Travel - Pocketful of Joules

Our Quick NYC Family Adventure

I blogged a couple weeks ago about planning an impromptu trip for New York City. It was super quick – only about 30 hours – but lots of fun!

I’m a big fan of how easy it is to jump on an Amtrak train in Maryland and end up in NYC, so we did that early on Sunday morning. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that kid tickets are half-price, so I’m certainly going to have to look into a few more trips before Jack ages out of that deal! The train was easy and quick and this time ran on schedule to both get there and back, which was wonderful.

This was both Travis and Jack’s first time on a train!

Once we arrived, we took and Uber to our hotel – the Courtyard Marriott New York Manhattan/Fifth Avenue, which was right near Bryant Park. The hotel checked our bag for us, so that we didn’t need to carry it around while we were exploring. From there, we walked around the Bryant Park Winter Village and surrounding area. We checked in to the hotel in the late afternoon, and then left Travis there when we walked over to the show.

Jack and I saw &Juliet on Broadway, which was so much fun. It is a jukebox musical, so Jack recognized most of the songs. We had amazing seats and I’m so glad that we went. Jack spent the first act with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open, which was pretty adorable. He did get a little wiggly towards the end of the second half though. But, to be honest, I was kind of ready for them to wrap it up too by that point.

Here’s a little taste:

After the show, we met up with Travis for a delicious dinner, checked out the nighttime view of Times Square and then went back to the room to snuggle up in bed while watching a movie.

On Monday, we had a yummy breakfast and then did a bunch of walking around and exploring. We made a point to go to the Nintendo store, which was so super cool.

We also walked around Rockefeller Center, tasted some food back at the Bryant Park Winter Village, checked out the Empire State Building, and everything in between. We grabbed our bags from the hotel and then Uber-ed back to the train station in the afternoon, just in time to hop on a train back home and get ready for school the next day.

It was super fun visiting NYC with the family for the holidays, but it was quite cold. I think if we make a return trip it will need to be in the spring or summer so that Travis and Jack can experience some warmer walking around weather!

Planning a Quick Family Trip to NYC

So, I didn’t MEAN to plan a family trip to NYC. But here’s what happened… there is a new musical that just came out and it looks really good. I texted my goes-to-musicals-with-me friend, and she said maybe after the holidays. However, I REALLY wanted to see it sooner than that… which turned into me having the idea to take Jack for an overnight trip to NYC to see a Broadway show.

I asked Travis if he wanted to come too, but he hates musicals and crowded cities… so he said no. But then, when I started planning the trip and Jack and I were getting excited, Travis made sad puppy dog face and it was clear he’d be left out if we went without him. So…. FAMILY TRIP!

Here are our ‘definitely happening’ things:

It’s a quick trip – we are going to be in NYC for about 30 hours total. (Which, randomly, is exactly how much time I spent in NYC in 2016)
We’re taking the Amtrak train to NYC and back. I’ve done it a bunch of times and it’s super convenient. Added bonus: kids are half-price!
We are staying in a hotel near Bryant Park, which is within walking distance to Bryant Park’s Winter Village, the Broadway show, Times Square and lots of stuff to do and eat.
Jack and I will be going to see & Juliet on Broadway! (Travis will be entertaining himself)
We are super excited about the Bryant Park Winter Village for shopping and eating.

Here are our ‘maybe happening’ things:

This will be Travis and Jack’s first time to NYC, so we may do the whole Statue of Liberty thing. There are no ‘crown’ tickets available, but we may do the ferry by the Statue of Liberty, or maybe even visit Ellis Island.
There are a couple stores that I think Jack will love, including the M&M’s Store and the Nintendo Store
We may add the American Museum of Natural History to our visit list, but it’s a pretty quick trip so we may not have time

I can’t wait!

My Easy Travel Conference Capsule Wardrobe

Last week, I had the opportunity to drive up to Atlantic City for a 3-day conference. The focus of the conference wasn’t in my wheelhouse, but it involved a few of our attorneys at work so I was basically just going to network, take a few photos, eat some yummy food at the group cocktail hours/meals, and work from my room.

Oh, and most importantly: enjoy my nice, quiet hotel room with HGTV and a king-sized bed.

Since my schedule was pretty easy, I thought it might be fun to do a quickie conference capsule wardrobe post.

Here’s what I took:

Just one backpack (the Asenlin 40L 17” Travel Backpack with three packing cubes that I previously raved about here: Travel Backpack Review: This one is the BEST for traveling) and my purse.

In that one bag was: 3 conference outfits, pajamas, comfy clothes for the hotel room, shower stuff, make up, my work stuff (laptop, day planner, notebook, charging cords), and 2 books.

Here’s what I brought for the conference:

Three dresses that don’t wrinkle, one blazer that goes with everything, one cardigan that goes with everything and a fun neutral sparkly pair of comfortable flats.

I kept everything in the same color scheme so it would all mix and match. Conference AC is notoriously freezing, so I wanted to make sure I had some layer options in case I was freezing my booty off.

Also, I wanted the option to be day-to-night Barbie by having a dress go with a blazer during the day and then being able to switch out to a more casual (but still professional-looking) cardigan option for the cocktail party and dinner that evening.

And here are the outfits: