This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Vacation Recap, PA/NY, Part III
Oct
19
2017
We took a week to visit famous places in Pennsylvania and New York (specifically Philadelphia and Manhattan).
Day 4
Woke up and went down to the main floor for breakfast. The breakfast had a lot of options, including a few microwaves so you could heat things to your own satisfaction.
Then we got ready for the day. The plan was to pack up and head out of Philly, spend the day at Diggerland USA, and end up at our hotel in NYC for dinner.
It took a few trips to the parking garage to get the van loaded. Kids were well-fed from the hotel breakfast, and it was only 30-45 minutes away, so we were in good shape.
Only problem – it was about 100 degrees out.
When planning the trip, I saw that walk-in prices were $37 per person, but $32 if you buy online. I waited to buy online and was going to do it on the trip, since I could show them my phone or whatever instead of having to print out tickets. But while we were in Philly, we grabbed a brochure for Diggerland and it had a $27 admission coupon. So I grabbed 5 more, in order to get the whole family’s tickets for that price.
At the ticket counter at Diggerland, the lady just scanned one coupon 6 times and mentioned that I didn’t need the other 5. So if you do head to Diggerland, stop by some tourist attraction in Philadelphia and get a coupon first. It’s a better deal than buying online.
We made it inside and saw that we would probably not spend all day at the park. It is not that big. We wandered over to the ropes course, since the kids weren’t sure where to start first.
Our older three kids were tall enough to be by themselves on the course, but our littlest had to have me accompany him. He was unsure at first, but once we got up there he was zipping all over the place. He still needed my help from time to time, but no fear even at 4 stories high.
After climbing all over the course, everyone was done and we climbed down.
Then it was off to the diggers. We walked that way, but the little boys were distracted by the lift ride.
The point of this ride is that you get on a platform with seats, about 8-10 people, then the crane lifts the platform up high. Then you come back down.
Here’s the view from the top:
I think it was at this point that we went for lunch. We opted to pack our lunch and eat it in the van because we didn’t want to pay amusement-park prices for amusement-park food. Since it was hot and humid, we sat in the van while it idled so the AC could function. It was a nice break.
Back then to Diggerland, to try the things we hadn’t gotten to yet (most of the park).
There were race cars for the little ones:
and diggers for everyone:
We also rode in the off-road military-type truck and something else, but I don’t have photos from that.
We did not ride the carousel.
That was amusing to watch because they just attached a ring of hanging buckets to a excavator. Then the ride is that the operator gets in the excavator and spins the cab, and that causes the carousel to go.
It was so very hot outside. I think there was an attraction or two that we missed because people were just ready to be done. So we packed up and headed off to NYC. Actually, I think there wasn’t anything to pack. We got in the van, turned up the AC, and headed out, stopping at 7-11 for the boys’ first experience with Slurpees. “I know there’s a bigger size, but we are going to be in the van for the next couple of hours, so no you do not get that.”
We drove a short distance and stopped at Wegman’s for supplies. Always gotta stop at Wegman’s if there’s one nearby. We knew the NYC hotel had a fridge, so we could stock up on some things.
Then back on the road to get to Manhattan. Note if you’re planning a drive around the east coast and/or Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania: be sure to get an EZ-Pass toll thingy. It makes your life much easier.
We were using our phone’s navigation feature to help get us there. I knew in general what route to take, but it’s nice having the nav for backup. We got close enough to see the Manhattan skyline, so we pointed that out to the boys and tried to get them familiar with our destination. The nav said our hotel was 5 miles away, and our estimated travel time was 70 minutes.
“That can’t be right.”
“That’s what it says…”
Shortly after that, we approached the exit off I-95 to get on 495 to take us to the Lincoln tunnel. If you ever look at the traffic feature on the online maps, you will see they reserve a special shade of red for that stretch of road. I didn’t notice that before the trip. I chose the Lincoln tunnel because it was just a few blocks from our hotel and that meant minimal driving in Manhattan itself. I don’t know if it was a good tradeoff.
I will say the nav estimate was fairly close. Did I mention this was around 5:00 pm on a Friday?
After a long creep toward the Lincoln tunnel, the drive through the tunnel and up 10th avenue was rather normal.
We got to the hotel and pulled into the parking garage. I knew it had a parking garage – that was one of the reasons I chose it. And only $10/day, about 4x cheaper than Philly.
What I didn’t know is that it was valet-only.
We did not pack the van in such a manner as to easily and quickly unload. I had planned to park in a spot and make a couple of trips back to the van, since that’s what usually happens.
There was no one behind us when we pulled in. The in-ramp was down, below street level. We pulled in, confirmed with the valet that there were no other options, so everyone piled out. I opened the back of the van and half our stuff fell out, including some paper plates and plasticware that we were supposed to use over the next couple days.
There was a line of 3 cars now behind us, so everyone was scrambling to get their bags and the food stuff we just bought and don’t forget the swimsuit bag.
We left the van with the valet and headed into the hotel. The Skyline hotel looks nice in photos, and I’m sure it was nice when it was last remodeled, but I think that has been a while. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, it just felt like it was trying too hard to appear fancy. I think in our case, it got two strikes against for first impressions. The first strike was the surprise valet, leading to our chaotic exit from the van.
The second strike occurred when we got in the room and Some Wife started to put together dinner from the Wegman’s stop.
She was unpleasantly surprised to learn the room didn’t have a microwave. She called the front desk and confirmed that there was no microwave. Not even anywhere in the hotel. So we had some cold popcorn chicken and cold mac’n’cheese and some uncooked other things.
We later checked the hotel website and realized the hotel never claimed to have a microwave in the room. It’s just that it was a family suite and had a fridge so we assumed microwave.
Both those things were not bad if we had known and planned for them. But to be hit with those two surprises right off the bat was not a good start to NYC.
Then it was off to bed, plus more HGTV.
To Be Continued …
Dig a hole through the wall in their sight and go out through it.
Ezekiel 12:5
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 6:20 am and has been carefully placed in the Travel category.
