A Day in the Bronx

Like every kid, my kids constantly ask when we are going to see "Grandma Pookie and Grand Da" (what they call my parents.  Actually, they also constantly ask about going to visit "Grandma Kerrie and Grumpy (aka Norm)" and "Patrick" (sorry to the twins, but Hannah is smitten with your brother), and a number of other people.  But, we can easily accomodate trips to visit most of Mike's family.  Because my family lives further away, visits require vacation days, long trips in the car (which equals tons of money in gas).  All of which (unfortunately) adds up to less frequent visits.  Definitely the down side of living in Massachusetts. 

So, I was pretty pleased with the solution I came up with last month.  Why not meet in New York for a day trip?  My dad always said I should take the kids to the Bronx Zoo.  It would take us 3 hours to get there; 2 hours for my parents (if they hadn't missed their exit).  Add in the fact that the Zoo had a Lego exhibit, and it seemed like God himself was telling us "Go to the Bronx Zoo". 

As you can see from our slideshow, we all had a great time. I ordered the tickets through AAA, so we got a discount on the full experience, which included admission to the zoo plus unlimited rides and Dora 4D experience. We all enjoyed the Dora experience, Hannah especially, because it felt like it was raining on you (key when it is hot and humid outside).

The only complaint I have was the cost and quality of food. The increased cost you pay when going to a museum + the increased cost you pay when in NYC = EXORBITANTLY overpriced fast food. I paid just under $100 for lunch, much of which was thrown away because the kids wouldn't finish it. Plus the stops at the ice cream vendor, slushy vendor, soft pretzel vendor... Amazingly, the least amount of money we spent was in the gift shop, where Mikie got a stuffed Gorilla to use for his summer book report for $10. Plus Hannah's mugs, we left the gift shop having spent less than $15. That NEVER happens.

Love, The Trahans