Neon takes Manhattan

Our East Coast trip continued on to New York. We have some people there. Friends and family types. It was great to see all their faces.



It was Ira's second time to Manhattan, the first time being when he was only 10 months old. This year, he was able to make some good memories. We promised him a trip to Times Square, so he could see the big city chaos. Everyone's got to do it once.



We got around much easier in Manhattan thanks to the subway. Ira loved it. We gave him an expired Metro Card and he had a blast carrying it around. I had so many worries about him falling down stairs, getting stuck in the doors, falling on the tracks. But you know what? Everything was fine. It was nerve-wracking for me but he was much braver.



Rar. On one of the days, we went to Chinatown for delicious vegan dim sum (thanks Les!) and basically walked all the way to the High Line.



Les and Ira at a talking fountain at the High Line. If you are anywhere in the world and you run into Les, she can tell you where to eat. Listen to her and eat there. I swear she knows all the best spots. Plus, she's hilarious and has excellent taste in '80s and '90s R&B. She's that good! Unfortunately, thousands of miles separate us, otherwise I'd be hanging out with her every day.



You can't tell by this photo, but the High Line was such an amazing green space. After this photo, we got caught in a torrential storm and had to cab it back to our apartment.



We spent another day at the beach on Long Island. Here's Ira taking a little break from the waves. I had such a blast with him there! We started out a little cautious because he seemed a bit afraid. Once we got in up to our ankles, some seaweed came and wrapped itself around our legs. To make sure that he didn't freak out too bad, I fake-screamed "octopus!!" and started shaking it off my feet. He thought that was hilarious and that's how I minimized a potential freak out. Before we left, he was sitting in the waves and even letting Leon take him out pretty far for some wave-jumping.




We also spent a day at Bronx Zoo where there was no shortage of adorable kids with a variety of East Coast accents. There is possibly nothing cuter. We caught some kids in a stroller on their way to the bear exhibit. "Beahs, beahs, beahs!" On the subway home, we overheard another kid telling his mom he was hungry. "Ma, I'm so hone-gry. You said I could have a hawt dawg. Mammy, I want a hawt dawg." I almost died it was that cute. I tried to get Ira to recreate the experience for me, but it's not the same really.




On one of our last days, we went out to Brooklyn to visit some friends. Here's the mayor of Windsor Terrace. Ira took the picture and I electronically removed the booger from her precious nose. She was still cute with it, but come on, I'm kind. You're welcome.