We’re planning a family trip to NYC for Spring Break. As I’m pouring over travel guides, maps, and museum reviews, I remembered this gem first published in Growing Up Magazine last year. Thanks to the lovely Alisha Gaddis of Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, I’m excited to bring you her epic adventure taking their daughter to NYC for the first time. Also, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band has a campaign on Indiegogo right now where you can help fund their next album, Adelante! They are the real deal when it comes to artists who give everything to their craft. Please, check out their campaign and consider how you’d love to help them get this album into your hands.
Adventure Outside the Checklist
Guest post from Alisha Gaddis, comedienne, singer, creative extraordinaire
I am a planner. I love charts and lists, spreadsheets and itineraries. My planning obsession works fabulously in my favor, due to the fact that my husband and I run our own business, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, we get the opportunity to travel the country creating music and performing for families. You need a lot of checklists to make our tours go smoothly!
When it comes to our own little family, I plan trips months and YEARS in advance. Since we get the opportunity to do a lot of joyous activities for our jobs- we try to take special time trips that don’t include any business and focus on reconnecting and celebrating!
Such is the case with our recent Big Apple extravaganza. I lived and went to college in New York City for quite some time before moving to Los Angeles, and NYC will always hold my heart. Nothing quite beats the hustle and bustle. The pulse of the city, the magic of the lights, the feeling that you could be lost and found at the same moment. Nothing beats New York.
I had been hyping NYC up to my stepdaughter since she was 5 years old. We promised her we would take her there on her 10th birthday- not before, not after. In kid language- 5 years is torture.
But all this time caused her to burst at the seams with excitement and anticipation with the build up. In the years leading up to this particular trip, she collected maps, memorabilia and we googled pictures online together. Every time my husband and I traveled there to perform (about 3-4 times per year), we left her begrudgingly at home- promising a magical adventure in the Empire State…eventually. This may sound odd or harsh, but one of the aspects I believe most in about parenting- is the perpetuation of hope, delayed gratification, and above all else- MAGIC!!
Was the nearly five year wait brutal? Yes. Did it sometimes seem ridiculous? Yes. Did we continue to take her other places including: Paris, London and more in the meantime? Yes. But did NYC become a goal, a dream and something for her to yearn for? YES!
Was it all worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!
The day she woke up for our mecca- she sprang out of bed like Christmas morning with a caffeine injection! We could not get there soon enough.
We only had three days for our adventure and the giant stormageddon that rocked the east coast threatened to shut down our plans! But it didn’t. I still don’t know how- but we made it, and from the moment she saw the twinkling lights of the skyline coming across the bridge to Manhattan- I knew she was hooked!
My itinerary of extravagant delight was ready (I had 5 years to plan after all) and included: go to the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day, visit the Statue of Liberty, ice skate in Central Park, feast on her first slice of NY pizza, razzle dazzle backstage at a hit Broadway show to meet the cast and crew, journey to the Metropolitan Museum of art for a massive dose of cultural delight, hail a taxi, ride a subway, gobble up a black & white cookie from a proper bakery, wave to Radio City Music Hall, visit NYU’s campus, and more.
And guess what- we did it all!
She enjoyed and relished in each moment. We all did.
But like always, the things that weren’t on my epic adventure checklist were also fabulous, perhaps even more so! Isn’t that how life is? No matter how much we plan- it is always the moments that sneak in from the side, the glimpses of life, the bursts of joy that truly make up the journey.
Whilst fulfilling our to-do list of tourism gone wild- we stumbled upon a man playing a grand piano. In the snow. In the middle of Central Park. Stunning, haunting and profound. My stepdaughter got to see snow fall from the sky for the first time, squealing with excitement each time she caught a flake with her tongue. We raided FAO Schwartz with dear friends of ours, and our children played for hours amongst the giant stuffed animals and the piano for ‘BIG.’ Their excitement and shiny eyes made everything perfect. We all held hands and had snowballs fights. We took a break in a café that served tableside smores and dried our wet socks. We laughed and got fresh bread from the café under the apartment our best friends so kindly let us stay in. We made memories and had communal dinners and enjoyed each other completely.
Those were the moments.
Were my plans a success? YES.
Were my plans just the jumping off point for living our best lives? ABSOLUTELY!
And we must be NUTS….We have now promised her a trip to China for her 13th birthday! Better get to planning!
{You guys ARE nuts, Alisha! Good luck getting to China.}
Don’t forget to check out the Indiegogo campaign to get Adelante!, the next album from Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, in production and into your family’s musical library.
. It’s a great way to transition into the reading portion of our bedtime routine.
