Birthdays

On a much happier note, I had a good birthday dinner. We went to What's Your Beef in Rumson. It's a great little local restaurant that serves steak and seafood. I had the scallops, B and Dad the steak and lobster and Mom had a filet with shrimp which Lise' ate. She also ate an entire serving of mushrooms. It was all very good, and we finished it off with their homemade desserts.
This is a picture of lunch at a NJ Diner.

I believe I once heard that NJ has the largest population of diners in the US. I'd believe it b/c there's practically one every mile. This one is in Red Bank.

The next day, we packed the car up and headed to New York City. Although, it's only a 30 min. ferry ride, we chose to drive with all the luggage.

The celebration continued with a trip to a New York on Wednesday. I've been to NYC only once, and it was for dinner. (should have included a show too, but thanks to the strike, it wasn't) Although it's only a 30 min ferry ride from Atlantic Highlands, we chose to drive because of our luggage. That made it an hour trip door to door. Thanks to B's residence in Hilton hotels, we had the opportunity to stay at the Waldorf-Astoria What a beautiful hotel! The room was even comfortable for our entire group which included 4 adults and 2 children. Lise's favorite thing about the room was that she was able to talk on the phone while using the potty. It's never been so easy to convince her to go. The staff was extremely friendly, and Lise' learned the art of tipping.




Our room overlooked Park Avenue, and both girls loved to sit in the windows and watch the world go by down below.

Lise' signing the charges to the room.



After enjoying the hotel and talking with the bell captain for a while, we hit the streets. Lucky for us, it was nice weather.

We hit the subway and took the E train down to the site of the World Trade Center. The site is under construction, so you have to peer through fences, but we did have the chance to go into the fire station right across the street. They had many things on the wall to remind you of that fateful day.




Next, we stopped in at Century 21 Department Store across from the WTC site. It's chocked full of bargains. I highly recommend it. We only spent and hour in there, but if I hadn't had kids with me, it could have been longer. Everything is marked down from retail prices, so happy shopping.

Once our bags were filled,we headed back toward Times Square for dinner. Many of you know I'm addicted to information on travel, and for years, all I've had Serendipity IIIearmarked for when I got to NYC. They are famous for their frozen hot chocolate, but serve regular fare as well. We decided to both dinner and dessert there, and we started with dessert. I'm certain Mom thought I was nuts for wanting to go to a restaurant just for their frozen hot chocolate, especially at $8 a pop. After one sip, I had her convinced, and she even ordered another after her dinner.

Lise's Foot Long Hot Dog-Yes, she ate the WHOLE thing

I haven't tried it yet, but here's the link for the how to on making your own Frozen Hot Chocolate at home. I'll let you know the outcome.

That's all I have time for now. I'll tell you the rest in the next day or so.

Oh, I almost forgot....after all the sweets we had at Serendipity, we hit Dylan's Candy Shop. It was highly recommended by our bell captain, and Lise' sure loved it.