Skating Under the Stars and Other Shenanigans

For those of you have been following along, you’ll recall our last article ended with a delicious breakfast after braving the elements and the crowds to watch The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. After the short walk back to our VRBO, we were happy to see the kids had survived the night before and were up and watching the parade on TV.

Feast #1

We had a pretty relaxing afternoon planned and continued to watch the parade as Jill began to prepare our Thanksgiving feast. She did an excellent job with the limited cookware that we had on hand. Everything from the honey baked ham to the stuffing and mashed potatoes were just what we needed to fill our bellies as we settled in to watch our beloved Detroit Lions play in their traditional Thanksgiving Day game.

Game Day Sadness

It’s a good thing the feast was so fantastic because the performance that the Lions put on didn’t do anything for us to be thankful for. Fortunately for us we didn’t allow the outcome of the game to negatively affect our attitudes. We had one more evening left in the Big Apple and we were determined to make the most of it. After cleaning up from dinner, we had an afternoon repose and bundled up to head out for an evening of merriment.

Sipping the Best Hot Chocolate in NYC

Our first stop upon arriving back in Manhattan was the Bryant Park Holiday Market. Strolling around the shops whilst listening to Christmas Carols and sipping hot chocolate definitely put us into the Christmas spirit.

All the Holiday Lights

Strolling down 5th Avenue towards Rockefeller Center was next on the agenda. All of the shops were filled with beautiful Holiday displays but nothing could prepare us for what we saw at Saks Fifth Avenue. The light show was a dazzling array of sights and sounds and made me feel like a little kid anxiously awaiting the arrival of Christmas morning. This year’s show was Dior’s Carousel of Dreams at Saks. The show lasted about 4 minutes and played every ten minutes thru out the evening.

Tree Peeping

From here we made our way over to see the tree at Rockefeller Center. This year’s tree was an 80-foot tall Norway Spruce that was transported to New York City from Vestal, New York. Although the tree lighting wouldn’t take place until next week, it was still a sight to see topped with a 900-pound star with 70 spikes covered in 3 million Swarovski crystals.

A Little Street Food

We had a little time to kill before our assigned ice skating time so we wandered around the area and indulged in some street food. This was the first time the kids got to experience this and they ended up settling on hot dogs. Not what I would have chosen but hey…to each their own.

Skating Under the Stars

We had an assigned time of 10 pm for skating and We worked our way down to the basement of Rockefeller Center to get our skates. We had one hour of skate time reserved and although it was a little crowded, it seemed that this was the most fun the kids had during our time in New York. With Christmas music blaring and lights everywhere we looked, we made our way around and around on the rink, catching glimpses of the Rockefeller Tree and the Saks Light Show each time around. It was a truly magical moment in a week filled with magical moments.

Time Square and Feast #2

When our time to skate came to an end we took a stroll over to Times Square to find someplace to grab a bite to eat and something to drink. Although we usually avoid chain restaurants when traveling our options were somewhat limited with it being almost midnight on Thanksgiving. We ended up at a Yard House and it turned out to be the perfect spot for us. The food was yummy and the half yards of beer flowed as we reminisced about all that we had experienced over the past few days. A short subway ride had us back in LIC for a good night sleep before beginning the journey home.

The Sky Club and Our Last Birthday Celebration

With us heading back to Florida and the kids headed back to Michigan, we spent our last few hours together at the Delta Sky Club at JFK. It was the kid’s first time experiencing the Sky Club and I think they are forever spoiled. In addition to unlimited food and drink, the staff went out of their way and made a special birthday dessert for the girls and had everyone on the Sky deck singing Happy Birthday to them.

As we left the kids in the Sky Club to make our flight, our hearts were full and we knew that we made memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks so much for following along on our journey. Feel free to share our site with friends and family so they too can follow along on our next adventure!