Big Apple Fun with Mom and Dad

Illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker. Images by Thinkstock.

It's always a fun adventure when visitors come to the Big Apple for a few days.  Especially when those visitors are family!  Mom and Dad spent a long weekend finding plenty of new things to do and sites to see. We began with an early birthday celebration for Mom.  Might as well celebrate for the whole month, right? :)

The next day, we stopped inside the Chrysler Building to admire the art work that adorns the walls.  We also made our way over to the birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt, but it was closed for renovations.  Guess we'll know where to go next time they visit!

In the afternoon, we came upon mounds of snow along the sidewalk.  Not too strange for April THIS year, but quite bizzare on such a lovely day.  We discovered it was being created by a huge truck for use in the filming of a commercial.  Gotta love New York!  We finally made our way to Washington Square Park and ultimately the Angelica theater for a fun flick - Hello, My Name is Doris.  Sally Fields is a hoot in it!  Later, we ventured over to the Village Underground via Comedy Cellar for a night of non-stop laughs...and surprisingly tasty food!  We were excited to see a few comics we recognized from America's Got Talent and Last Comic Standing.  Definitely a fun time!

We stayed in Queens for most of Saturday as we visited the Museum of the Moving Image.  We all enjoyed the interactive exhibits and hanging out in Tut's Theater.  We even found a cupcake shop with movie themed treats.  We tried Little Rascals (s'mores), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (traditional chocolate), and Vanilla Sky (traditional vanilla).  All great choices!

Saturday night, we hit the Metropolitan Opera for L'Elisir d'Amore.  Since none of us speak Italian, it was a most pleasant surprise to find screens at each seat to translate the songs.  It was a comedic opera that had several funny scenes.  A love story gone awry.  And a neat experience for all of us!

We took it easy on Sunday.  We had plans to roam around Central Park, but the weather took a turn for the worst so we decided to stay indoors instead.  That evening, we made our way over to the New World Stages for a performance of The Woodsman.  Dad's request to see this show was the impetus for the whole trip.  It was quite a unique performance.  I enjoyed the collaborative creative efforts of the cast to come together to bring this play to life.  And, now we know how the tin man lost his heart!

We headed over to Junior's for some yummy cheesecake dessert after the show.  As we took a short cut in the middle of the avenue, we ran smack dab into another set of visitors from my home county.  The odds of that happening have to be extremely slim - a true chance encounter!

Do you enjoy being a tourist in your own city?

Andrea :)