Our trip started on the right foot. We were checking in a bag with United, and the ticket agent told us that “children are a blessing” and then gave us all priority security passes. It was awesome!

We got to the Sohotel about 10:30pm and quickly went in search of our first slice. All except Halle. She caught a head cold right before we left that morphed into the most awful, itchy rash. She was pretty beat by the time we got to the hotel. So she climbed in bed and we brought her back some pizza.

The next morning Rusty found us good old bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll. Delicious! Then he and Josh were off to the Open!

In planning for this trip I wanted to do mostly things we’d never done before. So, Halle, Blake and I decided to take a Ferry over to Jersey and check off another State from our bucket list. The rule for checking off is you have to see something, do something and eat something. On our way to the Ferry we also stopped at a piece of the Berlin Wall, and got a great view of WTC 1!The ferry to Hoboken was fun, and the Manhattan skyline from Jersey is just beautiful! It was a warm sunny day, just perfect for exploring. Our first stop was Carlos’ Bakery, of Cake Boss fame. It didn’t disappoint! I can’t say I’m a huge cake fan in general, but this was delicious. Blake got chocolate and Halle got Rainbow. And I got bites of theirs.

Then we walked along the pier, stopping for pictures along the way.We made our way to Pier 13 and found one of our favorite treats of the trip. Banana ice cream from Banana Amanda’s food truck. Not banana flavored ice cream, but ice cream made strictly from bananas. I don’t know how they did it but the consistency was PERFECT. We got ours smothered in caramel and chocolate sauce with peanut chunks.We caught a Lyft and drove to Weehawken to see the Hamilton/Burr dueling grounds. Halle was in Hamilton heaven. She even got to touch the rock where he rested is head while he lay dying.There are houses that face the Hudson River and I’ve decided that’s how I want to spend my retirement. In my chair on my front porch gazing at the Manhattan skyline all day long.

After going down an enormous and steep staircase We ferried back to Midtown and wandered around Times Square for a bit. Our Jersey journey took us 20,000 steps and we were ready to hit the hay.One stop at Eileen’s Special Cheesecake on the way home for some of the most decadent bites of cheesecake I’ve ever tasted. We tried to go back several times, but couldn’t quite get there during open hours.

Josh and Rusty didn’t get home till about midnight. Josh wasn’t going to leave until every point was played.