Everything about day 2 in New York City is my absolute favourite! Even though it was super hot again and I was already sun burnt, everything we saw and did that day was amazing. From the Top of the Rock to Central Park, I honestly could not narrow down what I enjoyed the most. The only teeny, tiny downside to our final full day in NYC was when I got heat stroke towards the end of the day and ended up with a migraine and throwing up into a plastic bag while on the way bag from a Walmart run BUT even despite that little incident, we still had a blast!

No trip to New York is complete without going up to the top deck of the Empire State building, however; thanks to my endless Pinterest research, I had read a lot from travel bloggers and NYC locals that the Top of the Rock has just as stunning views and many of them had said that they enjoyed Top of the Rock more because you could actually get the Empire State building in the background of your pictures. I knew I wanted to do one or the other and I really liked the idea of having the Empire State building visible so decision made! Everyone else seemed fine with this decision- at least I hope they were!- so on Friday while we were close to the Rockefeller Center, we popped in and bought our mid-morning tickets for the next day. Thanks to Nate and his stroller, we got to bypass the long line of stair walkers and headed straight for the elevator. We wandered through the rooms that gave details and history about the Rockefeller family and had a typical ‘tourist’ picture taken sitting on a metal framing beam with an NYC skyline back drop then was the incredible 42 second elevator ride up to the 67th floor which contains the first observation deck. Nate, who was starting to get a little hangry by this point in the morning, was in complete awe of this. I wish I had gotten a picture of his face as we soared upwards but I was completely taken aback by it as well.

Once we got out onto the 67th floor, we walked around, observed the views through the glass windows, and took a few pictures before going up even higher. 70 floors up from the ground was where my love for this city really took roots. It. Was. Beautiful! I wish I had the words to describe just how breathtaking I found it all because it was a moment I’ll never forget. From seeing Central Park, to the Empire State building, to the small figure of the Statue of Liberty in the distance; everything about this experience was something to behold. Despite being a little hazy, the views were still spectacular. It was by far one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. Nate on the other hand, was not feeling it. I think he was just overly tired from the past two days and although he had eaten before we left the hotel, he definitely needed some refueling before the rest of the day.

 

^^^This is what ‘hangry’ looks like for Nate.

So after taking in those fabulous views and knowing that Nate was about five minutes away from losing his sh*t, we exited the elevator as quickly as possible in hopes of locating somewhere to grab something to eat quickly. As soon as we were under ground at one of the subway entrances, the heavens opened up and blessed us with a Starbucks! Oh thank God! I know that’s a tad dramatic but seriously, this child was actually starting to act possessed and as much as I love him, if he’s bordering on a meltdown, no one is safe! We all grabbed our coffees and I got Nate a chocolate milk and blueberry muffin which I’m fairly certain he just inhaled instead of bothering to chew.

Once he was satisfied and we no longer feared for all of mankind, we headed back out to the street and hopped onto our Top View bus. As you may have remembered from my last post, we had made the decision as a group to try and get onto the ferry over to Ellis Island for Saturday since we didn’t want to waste time on Friday, however; after chatting it over and determining what we wanted to really see, the ferry was cut from the day. I had really wanted to devote the majority of one day to Central Park and after seeing it from a bird’s eye view, there was no way I could spend less than three hours there so decision made. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will just have to wait until our next trip; whenever that may be. We took the bus uptown and headed towards Central Park.

I’ve always known Central Park was huge but I didn’t quite grasp just HOW massive it really is until I saw it from above. Jen and Bryan had decided to take a tour through one of the museums on our bus route so the three of us, myself, Kurt, and Nate headed into the park. Even though we had already done a TON of walking, well except for Nate, I still wanted to try and explore as much of Central Park as we possibly could. I was amazed at just how many people were actually in the park and yet it didn’t feel like it was overly crowded or busy. From cyclists, to runners, to walkers, to kids playing by the ponds or feeding the ducks, to people having picnics and just enjoying the weather; every where you turned you spotted someone and yet there was still plenty of room. We wandered around the paths and trails for a solid couple of hours. Even in the blazing sun and sweltering heat, it was still the best day of the trip for me. I loved watching Nate climb up the rocks and crawl in the grass. He could have spent forever in that park and never gotten bored, I’m sure of it! To be honest, I could have too! As much as I say I don’t think I could ever live in a big city like NYC, knowing there was a green space as big and as beautiful as Central Park, does make it a bit more tempting!

We didn’t do a whole lot in Central Park other than walk around and we didn’t make it all the way through the entire park for obvious reasons (it’s WAAAAY too big for only a few hours!) but it was still the highlight of the trip for me. And if we ever do go back to NYC, you can be damn sure we’ll be headed to the other side of the park that we didn’t get to see. So after meeting back up with Bryan and Jen, we slowly- and I mean slowly because our feet were super sore- walked back to downtown. After grabbing a slice of NYC pizza and dessert, we decided to call it a day. I think we were all beat at this point, and honestly this is when the day started turning for me. I was sun burnt beyond belief and although I tried to stay well hydrated, it’s hard being pregnant and being out in that sort of heat so I was more than ready to go back to the hotel and hop into a nice, cold shower to cool down. Unfortunately, there was one small barfing into a plastic bag incident that put a tiny damper on my otherwise perfect day but once I got some more fluids and Tylenol into my system, I was much, much happier and the evening turned back around!

^^^I was (and still am) OBSESSED with all the old architecture we saw. The majority of old buildings and especially the churches, were mesmerizing!

^^^He really is the best Daddy to Nate!

^^^He LOVES to smell all the pretty flowers 🙂

^^^Something about toddlers and water

^^^Even when he has melt downs or temper tantrums, this little cheesy smile he makes shortly afterwards ALWAYS breaks me down! He is the best little boy and he’s going to be the best big brother to baby Eli!

^^^Yummy!

And there you have it folks! Our two and a half days spent in New York City! It was a crazy, jammed packed weekend getaway but honestly, those are my favourite vacations! We still have so many places we want to see and experience but I know for sure NYC is on my list of go to places again. Thanks for reading and following along!