So this was the year that we actually had a weekend away to ourselves! I didn’t know it at the time, but aren’t the best of plans the ones that are completely spontaneous? My husband and I have been dreaming/discussing/contemplating a trip by ourselves for years, always imagining it to be pretty far away. But then, in May we decided to try it out for a weekend to celebrate our 9th anniversary, keeping it very local and safe.
I’ve always wanted to do a weekend in New York City…specifically at the Marriott Marquis. In the heart of Times Square, close proximity to Broadway and the liveliness of everything city. This trip was so different since I’m so used to planning family trips, keeping kids in the center of every decision. This time, I loosely planned the weekend, leaving much more room for us to decide in the moment what we wanted or felt like doing.
Marriott Marquis, Times Square
When deciding where to stay in the city, I knew I wanted to stay at the Marriott Marquis, but it is a splurge and I wasn’t 100% sure if it would be worth it? Especially since the rooms in NYC are always so tiny. But we took the plunge and were very pleased with our stay. The hotel is as fancy shmancy as I had imagined. It had more elevators than I had ever seen in a lobby. And it was walking distance to everything.
What We Did
One other splurge we did on this trip was to go see Hamilton! Going into it, I only knew it was a very popular show and famous people starred in it. I hadn’t seen the TV version on Disney+ yet, and I really hadn’t known much else about the show. Both of us were blown away by the talent of the cast and all the songs & storyline. I definitely recommend it to anyone who can go see it.
Dinner at Oceana
For dinner after the show, I wanted a nice sit down dinner at a walking distance restaurant to our hotel & show. So we found a seafood restaurant called Oceana, and it was really nice, best part was the dessert hands down. Take a look!
Besides seeing Hamilton, we did a lot of walking around in Times Square and around it too. We checked out the M&M store, roamed a really massive church, saw ground zero and occulus and picked up Levain bakery cookies for home.
It was definitely a treat and kind of a surprise that we even did it. Even though it was such a short 2-day trip, it felt like exactly what we needed. Honestly you forget, after parenting for some years (7 for us), you slowly forget what you used to be like, or used to feel like before you had kids. In the quiet of that weekend, we were able to relax and do nothing, or follow our own lead, walk without being rushed, eat first ourselves and much more. The small things really do mean a lot, and we are so blessed to even be able to take a trip like that, thanks to family for caring for our little ones so that they didn’t even miss us much. Having that peace of mind is the only reason we even went. And we are so looking forward to be able to do it again one day! My advice to all parents who have that opportunity is to take the leap and try it.
Sweet Dreamer 