This post is a mini-review of some of the great places that we visited for my daughter’s Sweet 16th Birthday in New York City-the city that never sleeps! You got that right! For my daughter’s 16th birthday my husband and I surprised her with a trip to New York City. It was our first mother-daughter trip and the first time to The Big Apple. It was a Sweet 16th Birthday Blast!
She’s been wanting to go to NYC since she was a tween. As her 16th birthday approached, we hadn’t talked much about it. The only thing she shared with me was that she didn’t care to have a “SWEET 16th” birthday party. I was trying to decide how we could make her 16th birthday a special one, and the only thing that came to my mind was 1. A puppy or 2. A trip to New York City.
A puppy meant I’d probably be the one to take care of it, not to mention, my daughter is going off to college in just two years….uh no. The puppy idea was a fleeting thought. After consulting with my husband about the idea of sending his two favorite ladies to New York City…he agreed and the plans were underway-in a very short amount of time.
I had to keep this on the down low so I didn’t post anything on Facebook; too many family and close friends on my profile and I didn’t want to take a chance of it slipping. Who did I share this crazy excitement with? My Twitter friends! From the moment I tweeted out, “Surprising my daughter with trip to NYC for Sweet 16th.” Within minutes, I received replies from people who have either been to NYC or lived in the area with great tips of things to must do, places to must see, and restaurants to must dine. Talk about a travel planner at your service!
With Frequent Flyer miles to use, that was the first thing we checked off our travel arrangements. I booked our hotel through Priceline and was pleasantly surprised to get The Westin for such an amazing price! We were totally blessed. Upon our arrival, we were upgraded to the newly remodeled forty-second floor of the forty-five floors. Either I was exhausted at the end of the day or the bed and pillows are just that incredibly comfortable!
A dear friend Rick Tramanto (@Cheftramonto) and Executive Chef of TRU in Chicago, Illinois recommended dining at Morimoto and Nobu. We dined at both, but my favorite was Morimoto of the two. It’s owned by Masaharu Morimoto, who is the Iron Chef Japan on the TV cooking Show. Morimoto is located in the trendy Meat Packing District.
All I can say is, it’s a definite must dine if you like Japanese or Sushi! I’ll have to share more details in my Restaurant Review of Morimoto.
I was told by a friend to be sure to visit the Women’s Restroom…”just stop in, even if you don’t need to use it.” As you can see, I’m a geek…yes I took a photo. I couldn’t believe how unbelievably GORGEOUS the stall was. I thought I stepped into a galaxy where beautiful flowers floated everywhere; it was a three dimensional piece of art. By this time, my daughter thought I fell in. I must have been in there for 15-20 minutes playing with all the high-tech buttons.
I must tell: The toilet seat greeted me by automatically opening. Very Cool! I stood in several different places so it would do it several times. I noticed a board with remote buttons for “front cleansing, rear cleansing, and pressure”. Ok, by now I was awestruck. Can you see why I was in there for 20 minutes?
I didn’t know how to use the auto cleanse thing…didn’t know where the water was coming up from and where it was going…and what if it missed its target and ended on my beautiful top I just bought on 5th Ave…so I opted for the traditional way. Ok…enough said about the bathroom at Morimoto. Just be sure to dine at Morimoto just to see the Women's Restroom for yourself!
We did have some other exciting events! LOL! We scored third row Orchestra seats for Little Mermaid on Broadway at 50% off by standing in the TKTS line. TKTS is a same day discount booth and sells Broadway tickets for same day shows that’s usually drastically discounted. Little Mermaid was remarkably, outrageously awesome. I can’t even describe with words!
My daughter’s favorite hangout was in Central Park. With all the trees starting to bud, Central Park was simply beautiful this time of year. Time Square was extremely lively and energetic but Central Park has its own kind of energy.
We took a wonderful bike tour around the park one day as recommended by Amy Tuggle (@amytuggle), a twitter friend. I highly recommend the bike tour over the horse and buggy alternative! Our guy was not only fun, but brought us to all landmarks that were important or interesting to see; including one that Megan tried to find on her own the day before and couldn’t: John Lennon’s Memorial.
If you are in Central Park, a must restaurant to dine for brunch or lunch is Tavern on the Green- the Crystal Ballroom. What a beautiful view of Central Park and gorgeous lush landscaping. That is one place I would love to dine at, at the peak of every season. We were there at the beginning of Spring when everything is just budding.
Of course, a visit to Serendipity for lunch was on the top of our list. I got the movie for Megan as a present, a part of the New York Theme and we watched it on our flight, so going there for lunch made it more special. Serendipity’s renowned Frozen Hot Chocolate is just absolutely D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!! They were booked when I had called a few days earlier for reservations, but after a nice morning in Central Park, we decided to walk there to see if we could just do a Walk-in and we did! The birthday girl was just abounding in favor the whole time!
Four days in New York City went by too fast. My daughter is growing up before my eyes. We feel so blessed that we were able to make her 16th birthday a very special one. The memories we’ve created are priceless!
by Robin McGraw (wife of Dr. Phil) hit book stores earlier this year packed with her own secrets for 
