Adventure 8 // New York (Without Kids)

Length of stay: Five Nights

Accommodations: Apartment downtown in Lower East Side

Travel Time: via Palm Beach International Airport to JFK 2 hr 50 min

Goal: Birthday Mashup

October is a tricky month. As a family, we dedicate the whole entire thing to Halloween the moment the clock strikes 12:00am on October 1st. Our son, Atlas, is wildly obsessed with it all. The feeling of being slightly scared, the dressing up, the decorating, the spooky songs and movies, haunted houses (though he got totally freaked this year!), learning the steps to the Thriller video, the pageantry of it all. October is also the "middle" for my marriage. He is an August baby, and I am a November baby and it's been hard to celebrate our day of birth equally when we are focusing so heavily on Halloween.

So we made a pact this year: a birthday mashup celebration in New York, just us. In October. In the in-between.

We have been homesick for New York since about 6 months after moving to Nashville. If the stars aligned, I think we would be back. We almost moved back to Brooklyn instead of Florida. The universe is funny though, things need done, so we are here doing them. I know we will move back at some point, I just don't know exactly when. For now, we visit as much as we can and love on our people while we are there and pretend for just a moment we are part of the buzz of the city.

The grandparents came in from Texas to tend to Atlas and all his Halloween needs for a week, and we went off to New York with one simple rule: Do all the things we can't do with a kid. Admittedly, we felt a little guilt, having all this fun without Atlas. Seeing things he would have enjoyed, passing by epic fire houses, going on the sea glass carousel, eating vegan doughnuts. Then, it dawned on us, we can just got back with him. All Atlas expressed interest in for Christmas is to go to New York and check out all the Home Alone and Ghostbuster locations. Specifically the firestation from Ghostbusters and the Plaza Hotel from Home Alone 2. He also requested some ice skating and to go see his cousins in St. Paul. Done and done. This means, we get to go to New York as adults sans kid, and Atlas gets all his New York wishlist for Christmas. No guilt.

We ate a lot, and we walked even more. During our time there, despite the rain on some of the days, we clocked over 55 miles. No wonder I was so much more fit when we lived there. Here is a video highlighting what we did, resources below if anything strikes you as fun, interesting, or delicious.

Our Favorite Vegan Spots (in order of deliciousness)

Modern Love (the piccata was amazing. mozzarella appetizer as well!)
Champs Vegan Diner (asada frieds and sag are my faves)
Superior Burger (amazing, all of it)
At Chelsea Market: Very Fresh Noodles (in the video where you see them making noodles, that's it and the only vegan option is so insanely good, I have been craving it like a maniac).
Red Bamboo (forever and ever amen. the roti, the nuggets, everything but the dumplings, unless you like the doughy).
Orchard Grocer we went twice, and both sandwiches were awesome. I decided this would be my plane dinner on the way home and I grabbed snacks too to bring home.
Delice & Sarin (it's a full French menu! the French onion and escargot were my faves)
Jajaja Plantas Mexicana (bad coffee, amazing food, open super late!)
Cinnamon Snail (the thanksgiving sandwich!)
Peacefood
By Chloe

Cafe/Dessert/Snacks