MURICA

 

Came back from our second ever family vacation away from Israel. It was very different than our Budapest trip, in terms of type, length, costs, etc, but special and fun in its own way. We went to get the kids American Citizenship, and turned it into a very special 2 week trip. It was actually supposed to be in March but we moved it back understanding that a war was coming, and were incredibly thankful that the ceasefire happened when it did. We didn’t even tell the kids until 3 days before for fear it might get cancelled. But thankfully, it worked out beautifully.

We had a wonderful Yom Haatzmaut, picking fruit with family and friends, and then going to Shai and Narkis for a BBQ. We then came home, put the kids to sleep too early, had dinner, put the kids back to sleep, and woke them up to go to the plane. My dad took the girls minus Rinat, and Zak took me, Eitan, and Rinat.

We got to the airport very excited, and quickly went through the business checkin straight to the lounge. The kids loved the lounge, and definitely do not understand how cool it is. But we ate, watched planes, and chilled. (The lounge had actually reopened the day before.)

We got on the plane, with me in between Meital and Eitan, and Rinat on Shiff and next to Hadar. The flight was fine, Meital fell asleep instantly for about 7 hours, Eitan watched some movies and fell asleep. I think I fell asleep for a few hours. Rinat was held by random strangers every now and then. We landed in Newark and watched a beautiful sunrise through NYC. Moshe and Aliza came to pick us up, and the kids instantly were excited and friendly.

The kids played a little with the Blumenthal girls in the park, and then we put them to sleep while Moshe and I went to get the car. It was a hassle because I came 2 hours after the reservation so apparently they gave my minivan away – meaning we had to drive 20 more min to get to an Enterprise that had a minivan. All good, got my first slurpee. Then we got back, and the kids were ready for fun!

We drove to American Dream, with Eli with us, to get lunch and do Paw Patrol. Lunch was a shocker for me in terms of the pizza cost 80 usd (one pie, one gluten free), and Hadar didn’t even like the gluten free one.

Then we went to Paw Patrol climbing area which was a great way to keep them energized and excited. It was a cool place within Nickolodeon theme park. The kids had a blast, they did paw patrol rescues, and it was very cool. I got told off that adults weren’t allowed to go down the slides, but still went down the biggest one after (had to).

From there, we went back to Aliza for dinner from Delancey with the Gantze Mishpacha and went to sleep.

The next morning, we woke up and drove to Paterson Falls. That was the first time Eitan needed to tuck his Tzitzit in which he didn’t like but understood. The falls were pretty unimpressive and not worth the trip to there. Hadar threw up in the car (which she is getting very good at staying calm, barfing in a bag, and moving on). We then drove to the Liberty Science Center, which had  a Daniel Tiger exhibit the kids were excited about. There was also a butterfly area, where the kids could pick up butterflies with special sticks and hopefully not step on them. There was also other cool things, like a water area, a climbing area, a planet area, and an animal area, but the best part for me was having lunch on the observation deck (we learned to pack sandwiches), and getting to see the beautiful skyline of NYC from pretty close, and even cooler – the statue of liberty (only my second time seeing). At the end, we asked a school bus driver if we could get on and he was all too happy to let us.  From there we drove to Teaneck, where we met the Newmarks and got ready for Shabbat. I had to make a Target run right before, and wanted to stop for a slurpee when I got gas but in NJ they fill your car for you – so I couldn’t even make the case that I was out of the car next to a 7-11. Oh well.

Friday night was a beautiful davening at BY. Arnie led davening and did Shaarei Shamayim for the end of Kabbalat Shabbat which was beautiful. Dinner was nice and then we went to sleep.

Shabbat day was great too. We went to the main minyan, the kids got a lot of candy. The rabbi spoke nicely about a bar mitzvah kid and talked about him and his interview of him. There was a kiddush for Ayelet’s Bat Mitzvah, which had delicious Kishka and kugel. Shabbat day was nice, spending time with family.  And then Dov and I went to hear Jen Airley speak, who is awe inspiring in all measures. Her view on things is incredible, what an energy and Ruach boost to hear her. Saturday night was chill, some Madden (I lost which was surprising). We also made the decision to split a boys and girls day the next day.

Sunday morning, we drove back to Clifton for our split day. The girls went to American Dream and bought necklaces and did some girls stuff. Would take boy day any day, but I am glad they had fun. Eitan and I got on a bus in the morning to NYC. We walked from Port Authority to Times Square. He was amazed by the screens and tall buildings, and loved seeing the theaters for Lion King and Aladdin. We even went into the M&Ms store which he loved to see. From there, we hopped onto a train to Citi Field, to watch the Rockies take on the Mets (there was a doubleheader but we decided to only stay for the first game). The Rockies head pitching coach Alon was my coach as a kid, so I was in touch with him before about doing something cool which I try to always do. He said there was no pregame access during a day game but to meet him in left field when the gates opened. We got to citi field 5 minutes before gates opened but there were very long lines. I used my Israeli chutzpa to go through the front of the line and ask security to cut the lines so we could meet my coach. Finally a security woman let us, and we got to be about the 10^th people in the stadium. We shot like a bullet down to field level, and got to watch the Rockies warm up from 10 feet away. Eitan loved the size of the stadium and the seats, and he was holding his “1^st baseball game” sign. One of the players saw and tossed him a ball which he caught bare handed. We then watched the rest of the warmups, and Alon came out. It was great to chat with him for a few minutes, and Eitan even got to throw with him for a couple minutes. Just some Israeli ballplayers. I loved that Alon’s mitt had an Israeli flag and was blue and white. Then we stayed to take a few pictures with players, got one to sign his sign, and walked up to the main concourse to take pictures with Mr. Met and do some of the activities. We got hot pretzels and hot dogs, found Moshe and the boys, and went to take our seats. It was not the most exciting game but I loved sitting with Eitan and explaining what was going on, and he loved it too. I got us great seats but unfortunately in the shade, sun would have been better, so he used my sweatshirt as a blanket. He loved the big apple going up when the Mets homered. I found it so cool to watch Alon go out to speak to the pitcher (Haden, who was the one that tossed Eitan the ball), and also so fun to watch Alon call signs. I even tried to figure out the signs for an inning but I couldn’t (should have tried earlier.) Moshe then drove us back to Aliza. All in all, an amazing day on this trip.

