thanksgiving in nyc // day one.

I've been watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since I was just a child, and it has been on my personal bucket list to attend in person for as long as I knew what a bucket list was. It had always felt out of reach, a pipe dream never to come true, until November of 2021. We were watching the parade from the comfort of our couch, as we did every year, and I smiled as my kids watched every float with glee. The way they exclaimed, "looooook, Mommy!!" sounded like a song, one I wanted to memorize. I grabbed my phone about halfway through watching, and sent TJ a secret text from my couch to his: "Next year? Let's go."

He laughed, but I was serious.

And later that night, after we had eaten our fill of delicious food, I logged onto my hotel account and booked 4 nights in a hotel only two blocks from Central Park in NYC. I did a happy dance when I received my confirmation email, and we began a year of waiting and anticipation!

Then, finally, early on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we drove to GSP and boarded a plane that would take us to our destination. It was our kids' first flights, and they did SO good with the early wake up, waiting, flights, and general travel. We flew Southwest for the first time, and we were pleased with our experience; family boarding was fantastic. It was a long day of travel, but that didn't stop us from hitting the ground running. We took a Tesla to our hotel (which was an amazing experience), and we checked into our hotel, a new luxury hotel in a great location: Thompson Central Park. At check-in, we were upgraded to a city view suite (thanks to my newly-earned Globalist status with Hyatt), and it was absolutely incredible. It was our first luxury experience since our honeymoon (something we never thought we'd experience again); we were all-around impressed with everything Thompson had to offer: it was modern and chic, with a hospitable atmosphere and a fantastic location. We were so giddy to be so close to Central Park!

It had been three years since my own first trip to the big city, and I’m honestly surprised at how well I remembered how to get around. We showed them a few highlights throughout the day: Macy’s, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, Saks, all-things-6th-Avenue, Radio City Music Hall, and more.

A highlight reel of our day:

After a year of anticipation (and a lifetime of dreaming),

we were here!

We went to sleep with full hearts that night. And the next day, we explored 'til we dropped!

NYC // Day One (2019)