Oshimas in New York

That last leg of the endless car trip stretched on forever and I think even the adults wanted to whine, "Are we there yet?" It was mostly uneventful as we watched each state drift by us and we amused the kids with a constant rotation of activities. I especially enjoyed these robots Keahi drew on his magnadoodle. There's Got the Robot (at home he as a stuffed cow he named Tau the Cow), his friend, Bam, and his sister, Ella. We made pretty good time until we hit the NJ turnpike at which time we took an hour to go about 2 miles. The scenery was seriously ugly in that dirty industrial wasteland way, but it was softened by this spectacular sunset that our mediocre point and shoot just can't capture. But eventually we made it home at last.

And then came the unloading of the car. Shudder. We came back with more than we had taken with us. And now we had to find space in our tiny NY apartment for it all. I'm already a bit of a minimalist when it comes to interior design and living in our narrow railroad apt has cemented my views on any and all clutter. But I digress.

The next day Kervin, Mary and mom flew in and had just enough time to drop off their luggage before we took the subway to Manhattan to see Rockefeller Center and check out the view from the top. It's half the price of Empire State Bldg. and you can get great pics of the E.S. bldg. We had bought the tickets online a while ago so we didn't have to wait in the insane line to get tickets but we still had to wait a while for the elevator. The worker near us could have been a PCC employee with his cheerful crowd-engaging personality. He'd get everyone near the elevator to welcome the group coming out of the elevator with loud seasons greetings. He made the wait bearable. It was way colder up there than I'd expected and the poor boys were freezing. But it was beautiful.

It was warmer down by the ice rink due to the oppressive crowds. Yeah, definitely the wrong place for an agoraphobe. We snapped a few pics and pushed our way back out to the street.

We were supposed to go to Toys R Us so the kids could go on the ferris wheel, but everyone was so hungry we stopped for dinner along the way at some small Indian restaurant with a big buffet for $10. We ate till we had to be rolled out of there. So awesome. I wish I could remember the name of the place. Then we tried to hurry to the ferris wheel, but Time Square and all the little vendors slowed us down. After Iz took Keahi to run ahead, I tried to herd everybody quickly after him. I crossed a street and looked back to see that nobody was following me. And then I found out why. My 71 year old mother had fallen flat on her face in the road. Oops. Bad daughter. I didn't actually get to witness it but I heard it was pretty hilarious and involved an unseen pothole that Kerv saw and thought about warning her about just a second too late. She wasn't hurt too badly, though she cracked her glasses a little and was bruised up. But, thankfully, no broken bones.

We headed home after that while one of us held onto mom and someone else scoured the street for more potential accidents. Poor Keahi got to the store just in time to watch the last round of kids have their turn on the now closed ferris wheel. We still need to go back there sometime and rectify that.

The next day was a full docket with the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and FAO Schwartz. It was a beautiful day and the ferry ride was so fun for the kids. I think Kerv got his quota of sea gull pics, too. Maybe it's an Oshima thing because when Iz and I were in San Marco square we took about a million pics of the pigeons. It's a good thing I'd bought the tickets earlier online since it was sold out when we got there. There was still a really long line just to get on the boat though a friendly woman was nice enough to let us into the large tent to wait since the boys were obviously cold. And we encountered a new security measure I'd never seen before: a plastic card with interesting facts that they gave us upon entering the waiting tent and then took back from us upon exiting the tent to get on the ferry. I guess it's supposed to detect radiation or explosive material or something dangerous (memory like a sieve). Plus, we got to learn fun facts like how tall the crown is and other tidbits that have likewise fallen out of my head.

Of course, the elevator was broken so mom stayed in the museum area while the rest of us made the trek up 192 steps (which, wow, seems so little compared the the time it took--but that's with 2 little kids...not because I'm out of shape or anything....) to get a better view. I really like my cities like this--from a distance. The NYC skyline looks impressive and quiet and clean from the pedastal.

We didn't spend much time at Ellis Island because we didn't want to disappoint the boys again by missing out on their fun activity. But we were there long enough for mom to verify that even though she was told she'd get her name put on some list of doners when she contributed money to repair the statue years ago, that she couldn't find her name anywhere. Those liars.

FAO Shwartz was just as crowded as the ice rink and we didn't stay long. The line for the floor piano was also way too long so overall it was a pretty disappointing visit. I think everyone will have to come visit sometime other than Christmas when you can actually see and do the things you want without hoards of other tourists. Maybe if we stay here another year mom can come during the summer.

After rushing home and getting the kids to bed, Keahi's former sunbeam teacher, Camilah Cole, came over to babysit so we could go to Peter Lugers. It's been called the best steakhouse in America and it lived up to its rep. Iz and I have never been big on steak till we went to Ruth's Chris back home but now we understand the purity of well aged beef done right. Wow. And the Canadian bacon was outstanding. Pricey, but well worth it. We definitely went home happy.

The next day was New Year's Eve and our friend, Arron, and his sister, Amy, flew in from their trip to Italy (color me jealous) to share bunks with us and ring in the new year. But before they got here, we went to Little Italy to get some good eats. We got some interesting Chinese food along the way (since Chinatown has pretty much swallowed up Little Italy) and missed out on the good Italian import store since it was way too crowded. Jarom was having a tough time and wouldn't stop crying. However, strawberries ended that crisis. Sadly, the restaurant that we picked was rather generic despite the glowing reviews online--which were no doubt paid for by said restaurant. But regardless of the poor food or the freezing weather, the company was good and we had a good time together. After lunch Mary and Iz took the kids back home so Iz could get the Hieatts from the airport and Mary could rest with the kids--poor thing was still sick. Actually I think she was sick for the next two months after she went back to Hawaii.

