New York Day 4

The first thing on the agenda for today is to take in the one observation deck. The one we choose to do was "The Summit". It had more things to do then the other ones and it was supposed to offer up some really good views of both the Empire States building and the Chrysler building. And it did not dissapoint.

We arrived at 1 Vanderbilt a little bit early so we decided to take a walk through Grand Central Station. It is literally next door. So we took in the building and the main terminal with the ceiling of astrological signs and the famous clock in the middle. It is really cool to be in there and think about all the times you saw that exact scene in movies or flash mobs.

When it was time we headed over to the Summit. It is a really cool experience. You get a band on your wrist that everything is tied to. When you first arrive they show you a short 1 -2 minute video of the "making of the building" type information. Then you go over and put on these slippers that cover your shoes. You need those for later. Then you go over to these weird camera type things, you scan your wristband and then it takes a picture of your face. It uses that picture to put your face into the clouds. It was pretty cool seeing all the faces in the clouds until you come to your kids and EVERY ONE IS MAKING A FACE!!! I guess I can't say much because I was making a face to. But COME ON!!! SOMEONE HAS TO HAVE SOME CLASS HERE.

Then you jump on the elevator up to the 91st floor.

The first floor is all mirrors. Mirrors on the roof and floor and walls. It gives you a pretty crazy effect. They warn you well ahead of time don't wear anything that could be too "revealing" and you can see why. I am just glad I wasn't wearing the skirt I had planned to wear this day (this is Justin by the way. WHAT?!?! I LIKE IT BREEZY!!)

The views are everything they tell you they are. Amazing. We got lots of photos. Jenny waas very happy with the view of the Chrysler Building.

The observation deck is actually 3 floors. Besides the room of mirrors and lights, there was another room full of silver balls that you can bat around. The kids had a lot of fun in there. Then there was a section that had a glass floor. They take your picture for you and then time you so you don't spend too much time on there. A group our size got 45 seconds where most other smaller groups only got 30. HA!!! SUCKERS!! Having tonnes of kids has finally paid off.

So in our 45 seconds we could take a couple more shots and then it is off to the next room.

As you enter the next room, you scan your wrist bands and it tells the AI overlords you are entering the room. In that room it is like you are flying through the clouds and since it knows you are in the room, it queues up your faces in the clouds. Again... it isn't hard to tell which ones are our family.

The final floor is the roof top terrace where you get to be outside. After a few more photos, our deck time came to an end so we went back down the elevator and hit the streets looking for food.

I was craving some sushi and some of the other kids said they would love to get some noodles so we ended up at Sushi Co. It had a little of everything for everyone and everyone seemed happy with their meal.

Then we jumped on the subway and headed all the way up to Times Square so we could try and get some matinee tickets for a broadway show. We were expecting there to be a long line and we were stealing ourselves to just wait it out but there was like nobody in line. So we just walked up and picked our show. We had heard some really good things about Water For Elephants and that show also stars a Regina boy so we went with it. This was just after 2pm with the Matinee starting at 3. So we just ended up going straight over to the theatre and getting settled in our seats.

It was a much older theatre than the one the Great Gatsby was in. It had some old charm to it but the seats were a bit squishy and it was FREEZING cold. We were at the back of the Orchestra which was alright. We looked later on and they were $180 tickets that we got for $89. So that isn't too bad. There was nobody for 2 rows in front of us so we were even able to move forward a couple of rows at intermission.

The show was amazing even if our Regina boy wasn't in this show and the main guy (Grant Gustin) also wasn't performing. But the girl was the main lead and all the rest of the crew seemed like the main cast. They almost needed to be though as there was so much acrobatic stunts and crazy things that I would think you would need the main people to do them. Anywho, it was a great show. The replacement actors did amazing too. We loved it.

Then we headed back to the hotel for a little bit of a siesta. We didn't want our day to end though so we rustled ourselves back up and caught the subway up to the upper west side to take a walk around Lincoln Center. Since we have so many performers in the family, we figured it would be inspiring.

And Lincoln Centre is right next to Julliard so it was cool to see the school, even if it was only from the outside. We relaxed for a bit on the roof of a building that sloped down to the ground and it had grass growing on it. It made the kids feel a little like they were back in Regina just laying on the ground and looking up at the sky. I think it might have made them just a little homesick.

Afterwards we decided to try and do one more thing. We walked back down to just south of the park to take a look at Carnagie Hall. But when we got there, the entire exterior was covered in a wrap and scaffolding as they do some renovations on the place. So that was a bit dissapointed. But Caden was looking at the upcoming acts and got really excited about some guy who was directing some orchestra as they play some song. Oh... and there was some Piano player playing with them. I guess it was a big deal. Who knows. But that wasn't until October anyway so he then got sad he couldn't go. Fickle emotions on that kid.

By then it was dark so we jumped on the subway and headed back to the hotel for the night. I wish I could share more pictures as the 10 picture limit is just not enough but you will just have to take our word that the views were amazing. And come over some time and see the rest of them. That is all for now.

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