amaze me.

In Cold Spring we met up with these loves of our lives, and it was a delight.

The waterfront was a big hit too, naturally.

All four of these faces were asleep about 20 minutes into our ride home.

Back in Grand Central, Chris’ tour was a hit!

And those were our first two days in a nutshell, friends! They also included Grace discovering that she does, in fact, like cheese on pizza (duh), and only a handful of tantrums and slight frustrations 😉

Next up … a packed Memorial Day! Until then … bis bald, friends!

Ticking Things Off Little Lotte’s Bucket List

Published on August 28, 2018 by Cheryl Lock2 Comments

Happy Tuesday, friends! The above video is of my little Weary Wanderer, about to explore her world. We just got back from a trip East for a whole bunch of fun reasons. We celebrated my sister’s 30th birthday (only a month early, no big deal), visited with my Grandma, saw all the cousins, and of course, ticked one big thing off Lotte’s bucket list – seeing the Statue of Liberty in person.

I don’t know how it started, really, other than the fact that Lotte has about five New York City books, but she has really become obsessed with the Statue of Liberty, and it’s the most adorable thing ever. So, when we flew into Newark, we hopped in our rental car and drove to Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, with a fantastic view of the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan. It was a really fun time for us, and Lotte was so in awe. It’s definitely something Chris and I will never forget.

The rest of the weekend was amazing, as well. We spent two days at a mountain house that a friend of ours was renting near Woodstock, and Lotte had an amazing time playing in the pool and running around with my friend’s daughter, and Grace had the best time playing with her son, who is one month younger. We also visited a whole bunch of new locations (like Weeds Orchard and Brown Barn Farms) and on Sunday, we met up with Robert for breakfast at Chadwick Lake Park before hiking a trail near the lake that was built and dedicated to my Mom by an Eagle Scout neighbor of hers. They had been close and he was so upset when she passed, that this was something he wanted to do for her. The trail was beautiful, and being there with the girls meant so much to me. I’m glad this place will be there to be able to take the girls for years to come.

Here’s a bit of what our trip looked like …

^^ Lots of photos even before we left airport, because that’s what a one-hour delay will do to you.

^^ And there she is, in all her glory! Lotte literally whispered “Statue of Liberty!” when she first saw her … she was so blown away. We spent about two hours at the park, which is so amazing, and let the girls run around and get some energy out before heading on over to my sister’s.

After spending the night at Steph’s on Wednesday, we headed to Woodstock to hang with Carla and her daughter and son at their summer house. It was so much fun to spend time with them, playing in the pool, barbecuing, drinking and chatting.

^^ This moment where we spotted a frog in the grass and let Lotte hold it was pretty special to me, too. The extent of her knowledge about frogs up to that point had been seeing them in books and knowing that they say, “ribbit, ribbit.” To watch her see and touch one in real life was a super fun moment.

^^ This crew <3

^^ Linus and Grace were having a little love affair with each other all weekend long, and it was kind of the cutest.

^^ Brown Barn Farms was the cutest little spot! The drinks were good, the view was glorious, and the food truck served up some tasty dinner, too.

^^ Heading out to Aunt Stephie’s early birthday party at Weeds Orchard with the fam.

^^ On Sunday morning we met Robert at Chadwick Lake Park to have a quick breakfast and then head over to the trail that was built in my Mom’s memory. It was a great day.

^^ This is such a crazy picture for me. So this tree is a part of a larger tree that used to live near my old elementary school, Balmville School, and this was the Balmville Tree. It was the oldest tree in the U.S., and when it started to rot, they decided to preserve parts of it and put it in Chadwick Lake Park as a memorial. I hadn’t seen it in this spot before, though, and to see my daughter standing in a tree that is so synonymous with my childhood, it was a little surreal.

^^ Love, love, love this crew <3

^^ And later in the day it was back to my sister’s to meet up with my Grandma and have a little barbecue before we headed out super early on Monday morning.

And that was our trip in a nutshell. It went by super fast and was jam packed, but the girls had a really great time, I think, and I loved spending that quality time with all the people we were able to see. Trips back east are always busy, but they’re also always amazing, and being able to bring my girls along for the ride … it really means so much to me.

The plane ride back home was not our best, since both girls were entirely exhausted and yet not interested in sleeping (Grace napped for about 20 minutes and Lotte not at all), but we pulled out the big guns with all the toys and books and snacks and “TV School Bus” (aka videos), and we made it through.

And just like that, we were back in good ole’ Denver. And also just like that, it’s almost September?! How in the how did that happen? I do love Fall, though, and we have our big Australia trip to look forward to, so big, good, fun things ahead, my friends.

I hope you all have had wonderful summers, and until the next time … bis bald!

Back in the Borough: A Sailing Adventure on Pier 25

Published on August 22, 2013August 23, 2013 by Cheryl Lock2 Comments

Hi friends,

So tonight was one of those nights where Chris and I were two very lucky Manhattanites. For her boyfriend’s 3oth birthday, my good friend treated myself and Chris and one other couple to a surprise sailing adventure in the Hudson off of Pier 25. Unfortunately since it was Carla’s treat, I don’t know too much about the company, or how much it cost (I’m guessing it might have been a bit pricey), so this post will mostly be beautiful photos and not very helpful, should you like to replicate. (Sorry!)

We also had a “theme” for this little birthday bash — let’s see if you can figure out what it was.

(Sorry for so many photos — I’m the worst at that! I swear this is an edited down version of what I took …)

^^Views from the pier. There's mini-golf and sand volleyball -- it's pretty amazing! — ^^Views from the pier. There’s mini-golf and sand volleyball — it’s pretty amazing!

^^ So -- what's the theme? Can ya tell? Hint: I'm wearing a red wig! — ^^ So — what’s the theme? Can ya tell? Hint: I’m wearing a red wig!

^^ My adorable husband as the ... did you guess it? ... Skipper! — ^^ My adorable husband as the … did you guess it? Skipper!

^^ Freshman year JMU roommates -- go Dukes! — ^^ Freshman year JMU roommates — go Dukes! (P.S. The red wig is so weird on me!)

^^ Thurston Howell, III. In all his glory.

^^ Ellis Island in the setting sun. Gorgeous.

^^We were all fascinated with that gorgeous boat in the background. It looked so fancy and old-school!

^^Towing the line. Or rowing the hoe. I may not have picked up on any nautical terms during this little adventure.

^^ Coming back into the harbor, we noticed the Empire State Building was purple and pink. So fun!

^^ After our sail we sat at the picnic tables near the water and ate the chocolate cake Carla had baked for Ryan. A perfect way to end the evening!

That’s it, friends. This weekend we’ve got the Mets game on tap for tomorrow night for another friend’s birthday and a winery on Saturday with family. Bis bald everyone — hope you all have fun things planned!