April Staycation!

Last week, Mom and Dad came up for a long weekend!

Usually I don't take any time off work when they visit. They can navigate the city well enough on their own by now. (slash with my detailed itineraries?) But because it had been so long since they were both able to visit at the same time, I decided I needed a few days off to hang with them.

Staycation. Totally worth it.

We spent 4 days playing in the city. The weather semi-cooperated and we had such a fantastic weekend. And while I expected to be a bit stressy, as I always am when I'm in charge of visitors, I'm happy to say that the weekend was quite stressy free. I'm learning. :)

Of course me and Mom had planned out our entire weekend itinerary. Because we are planners and that's just what we do. We make plans. And Daddy just goes along with them. This trip, we planned early, so we had lots of fun things on the agenda.

First up, a lil boat cruise around the island. I know, I know, it doesn't sound super exciting. But on this 70 degree sunshiney Thursday, it was the perfect way to enjoy the weather and see Manhattan. I didn't even have to make them walk the entire city this time. I believe they appreciated that part.

me and mom on the boat!

Gracie Mansion - The Mayor's house - And Carl Schultz Park, a few blocks from my UES apartment.

And I may have gotten a little (read: a lot) sunburned. When will I ever learn?

We went to see Jersey Boys on Broadway. (Finally! It's been on my list forever!) It was just as wonderful as I thought it would be. Glad I splurged a lil bit on the better seats. Because according to Dad, "That's the best show you've ever taken us to!" Win!


Friday we hopped on the 5 train up to the Bronx Zoo. I can't even tell you the last time I went to the zoo. Maybe in High School? Or Middle School even? I have no idea. But we'd heard good things, and I like animals, so to the Bronx we went!

I honestly can't remember what this guy is called. But I liked my creative photography from inside the cave.

Gorillas are pretty funny.

Was this before or after I bought a diet coke from a lady who told me my yellow shirt made me look like I was glowing?

Lions!

And Tigers! On Tiger Mountain!

And Polar Bears!

And this lil guy. A Red Panda. He was cute.

After our zoo adventure, I think Mom and Dad were all walked out. But we had late dinner ressie's at Little Owl that I made 4 weeks ago and have been looking forward to for months. So suck it up, we're going downtown for delicious dinner! I mean, maybe. If we can get there. The 1 train has decided not to run? And in the rain? And where are we?

But, oh. was. it. delicious!

Cheers to delicious dinner! And a fun NYC weekend!

And this is Daddy's Root Beer Float dessert. I had beignets. With Nutella. Delightful.

Oh, and the Texas Rangers also happened to be in town playing the Yankees this weekend. For whatever reason, Dad didn't realize they were here. By the time he realized, he forced me to try and google last minute tickets to the game. Little did he know that Mom and I had already taken care of the ticket situation. See, we're quite the planners. Surprise Daddy!


Next time though, I request a lil sunshine with my Yankees tickets. It was freezing. My arms were still radiating heat from a 2-day old sunburn, yet suddenly it was freezing. Figures.

And then on Sunday after brunch, we headed over to Brooklyn to browse the Brooklyn Flea Market. After my own flea adventures with Bethany, I had been hoping to get Mom out there to visit the old Williamsburg Bank building and search for more treasures. She loved it. Just like I knew she would.


Oh and Daddy took me to Wankel's Hardware on 87th street to purchase a new screwdriver. Mine broke. And who knows where to buy a screwdriver? And there are just too many to choose from. How do you know which is best? These are things I miss about having my Dad around. He takes care of me.

And then the weekend was over. I put Mom and Dad into a cab, LGA-bound and headed to the gym to work off the ridiculous amounts of carbs consumed over the weekend.

But like I said, worth every minute.