Whirlwind weekend in NYC / NJ

Cole and I  made some for a guys weekend.    I booked the trip back in April soon after Laura and I saw Springsteen in Atlanta.   We both knew that Cole needed to experience a concert like that once in his lifetime.  Plus, I wanted to do something special for a kid who normally gets brushed aside due to all the activities that take control of our lives so I got our tickets and we've been counting down the days ever since.   Anyway....  We had a Blast.

He was up really early Friday morning just so excited to get on a plane.   What's great is, that no matter how old and mature we think Cole is, he's 9, he is still young and immature, if that makes sense.   He can hold his own in any conversation but at the same time, he's just a kid.  It was great to see things through his eyes.   From the airport train to the flight itself, he was wide eyed.   The questions did not stop.  Are we going to do this ?  When do we go to this?  Will we see this or that or them? 

As soon as we arrived, we hopped into a car and headed up to see Mimi.   He was really excited to see her new place.   We picked up some really good Sicilian Pizza and it made for a really good visit.     Then it was off to the show...

Cole got to experience or at least see how REAL tailgating takes place.   It was fun walking around Giants Stadium, seeing the sights, smelling the brats, sausage and peppers and everything else.    We went into the stadium early to grab our seats and by the time Bruce came on stage around 8:15, it looked like Cole was going to fade.  He was so tired but once the concert started, he got his 2nd wind.    The show itself was amazing.  

You can check out the reviews on NJ.com or  Backstreets.com but the bottom line was this. Energy, Energy, Energy.    The highlight for most in the crowd was playing Darkness on the Edge of Town, which was performed for only the second time ever in full album sequence, and it was awesome.   This was the first show I've ever seen where it was a party atmosphere all night and songs were all about fun.  The place was rocking when he played Elvis's Jailhouse Rock and Cole was laughing and dancing along.  During Thunder Road - To hear 55,000 people sing along was magical.    The fireworks during American Land was very cool.   We knew it was getting close to ending but there were 2 more songs to go.  Cole and I started to head for the door during Dancing in the Dark but then they showed Little Stevie on the big screen pointing to a sign in the crowd. Bruce read it out loud: "Eli Manning called. He wants Rosalita!"  and that was an incredible end to a great night.

We woke up early Saturday morning because we had Ferry tickets to the Statue of Liberty. We stopped at Ellis Island fist and toured the museum.  It was very interesting and we learned a log.  We tried to visit the area where you can look up your ancestors but unfortunately it was closed.  

Our next stop was Lady Liberty.   This was really cool.   We had pedestal access and easily managed the 153 steps up to the observation level.   It was overcast but we still had great views of the Verrazano Narrows, the Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge.    

Then it was off to NYC.     We drove through the Holland Tunnel and parked up by 56th street.   Since we did not have a lot of time, we decided to play tourist in the Theater District / Times Square area.   Lunch was at the world famous Carnegie Deli.   - WOW!

The rain seemed to be letting up so we walked back to our car and headed over to the Bronx to check out the new Yankee Stadium.   Words alone can not describe how awesome that building is.  It was a bit surreal to see the old Yankee stadium right next door ready for demo.   Lots of memories came back to me and I remember going to many Opening Day games with my dad so it was great to share that with Cole.    We hit just about every souvenir shop before he was able to make a decision on what to buy. (a miniature bat with commemorative logo).

As we started towards Times Square, the rains came. It definitely put a kink into our plans but we had a lot of fun. We walked around taking in all the sites, people and things going on all around us. Visited to Toys R Us ("This is AWESOME", M&M world "Mommy would love this place" and of course Modell's "Can I get Noah a Derek Jeter Shirt?" In all we spent about 3 hours walking around just taking it all in.

 

Then it was off to see, "the Godfather".    As tired as he was, he was really excited to visit Uncle Eddie.     We got to spent a few hours visiting the family and Cole and Dailey got along great.  Both Aiden and Dailey have grown so much.

Sunday am - Heading home today but not before taking Cole to the Tick Tock Diner  http://www.tictockdiner.com/ for some breakfast.   This was Cole's first time experiencing Disco Fries. (Fries with Cheese and Gravy)  - Yum!

We crammed as much as possible into a little time but it was well worth it.   Not only did we have a good time visiting places and seeing things, but we also had a lot of fun just hanging out.