Welcome to Tim Sayler

Snippet Below:

We bundled up with extra layers because it was a very cold day. When we got in the car to go to the bus it was a balmy 8 degrees and the high during the day was 25 degrees. Due to the cold, and the difficult Tim e we had waking everyone up, I was a bit concerned with how attitudes would be, but no one complained of being too cold the entire day. We talked about being cold, but no one whined or complained...nice! We began our trip with the bus getting a flat tire and we had to pull off the interstate several Tim es during the trip. We lost Tim e due to this, but some how we managed to make all that Tim e up, and then some. We got off the bus an entire hour earlier than we had expected! There were some students sitting behind Russell and I on the bus who were trying to be cool and get a rise out of the kids by yelling "beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, etc...."(those "beeps" are all the colorful 4 letter words you can think of.) over and over and louder and louder. They were obviously doing it on purpose. I turned and gave them one look that was supposed to strike fear into their little freshman-in-college souls, but it didn't work. My next move was going to be to shove a bar of soap into their mouths, but due to the fact that I didn't have a bar of soap in my purse (let alone several) I was stumped as to what to do next. That's when I saw my kind, gentle husband raise out of his seat, stare with full force and the hooligans, and (to make a long story short) told them to quiet down. Our first stop was MoMA. Years ago we got the boys the book "Seen Art" which is all about MoMA and the different works of art that can be found there. It's a great book if you have little kids...or if you don't, you could still read it (I won't tell). We spent several hours walking the halls of the museum and seeing everything we could. Both boys loved the special exhibit, which was Tim Burton drawings, painting, clay figures and short movies. Russell also LOVED finding a painting by Salvador Dali that is in said book. He found it and walked as quickly as he could to it and just stared and smiled. Max was taken with Roy Lichtenstein, Girl with Ball painting.  We took a break half way through the museum to head outside for a hotdog on the sidewalk. Next up was a walk down to The World Trade Center Site. It was strange to be there and think about what happened on 9/11 and the chaos that filled the streets that day. Actually being there and seeing the exact spot these events took place made it seem all the more scary and strange.  Wall street was next. We saw the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall on Wall Street, where George Washington was sworn in as President in 1789.  We found beautiful "old New York" where buildings were only 2 stories high, streets were narrow, and there was an old pub on each corner. It was quiet too. If felt as if we had just walked into another country and another Tim e. From there we walked to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty a little closer than we had before. We were disappointed because it seemed about the same distance as before and we were all super cold, so we booked it back to the warmth of the subway as we made our way to Chinatown. In Battery Park we found a turkey, a live turkey, but the boys didn't think it was real because it didn't have its "gobble", "beard", "whatever that red hanging thing is on a turkey". In Battery Park I had to smile and laugh because it was the first Tim e we had ever been approached by someone with a ,"psssst...psssst! You need a Rolex?" I love it! People really do that, it's not just in the movies. Whoops! We forgot to get off the train at Chinatown so we decided to skip it. We walked the streets until we came to KATZ Deli, where we were meeting a friend for supper. We enjoyed a DELICIOUS (words cannot describe how good this sandwich was!!!) pastrami on rye with mustard and some house made pickles. This deli is a favorite of one of my favorite chefs, authors, travel channel face, Anthony Bourdain, so it was great to be sitting in a deli where he had been and still (so he says) loves to go when he is in NYC...along with almost every other celeb, politician, true New Yorkers, etc.. This is also the famous deli where "When Harry Met Sally" was filmed. We had a great supper chatting with our friend and admiring all the famous people pictures on the walls. The boys were not interested in the sandwiches (too bad! more for us!) so we took them to get a slice of pizza and they were happy.We walked the streets of the East Village on our way back to the bus pick up location. Max saw a live rat crawling on some steps and thought that was the coolest thing ever. Once again we walked the entire day, except for a few subway rides, and the boys never once complained. Max gets the "trooper" award for this trip. That little guy is a great walker, but due to the cold and the distance we were going, R.C. and I both offered him a lift a few Tim es, but he declined each Tim e with a, "you don't have to." Although we did pick him up a few Tim es just to show our appreciation for his great attitude and willingness to walk even though he was tired. Russell is 7 now so he is expected to be a good walker and he does not disappoint. I've said it before, and I will say it once again (although I'm sure it won't be my last), I love the excitement these boys get from museums and they are great kids who know how to behave so I never fear taking them to places where things could be fragile. I'd take them anywhere! *Stay tuned for super exciting news in the next few days! The boys and I are taking a trip and we will see a new family member soon...well, soon as in a few weeks, but sooner than we thought we would get to... at 9:07 PM