Growing up I loved going to NYC with my parents. Depending on where we lived we either took the F train or the R train. Either way it was about an hours worth of a train ride for us. Our day trips to NYC weren’t that often and were always on a Saturday. One of the biggest reasons why we would go was for my dad so he could buy what ever he needed for his drum set. There was a musical instrument store he liked in NYC so that is where we went.
After he was done with that store we would start heading towards Fifth Avenue. We loved walking along that avenue looking at the different stores. We also liked going to Rockefeller Center, FAO 
Schwartz and Central Park. I always liked seeing the horse drawn carriages and thinking how much fun that must be.
When we got hungry we would find the closest food vendor and we would each get a hot dog. Sometimes if we were still hungry we would each get a second hot dog. When we were ready to head back to the train station we would each get a pretzel and enjoy it on our way home. I usually fell asleep on the train home while I leaned my head on my mom’s shoulder.
These days I still enjoy day trips to NYC, but now it’s different. Now I go with my husband and our kids. Now my family and I wake up somewhat early in the morning, and we drive about two and a half hours to get to NYC. We usually go on Saturday’s, but sometimes we go on a week day. We love walking along Fifth Avenue, walking through Central Park, going to the shops at Columbus Circle and lastly walking around 42nd Street.
I remember the first time we went to the shops at Columbus Circle, my son was a little boy. We didn’t know about the big fat naked statue directly inside this shopping center, so when my son 
saw it he stopped in his tracks looked up and said “What is that!” My husband and I couldn’t help but to laugh. We told him and we moved on.
When we get hungry we look for a food vendor and depending on what we each want we either eat hot dogs or we get gyros. After some more walking we sometimes get milk shakes from Godiva. Every once in a while we will save up some money so we can go to Serendipity 3 for some Frozen Hot Chocolate. Or whatever other dessert the family wants. Me–I like to stick with the Frozen Hot Chocolate.
Our family loves our day trips to NYC. It’s one of the few things we are all willing to get up early for. We love the drive and we love the time in NYC. We have made some great memories on our day trips and look forward to making many, many more.
