Chinatown

We went into New York City this year for our Chinese New Year celebration—the day after the big parade. We had lunch at a small restaurant called Singapore Cafe. The food was great; the service was great; and the kids really enjoyed the lazy susan table and the tea cups. Sam ate his requisite order of fried dumplings and was happy as a clam. Of course, we chose one of the coldest days of the year to go into the city, and I was concerned that the wind-tunnel effect on the city streets would make the trip unbearable. We layered and bundled, and overall, the cold wasn't too bad. The wind wasn't up, which really made all the difference.

After lunch we walked around Chinatown for a while and ended up at this awesome store in SoHo called Pearl River where we found our own tea cups, spoons and fabulous outfits for the kids. Of course, the kids had almost as much fun on the subway and commuter train as they did in the city, making the rush back meet the train mercifully easy. Here's a photo of the girls in their Mandarin outfits on the way back home in Cabela's, an outdoor/ hunting store that is an experience, to say the least. A 250,000 sf showroom with a 40' waterfall, bass pond and several diorama displays of stuffed animals—like real stuffed, not plush. Seeing the size of these animals was amazing! From black bears to grizzly bears to polar bears, from Icelandic fox to African elephant, Cabela's displays are truly worth seeing if there's a showroom near you. They make a great stop on a long trip—with clean bathrooms, plenty to see and a buffet restaurant. I'd highly recommend checking for locations if you're traveling.