Kerv, mom, and I wandered about looking at different shops and marvelling at the prices. A cute Hello Kitty headband was quickly replaced upon hearing the price. I remember in college I used to estimate the value of everything in terms of how many Jumbo Jacks I could get for it. That headband was enough to feed all the adults currently residing or visiting in our apartment twice over. Well, maybe with Kervin and Iz it'd be one and a half times. And here I thought Chinatown was supposed to be cheap--price, not just quality. But Kerv did haggle his way into a pretty good deal on a purple sweater and shirt for Mary (so thoughtful), which was quite a feat with the tiny Asian woman harranguing him for wasting her time when he said he only had so much money on him. She eventually gave in and gave him a different set for his asking price. It's good to know that some stereotypes are true and hold true in Hawaii and around the world.

It was nice to get out of the cold and back to our crowded little apartment. Arron's sister, Amy, was great and funny and full of illuminating stories about her big brother when he was little. Apparently, Arron was quite the manipulator. I can see why he grew up to like conducting experiments on people's pyches. But then he must have learned from his parents who told them they'd be taken to the Kid Exchange to be traded in for better ones if they didn't behave (which only worked because little Arron saw a sign on the side of the road, "Kids for sale" and was young enough to accept this version of its meaning). Anyhow, it was nice to meet Amy and to discover another card games addict. We played for hours and talked even longer. I think the Hieatts fit in quite nicely with the Oshimas and the Temples.

Arron and I had talked previously about doing Manhattan for New Year's but after investigating the prices of various venues, we decided watching the fireworks above prospect park was just as good. Plus, we heard Tammy's horror stories about her experience with the freezing weather and standing for hours on end smashed like sardines against total strangers and the ingenous restauranteer who started bringing out food in takeout containers to sell to the crowd and then the equally ingenious people who used those empty containers to solve other waste issues. So, yeah, kicking back in Prospect Park sounded great. But what with jet lag and the cold, he and his sister never saw the fireworks. Actually, Iz and I were the only ones to venture outside at all to see if we could see them from our stoop. It was beautiful and impressive and kinda nice to be able to share it just with eachother in the quiet darkness of our sleepy street. Only one man and his kid walked by and wished us a happy new year. It was perfect.

The next morning the Hieatts left to go back to their different homes. Of course, I got to ring in the new year with the same sickness that Kerv and Mary brought with them. We relaxed in the morning, eating leftovers and watching the kids play with their Christmas toys. Eventually in the afternoon Kervin, mom and I headed back into Manhattan so they could buy more stuff. We spent a lot of time going in and out of 3 neighboring stores, comparing prices and trying not to lose eachother. I got to see this guy on the street hustling people with a card game that I forgot the name of which Kerv could tell me. He even had a patsy or something calling out how much money he'd won on this game today just in time for some poor out-of-towner to drop $200 and lose. We also revisited the scene of the infamous fall and snapped some pics of the monster pothole. Then I snapped a few more of the ferris wheel Keahi never got to ride. Mid shopping, mom and I stopped to watch a guy do caricatures for $2. Mom sat for one and convinced me to come back sometime with the boys to get one of them. Later we went back to the guy and got him to include a big pothole and the sign of the street as well as a crack in her glasses to make the picture more timely. Now that, I think, was a pretty cool purchase.

The next day we relaxed in the morning and I gathered my strength--and my Kleenix--to get ready for another foray into the city. Mom, Keahi and I got on a train to see the big library. I'd been to the Central Brooklyn Library and thought that was pretty impressive, but this library was over the top. It felt more like a museum than a library with intricate ceiling murals and brass work. Even the water fountains were beautiful. I got a kick out of seeing a Harry Potter book in a glass case. I guess it's a hand written copy. One of only seven. And Keahi would have liked to stay longer in the kids section but I was fading pretty quick so we headed back home.

That was really our last outing. I know mom had wanted to see more things but I was pretty much down for the count so I spent the weekend resting. I even had to skip church, leaving the primary secretary to be the only leader there. I'm terrible, I know, but you should have seen me.....actually, I'd rather nobody had to see me like that. So we relaxed at home and I got to have cozy chats with my mom and she got to see her crazy grandsons in action within the walls of our small apartment. Always entertaining. And then, Monday morning she left in a cab to go back to warm, sunny Hawaii. Iz was able to see her off just before heading off to the hospital for his first day of his pscyh rotation. He didn't get much time to relax during our insanely packed Christmas break, but luckily psych is pretty chill.

It was a great visit and things turned out fine. But I will say that hosting such a thing is hard on my system. What with all the preparations and trying to fit in what everyone wants to do in such a small time frame with two active little boys to consider and then stressing out whenever we don't get to do something like eat at Papaya Kings for Kerv (though Iz just tried it out and said it was disgusting so maybe you dodged a bullet there, Kerv), or see the Met for mom, or ride the ferris wheel or go to the zoo for Keahi, December was a frantic month for me. But it ended up well and we got to visit with family and friends which is what it's all about. So here ends the final chapter in the Temple family Christmas Vacation.