Welcome back to the fifth (and final) day of our Virtual Spring Break! Are you sad that our virtual adventures are coming to a close? We are too…but we’ve got a bonus virtual vacation day waiting for you at the bottom of this post! π And just in case you missed our world travels from earlier in the week – we explored the ocean, and trekked through Japan, India, and Mexico. What a trip! And now? It’s time for the grand finale. We are going out with a bang…in New York City!
As we mentioned in our previous posts, we spent our Spring Break traveling the globe (virtually). Each day included some virtual reality (VR) exploration and expeditions, a documentary, a snack/dessert that was representative of the locale, and a themed craft. When it came time to eat dinner, we decided to fully embrace the vacation, and support our favorite local restaurants, by picking up take-out (from an establishment that was also representative of the dayβs locale). We capped off each evening with a movie that showcased the place, or culture, that we had explored that day!
Ok…what are we waiting for? Let’s go explore The Big Apple!
Virtual Spring Break: Day Five – New York City
NYC Overview
We really enjoyed visiting Nat Geo Kids to kickoff our previous travels this week, so we popped over there first, to read up on New York state. New York became the 11th state in 1788. And its nickname is The Empire State.
Did you know that New York City was the nation’s capital until 1790? Ellis Island, where more than 12 million immigrants entered the country between 1892-1924, is also located in NYC. And The Big Apple happens to be the most populous city in the United States – with approximately 8.5 million residents (in 2019).
NYC VR Expeditions & Explorations
We began our exploration of the city with a virtual tour of New York City’s Skyscrapers…courtesy of our Google Expeditions app. The aerial views were absolutely breathtaking!
From there, we headed over to the National Park Service, to embark on virtual tours of both the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. We loved getting a rare glimpse of the inside of Lady Liberty’s torch! And we learned that the original torch (from 1886) was replaced on the centennial, in 1986…and now resides in the national monument’s museum. The interior structure of the statue was super interesting, and the daytime and nighttime images of the exterior (as well as the city skyline) were stunning!
A short hop across New York Harbor led us to Ellis Island. Ellis Island was the busiest immigration inspection point in the United States. On our tour, we wandered through the Main Immigration Building, which was opened in 1900. And we explored the Great Hall, where immigrants were inspected and processed. The large room also showcases very intricate and beautiful design details.
When we were finished exploring the main building, we popped over to the on-site hospital. Immigrants who failed their medical inspections were treated there. The medical complex included a maternity ward, psychiatric wards, and operating rooms. The hospital buildings were closed, and abandoned, in 1954. And as we explored the decaying complex, we drew one conclusion: it would make a superb horror film location. π
Since our visit to Ellis Island left us with chills…we decided to seek out a sunnier, and more lighthearted location. Nothing fit that bill better than a virtual tour of Central Park! We thoroughly enjoyed our leisurely stroll through the lush grounds…while taking in some of the more popular attractions. We stopped by the Imagine Mosaic at Strawberry Fields, Wagner Cove, the fountain on Cherry Hill (where we spied a few horse-drawn carriages), Bow Bridge, the beautiful Bethesda Arcade & Terrace, and Conservatory Water (where all of the model yachts set sail). We ended our visit at the Alice in Wonderland Statue!
LEGO Statue of Liberty
You may, or may not, already know that I live with two LEGO-obsessed individuals. I knew that our Spring Break would not be complete without a fun LEGO project. And our day in NYC provided the perfect opportunity to bust out the building blocks!
I secretly ordered the LEGO Architecture Statue of Liberty, and surprised them. Needless to say…they were ecstatic…and construction started immediately!
The 1,685-piece set went together quickly! Our LEGO Lady Liberty stands just over 17″ tall, when fully-constructed. And our daughter was extremely pleased to see that the seven spikes on her crown were accurately depicted. The spikes represent the seven seas and seven continents on Earth – a fact that she learned earlier this year, in school.
NYC Dinner
What’s the best way to celebrate a big day in The Big Apple? If you said devouring a massive 24-inch hand-tossed pizza, then you are correct!
We placed our pizza order with an establishment that my husband and I frequented during our college years. And we kept the toppings to a minimum…sticking with our daughter’s favorite – sausage. Her mouth practically hit the floor when she saw the size of the pizza box. π But the best part (aside from the pizza, of course) was watching her figure out how to eat such a large slice of pie!
NYC Dessert
Our New York City dessert was the best one yet! Maybe it’s because we didn’t make it ourselves…or maybe it’s because it came directly from one of New York’s most legendary bakeries! You know…the ones where people wait for hours…in lines that span entire city blocks!
We ordered two 4-packs of the world-famous cookies from Levain Bakery! The bakery opened on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 1995. They now have several different locations…and as we happily discovered…they ship nationwide!
We ordered a pack of their classic Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, and a pack of their super decadent Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. We were not disappointed! The cookies are huge, and oh so delicious! We stored ours in the freezer, and when we were ready to enjoy them, we popped them in a 350Β° oven for 10-minutes…and then a 170Β° oven for 10 minutes. It made them super warm and gooey! We will definitely be ordering from Levain Bakery again!
NYC Movie
Our busy day of travel came to a close with a screening of Night at the Museum! If you have not seen this comedy from 2006, you should definitely check it out. It follows Larry Daley, as he becomes the new night watchman at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History. During his first night on the job, Larry gets an incredibly unexpected surprise. He discovers that an ancient Egyptian artifact causes all of the exhibits to come to life at night! Including a giant T-Rex – who just so happens to love playing fetch. π
And just like that…our 5-day Virtual Spring Break vacation came to an end. We had a blast jet-setting across the globe, exploring a brand new place each day. We had so much fun, in fact, that we decided to add one more destination to the end of our adventure. We went to the most magical place on Earth!
Our Disney day started with a guided tour of the Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom. From there, we did some virtual park-hopping with this Top 10 Disneyland Rides video. We zoomed down the tracks on the Incredicoaster, explored the Haunted Mansion, helped fly the Millennium Falcon, took the checkered flag on the Radiator Springs Racers ride, and watched a colorful nighttime parade! And then we summited the highest mountain in the world, on the Expedition Everest ride.Β We obviously had to pay a quick visit to Arendelle, on the Frozen Ever After ride. But our favorite experience was our Jurassic World adventure!
All of those virtual rides made our stomachs grumble…so we took a brief break to enjoy a classic Disney treat – Dole Whip. And we ended our visit to the Magic Kingdom with a nighttime viewing of the Happily Ever After Fireworks Show!
It was the perfect way to conclude our virtual family vacation!
