Visiting Grandpa in NYC

This weekend my dad had a conference in Jersey City, so Nolan and I hopped on a train to meet him on Friday morning. (Justin was supposed to have work off, but unfortunately they scheduled something for him last minute---argh!) Dad picked us up at Penn Station, we grabbed breakfast, and then headed to Central Park to walk around.

We quickly ran into this trio playing jazz music and stopped to listen for a few songs.  And Nolan had already schmoozed Grandpa into buying him an ice cream. 

Then we walked over to Belvedere Castle.

About this time Nolan saw some people rowing a boat, and told Grandpa we needed to find the boats.  So off we went to find them.

The Bethesda Fountain and Terrace

Not too far away from the Bethesda Terrace is the Loeb Boathouse--which is where you can rent the row boats. It was a very modest price for NYC ($12/hour), so we jumped right in. 

Grandpa let Nolan help with the rowing.

The lake was neon green, currently experiencing an algae bloom, and there were many others on the lake enjoying the beautiful weather. Luckily Grandpa did enough rowing that we didn't crash into anyone.

Nolan had such a great time rowing the boat.

It was about time for lunch, so we headed to Jersey City for a bite to eat and a nap in the hotel. Afterwards we took a stroll along the boardwalk and looked at NYC buildings.

Friday night Justin drove down to meet us in Jersey City.  Later that night Justin and I strolled along the boardwalk (while Dad watched Nolan) and saw the city lights--very pretty, but we forgot the camera.

Saturday morning while my dad was at his conference, Justin, Nolan, and I went to visit the Statue of Liberty.  They were still making repairs from Hurricane Sandy when we visited in May, so we jumped at the chance to see it this time around.  Unfortunately, Ellis Island was still undergoing repairs and had not been reopened.

Ellis Island and the Statue from the ferry.

Once we got on the island we headed straight to the monument.  We climbed the 192 steps up to the pedestal observation deck. 

We were not able to reserve tickets to go up into the crown, but I'm not sure I would have made it the additional 162 steps.

After we visited the island, we headed back to Jersey City, had lunch and walked through the mall before my dad had to go to the airport.  I loved the short visit with my dad, and I think all the fun wore Nolan out.  He slept nearly the whole way home.  (And Justin deserves extra kudos for spending more time driving to/from NYC than he spent visiting.) Thanks for the fun visit, Dad!