NY, NY: Our Toddlers take on the Big Apple

This is Part I of the New York City Travel Series

 

OUR AMTRAK pulled into New York Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station right on time. I don’t know how they did it. We were about 40 minutes late leaving Boston, where we’d spent a delightful visit with family, but somehow the engineer had put the pedal to the metal and shot us through some fine country sites of New England countryside to reach the Big Apple in roughly four hours.

We rattled about gathering our stroller and luggage, much to the strained patience of other passengers (“if the train’s stopped, you get off!”—maybe we weren’t quite as back on schedule as I thought) and then tumbled off into the sea of people milling the platform.

Okay, we told ourselves. This is the big leagues. Boston’s subways were nada compared to this.

I had a lot of mixed emotions coming back to NYC. You know that feeling you get when you visit a place you haven’t been to in a really long time, and there’s that odd pull of constantly looking for things you remember and then being overcome by all that’s changed. The last time I’d been a child visiting grandparents over in Long Island, and I distinctly remembered the vintage colonial that stretched up and up to three stories, the way the home would get overwhelmingly hot in the muggy grips of summer, and an outrageous green staircase. I remembered the classic train stations, the Empire State Building, and a beach where I’d been bowled over by a giant wave and had to spend the next week feverish in Grandma’s bed with a splitting ear infection.

This time we were doing the ultimate tourist extravaganza in Manhattan with the next generation, and we were going to see it all. The Statue of Liberty. Central Park. Museum of Natural History. Did I mention the “next generation” were toddlers?

So there we were, standing on the sidewalk and trying to keep walking like we knew where we were going while surreptitiously checking our Google Maps. The hotel was only a 16 minute walk away but my God, the traffic. My God, the people. So we joined the throng waiting for a taxi (31st Street midblock between 8th and 9th Aves). There was plenty to be entertained by while we waited, like our first taxi driver brawl (no cutting in line, folks, you will be called out). The poor guy helping passengers load into their taxis was like a conductor, turning the warmth of his smile on us sweaty and tired tourists while at the same time dancing around catching one taxi that tried to zoom away with the trunk wide open, breaking up fights, and reminding the drivers there would be no sass or they could take a hike. He saw the size of our group and got us a taxi van lickety-split. We were off. At a snail’s crawl. Tons of construction up and down streets; another one closed off for an event. Out comes the phone to show a marathon of Bluey to the displeased toddlers. So in double the time it would have taken walking, we arrived at our esteemed hotel. Step One, done!

There was a playground nearby, and we stocked up on food at Whole Foods—I recommend the smoothies. The hotel had graciously given us a fridge stocked completely with alcohol. We politely informed them that our ask of a minifridge was because we had little kids, and they shuttled a much smaller, but empty one up to us.

But who wants to eat in when there’s so much to see, so much to try! I will say the Australian-flair Bourke Street Bakery on 28^th Street completely stole our hearts. A perfect mix of savory breakfast rolls, decadent croissants, and this truly excellent Culture Coffee plus great customer service had us coming back more than once.

And where else to go first but the American Museum of Natural History!

Let me tell you: we severely underestimated the size of this place. We thought all the time would be spent at the dinosaurs. So there we were, lazing our way past these awesome fossils (gawking at how much we’d forgotten since elementary school). Did you know about the Titansaur? This Cretaceous period giant is so long its neck stretched clear out of the room! It was great. Then we stumbled into the life-like mammal exhibits. Then we come face to face with a blue whale suspended from the ceiling in a marine exhibit that seemed the size of a football field. (You see where this is going, don’t you—yes, nap time was definitely in jeopardy).

So our youngest passed out in the gemstone exhibit, which was filled with brilliant jewels of every kind and size, including a sixteen foot amethyst. We’ve maybe seen a quarter of the place. It’s giant, truly impressive. Really plan for a whole day.

However, with six days to spare, we were off to Central Park, which is right across the street. It was time to run for miles! (yes, the youngest was up now). Again, this is another place that we truly enjoyed and could have easily spent the whole day there. In the space of a couple hours, we stumbled upon Belvedere Castle, a beautiful overlook first built in 1872 that overlooks the Turtle Pond and the Great Lawn. Everyone was out enjoying the beautiful day on Great Lawn with plenty of games, plus we checked out Cleopatra’s Obelisk which carries Egyptian hieroglyphics. Coming back, we found what we thought was the famous tunnel bridge from Home Alone 2 but later discovered it is more toward the far south of the park.

Catching the subway back downtown was... interesting. Rush hour was in full swing, but luckily we had two very tuckered out kids, and one hardened New Yorker appointed himself our guardian and made sure everyone gave us room to exit. The hardest part was trying to find an elevator for the stroller. At one point, we got out of the subway, waited until the crowd died down, and then manhandled that stroller up two flights of stairs as stealthily as we could (can’t wake the toddler!) No, elevators are not standard at every stop.

As such, an early night! Just as I was falling asleep, I caught the forecast for our upcoming day at Statue of Liberty: rain… (To be continued)

Disclaimer: The above is depicted as fiction, not fact.

 

 

Suncadia in the Off Season (Cle Elum, Washington)

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A GRAND WINTER ESCAPE to the mountains. The scent of pine and Douglas fir, the scrape of skis over crisp powder, and only the sound of your lungs pumping in fresh, crystalline air for miles around. Except this time, we took the drive over Snoqualmie Pass and there was no snow. A few downhill skiers had staked out what little snow was left on the ski runs, but cutting down into Cle Elum, it was high and dry.

This is visiting in late February.

Suncadia Resort is affiliated with Hyatt. For those looking for a closer cross country ski haven than the legendary Methow Valley in Central Washington, it’s only about 1.5 hours from Seattle area. As we came down the drive, it felt like we were entering a gated community. Houses flanked the main drive left and right, much of it recent construction. We passed the Swim and Fitness Center which offers outdoor pools and hot tubs of all temperatures, an indoor option, and two massively fun waterslides. A short distance away was the main lodge where we were staying.

I’m telling you, the view is quite jaw-dropping. Walking into the hotel, you’re met with a dizzyingly beautiful panorama of the Cascades plunging into a deep valley, of which a river and old bridge run through. The second outdoor pool is fastened to this cliff overlooking it all and is open until 10 PM, so you can add dazzling stars to the list as well. There are tons of trails in back of the hotel but be prepared for cliffs. It’s quite a drop off. There are also a couple of firepits. The hotel puts out everything you need for making s’mores around 7 PM.

The rooms are comfortable, some offering kitchenettes, in addition to three restaurants around the Suncadia Resort, and a quick grab-and-go eatery inside the main lodge. Safeway at Cle Elum is a quick stop from here, and Roslyn also isn’t far away for some additional restaurant options.

I imagine if there was snow, it would be a great family cross country trek to Nelson Farms. We still visited by car, because there is a wonderful playground, and the nearby farm owners were nice enough to let us explore their property. It looks to be mainly for special events, but there’s fun little tractors and hay bales for littles to climb.

However, we were on a mission to find snow, damnit, and find it we did—we drove to Salmon le Sac Sno-Park (pass required). Most cars were lined up off the main road, but there was also a sign on the right pointing into a parking lot. There was still snow, albeit, a bit wet and dirty, leading off into the woods. Luckily for us, we had little kids who were more interested in sledding. The small slopes next to the parking lot were the perfect size for them.

Then it was back to the lodge to get in our swimsuits—it was a brisk trek to get over to the Swim and Fitness Center, but we had the entire pool to ourselves. Us grown ups got the chance to try out those fun water slides, zero line. Perks of going in the off season! Plus with the s’mores under the heavens at night—you really feel like you have the entire Cascades to yourself. However, maybe next time, would recommend a bit earlier in the year.

Disclaimer: the above is depicted as fiction and not fact.

February 2026 Book Review - Fourth Wing

 

Fourth Wing
By Rebecca Yarros
The Empyrean Series #1

 

Warning! Spoilers!

 

IMAGINE Harry Potter without the professors. Eragon without the complex relationship with Sapphira. Any of the enemies-t0-lovers paranormal novels out there without the actual enemy part. That’s Fourth Wing.

I’ll admit, the first third of the book had me hooked. There’s nothing cooler than a badass dragon school. Violet is the daughter of a high-ranking military leader forced to undergo the dragon rider trials at her mother’s whim, rather than become a scribe like her father. She’s weak, unprepared, and hurting because her brother died while serving as a dragon rider. Xaden is introduced as the son of the enemy, forcibly conscripted into the army to make amends for his family’s betrayal. There’s also the hostile Jack Barlowe, who hates Violet’s guts for some reason. There’s peppy friends and some differentiation between dragon species, and no shortage of tribulations.

However, the strong start quickly nosedives into erotica fanfiction land. The world-building is flimsy and unmemorable. Why these age-old super powerful dragons submit to humans at all is a mystery. Violet’s determination to get into Xaden’s pants becomes the sole driving relationship, and every other character blurs into the same person—a Team Violet cheerleader, or a Violet Hater for paper thin reasons. Xaden is supposed to despise Violet. Her mother killed his family. However, despite this initial chapter stating this, there’s never any showdown between them, no real hatred. That’s saved for Jack, who despises Violet without any development or deeper understanding of why. It makes the tension between Violet and Xaden spaghetti-noodle-limp, and Jack’s vendetta a big yawn. You just don’t care.

Plus, the professors who are responsible for running this school (with its high student mortality rate) aren’t present at all. Not one of them is memorable the way Professor Snape or McGonagall was in Harry Potter. If you’re going to have a dragon rider school, at least give the professors some real personality and a stronger mentor relationship agenda with Violet. Instead, it’s the older students teaching the younger cadets everything.

The dragons were the best part by far. I did like the twist that Violet became bonded to two dragons. What if they were at odds with each other? Had different philosophies? However, we barely get any time exploring dragon society. For some reason, bonding with a dragon isn’t enough—they also give our intrepid heroes superpowers. Violet gets lightning and another super-special power, so now the stakes of her dying are at an all-time low. At least give her the taboo mind-reading power which is a death sentence in this society. Instead, there just aren’t any stakes, and by the end, I was bored. The casual modern-day dialog in a medieval setting also continued to remind that this was just soft serve with dragons thrown in.

The baddies show up the last few chapters. They are mean.

Overall, I don’t see how this plot could survive four more novels. Considering the price of books these days, there’s probably better fanfiction out there. Read for an airplane novel, but otherwise, recommend skip. 

Recommended for fans: Sarah J Maas, Stephanie Meyer, Colleen Houck