The Vampire State Building

For a hands-on Grandma there is nothing more gratifying than being able to bond with your grandchildren while they are young enough to accept the extra love and attention without an electronic gadget in their hands, around their necks, in their ears, pockets or lying on a table nearby.

I began taking my grandchildren on short trips—lunches and outings to the beach or park on a once-a-week basis. When I felt they were adequately grown to travel across the country for an eye-opening visit to New York City I got us on a flight and off we went. I calculated that one week would be ideal and set about making a list of top-priority places for us to visit. Selfish reasons compelled me to reserve two connecting rooms at the Plaza Hotel. Its proximity to Central Park (and the hansom cab rank) plus the location within the Manhattan grid were the main reasons. Besides, the Plaza doormen are adept at getting taxis and dispensing fabulous tips about things like: where to go for a great breakfast without paying an arm and a leg. My daughter, her two children and I flew from LAX to JFK. We checked into the hotel—my daughter took one room and I took the other. It was decided that the children would alternate being our roommates. Collin would be my roommate for two nights while Chloe would be with her mom. Then we would switch.

While unpacking, Collin jumped into my open suitcase, looked up at me with big twinkling eyes and asked, “Grandma, can we go to the top of the Vampire State Building? Please, please, please?” In my most patient and considerate voice I gave the best typical Grandma response, “We’ll see.” I corrected him on the name of the building and explained that sometimes the elevators which take people to the very top are too crowded. Nevertheless, we would visit lots of fun places. He seemed satisfied with that answer then ran to the bathroom where he began to giggle. “What’s so funny, Collin?” “Look, Grandma, the toilet paper has points—isn’t that funny?” We lucked out with the weather and basically spent the first day in Central Park. The children were so excited about taking a hansom cab ride and the driver introduced us to his horse, Billy B. We mounted the step to a gleaming white carriage and began our magical trip through Central Park when Billy B let out a fart. You can just imagine what followed. Then we were overcome with laughter—yes, all the way through the park and back.

We spent the remainder of the day at the Children’s Zoo, then the main zoo, where we had lunch on the patio and watched the seals being fed. The carousel, always a favorite ride, got a workout, then we headed to the great Alice in Wonderland climbing statue. We spent some time at the children’s boat pond where we ice cream cones. As our day wound down we voted on pizza for dinner. We walked down Central Park West and got a table at John’s. By the time our scrumptious individual pizzas arrived Collin was fast asleep with his head on the table. We made room for him on the long bench of the booth so he could lie down while we ate. The next morning was glorious. We found a perfect deli for breakfast then took a cab down to the West Side pier where the sightseeing boats are docked. Our cruise around Manhattan was probably the high point of the trip. How fortunate we were to have seen the whole gleaming island with the World Trade Center Towers standing in all their stately magnificence. The children seemed in awe of the size of the buildings and when I pointed out the Empire State Building I think Collin became slightly intimidated by its height. He tugged at my arm, “Grandma, it’s OK. I changed my mind, we don’t have to go to the top of the Vampire State Building. I can see the top from here.”

We ate hot dogs for lunch on the boat and enjoyed our day enormously. By the time we returned to the Plaza it was late afternoon and we were exhausted. We opted to return to our deli for dinner that night. Over the next several days we managed to eat lunch at the world-famous Serendipity where they make frozen hot chocolate for dessert. We rode the sky tram to Roosevelt Island, and visited Grand Central Station, where we took a train ride to Pelham, my hometown. I was able to show the children my house, schools and neighborhood. We rode the train back to Grand Central and stopped at Rockefeller Center. During the next few days I took them to the Statue of Liberty, the Natural History Museum, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Greenwich Village and, of course, back to Central Park where Chloe picked out the next hansom cab with a horse of her preference (a beautiful white horse). She also urged us to make several stops at FAO Schwarz toy store where she wandered, it seemed to us, for hours trying to pick out something with her allowance. As I scanned the monitor in the toy store I was struck by the realization that we had never turned on the television set in either hotel room. Was it possible? It was a magical trip and I’m so grateful that we were able to capture the vision of the twin towers from our sightseeing boat. Three months later, to the day, we would cry as we watched them being destroyed.

When the week was over, we waved goodbye to the Plaza Hotel and to New York City. As we boarded the plane, Collin said he wanted to sit next to me and Chloe wanted to be her mom’s seatmate so they could play cards. I overheard Chloe enumerate all the places we had visited one after the other in sequence. Very impressive, I thought. Then I asked Collin what he had enjoyed most about New York? He struck a pose and thought for a few seconds. “The squirrels!” The big smile on his face made me think he was kidding, but who knows what makes children tick? They are wonderful mysteries who bring us great joy