more NY

On Thursday we stayed local -- we enjoyed the hotel's lavish buffet breakfast, the kids played in the swimming pool, we worked out in the hotel gym, the boys played soccer in the park, the girls got manicures with Grandma, and we did some window/clothes shopping in town.

Joe was the goalie, and Steve, Seb, Joseph, Jake, and Rylan all played, in shifting team variations.

We had a fancy dinner in the Red Salt restaurant in the hotel, celebrating mom's December 75th birthday, Dad's upcoming 80th birthday, and being together again.

Friday was a travel day, as we collectively moved from Garden City to Woodloch Resort in the Poconos. Our family stopped in the West Village to get bagels and lox at Russ and Daughters, and wander some old haunts, and in Irvington, to see our former apartment and the parks in town. 

 

 

On Main Street in Irvington, in front of our former building. There was our apartment, on the second floor!

 

On the Old Croton Aqueduct trail, my favorite place to walk and bike and be when we lived in the Rivertowns.

The new Tappan Zee bridge -- actually now the Mario Cuomo bridge -- they built the new bridge and then demolished the old one.

They've replaced the old wooden playground with a very nice new structure, which made us all unreasonably sad.

NYC day

On Thursday we drove into the city for a tour of the holiday sights: Columbus Circle, Central Park, Times Square, the tree at Rockefeller Center, the windows at Saks Fifth Ave, Grand Central teminal, the NY Public Library, Bryant Park, and Radio City music hall. It was a bit of a forced march at times - we had to teach the kids how to keep their elbows out and defend their space - but it was terrific. We got really lucky with the weather -- cool and clear skies -- and were so happy to have Trish and her kids along with us. 

At 5, we met up with the rest of the family -- Mary and Joe and their boys, George, Tom and Rio, and mom and dad Raab -- for an Italian dinner in midtown.

And then Liesl and I had the most amazing special treat: tickets to see the New York City Ballet performance of The Nutcracker. Steve surprised us on Christmas morning with last-minute tickets, to replace our sadly cancelled OBT experience. Such an amazing gift, and so amazing to see the NYCB at Lincoln Center.

Steve and Seb, meanwhile, rode the subway down to the World Trade Center to see the new Oculus train terminal and buildings, and then up to Penn Station to see the remodeled Moynihan station.

Raab family!

We flew to New York on Monday the 26th, arriving at JFK quite late and meeting everyone at a hotel in Garden City. Tom and Angie and Rio are here; Trish with Hana and Jake; mom and dad Raab. Mary and Joe joined us on Weds night, and we've seen George twice for dinners. It's wonderful to see everyone again after three years. The kids are all so much older and taller and it's fun watching my two reconnect with their East coast cousins.

On Tuesday, we slept late, ate the hotel breakfast buffet, and then the kids swam in the pool. And then we drove out to Commack to Mary and Joe's house for a very festive dinner. Along the way, we stopped at Steve's high school for a commemorative photo.

The above photo: the boys watching soccer. Below: Mary and Joe have two puppies; one of them, Luna, took an instant shine to Seb.

The family coordinated to create a slideshow for Mom Raab -- sweet messages and photos from all of her kids and grandkids

 

The boys played soccer outside - Steve and Tom along with Seb, Joseph, and Jake. No one sustained any permanent injuries to their knees, ankles, or pride.