Bryn in NYC

This past Sunday I took Bryn to New York to see Mary Poppins with my dearest friend, Maritess, and her five-year-old son Rhys. Bryn and I took Amtrak to NY and arrived in New York around 11 a.m. We took a cab to the American Girl store on 5th Avenue at 49th Street. Bryn likes her American Girl doll, but she isn't obsessed with it. Nevertheless, it's hard not to get swept up in American Girl when you visit the three-story store in NY, complete with doll hair salon.
We were able to secure lunch reservations for 12:15, so we spent 50 minutes walking around the store, trying to identify the one outfit that Bryn would take home. (She decided on a ballet outfit.) If Bryn had brought her doll to NY, she could have placed it in a booster seat for the doll at our table. She was asked whether she wanted to borrow one of the many dolls that they had, already in booster seats, but Bryn declined. Lunch was mostly a set menu, and the food wasn't that great, but Bryn had a lot of fun reading the box of questions that was on each table while we waited for our meal. What is your best childhood memory? What is your favorite book and why? When the dessert plate arrived with three offerings, Bryn exclaimed, "This is the best day ever!" From the American Girl store, we walked toward the theater where Mary Poppins was playing. We passed this busker along the way who held Bryn's interest:

She saw the Empire State Building, albeit from a distance, and Times Square. Then we met up with Maritess and Rhys to watch Mary Poppins. The show was entertaining, but 45 minutes too long -- three hours, including intermission. Bryn and Rhys were attentive, but Bryn could barely sit still the second half of the performance. When the show was over, Bryn said she wanted to stay in New York. Maybe another time we can spend the night at Maritess'. All in all it was a very indulgent day for Bryn who deserved every minute of it.