Monday was also a day we had been looking forward to – Moshe’s fire station. We drove to Rutherford and met him at the fire station. Moshe gave a very cool tour to the kids, explained things and answered their many questions. The kids got to climb on the fire trucks and learn what each thing was for. A policeman came also so they got to sit in a police car. Then all of a sudden, Moshe got a call, so we had to get off and let him go – that was very exciting for the kids to see. While he left, we walked over to the 7-11. Somehow Shifra was able to convince them to let us have Meital and Hadar split one and then get an extra cup, which was pretty impressive. Didn’t matter in the end, since they both didn’t like their slurpees but they did like their potato chips bags they got with it at least. Eitan loved his. We got back, and Moshe came back shortly after – call cancelled. The kids continued the tour. I got to dress up in Moshe’s full gear including oxygen tank. Then we all got to spray water on the street, and just be careful not to hit cars. It was really cool. We thanked Moshe and then went to the Van Haus zoo. The train wasn’t working but the merry go round did and so was the zoo. There was some cool animals there like mountain lions, vultures, and prairie dogs, and it was a nice way to spend an afternoon. From there we went back to Aliza, then to Moshe for dinner. Then it turned out that Yaakov and Devorah were driving back, so they took me out (technically Bubby and Zayde did) to Delancey – was so fun to see them.

The next day was the big one – citizenship day. The day Shifra feared for weeks. Driving from Passaic to Hartford to Cedarhurst to Philly, with two girls that had proven to throw up on 10 minute drives. We gave them Dramamine and prayed, and put the girls in the middle seats, with Eitan and Rinat in the back (Eitan was amazing with her this trip, feeding her, entertaining her, etc. We started driving, and it was pretty great. We listened to music, some kids (not Meital) fell asleep. We drove with beautiful greenery, played the license plate game, and got some time just to talk Shifra and I which was nice. We got to 15 min out of Hartford and stopped at the Dinosaur State Park. We asked to use the bathrooms, walked out looking at the actual dinosaur footprints, and had a beautiful picnic in beautiful weather outside. Shifra then gave Rinat her lunch while I took the kids for a nature walk. It was really cool to walk in the footsteps of dinosaurs. Then we continued to Hartford. We parked at some close by library and ran to the appointment. It took a long time, but we were approved. The kids all got American Flags, and they were very excited. Hope we made the right choice for them.

From there, we got back in the car for 3 hours to drive to Cedarhurts – which is only 1 hour out of the way total, and was a delicious BBQ dinner at the Friedmans. It was fun to watch Eitan and some boys connect over a ball, fun to watch Devorah F’s baby and ours who are 9 days apart play, fun to chat with my cousins, and fun to eat delicious food. Mamash. Then we got back(!) in the car for the 3 hour drive to Philly. We decided to stop at 7-11 on the way out of Cedarhurst, and Shifra asked for a diet coke (she moved to the back to help put Rinat to sleep). I came in the car, tried to fix the Bluetooth, looked back, and I was the only one awake. (if one person is awake, it should be the drive tbh). The diet coke that will never be drunk. I drove by myself to Philly the entire way after 6 hours of driving on the day. I love driving. First hour was pretty easy with music and slurpee. But then the Baruch Levine music wasn’t cutting it, and I had to switch to some Taylor Swift, Shaarie Shamayim, etc. songs that I could sing at the top of my lungs. As we pulled into downtown Philly, I was struck by how beautiful the city was at night. Mamash a light show. We got to Baruch and Noa’s home, and I woke Shifra up by saying are you ready for your diet coke? We woke up the kids, walked up the very creaky stairs all the way up, and everyone fell asleep.

The next morning we all woke up, and got to hang out with Baruch, Noa and their kids. Baruch and I went to shul and then came back. Then we set off to the Philly Zoo. It was a very cool zoo! But not Budapest level. Some cool and fun things to see like active monkeys and gorillas, big cat area, a Philadelphia eagle, some crazy otters (my fave), We spent a lot of time there, and didn’t end up needing to go to Philly museum. We then stopped at the supermarket in the Harlem/Bronx of Philly apparently, and then went back to Baruch and Noa to play. I picked up pizza, and Baruch and I set off for the Phillies Game which I was super excited about. Unfortunately, the rain didn’t stop, and after sitting in an hour of traffic, seeing the stadium, we got an email saying the game was postponed. That was a bummer, but I did enjoy the car chats both ways. Plus Shifra needed help with Meital. Once I put her to sleep, I went out with Baruch to a sports bar, and we watched the Flyers game along with Pistons. Fun atmosphere! And we just drank coke and brought in mini oreos, so it was completely free. Turned out to be a fun night even with the rainout.

Thursday we woke up and drove an hour to Crayola Experience. Highly recommended! Was so fun for kids, with the making your own crayons, climbing area, melting max to cool things, coloring pictures of yourself, the crayon factory explanation, waterworks, and much more. The kids LOVED it. It was very fun. I thought I lost my wallet for 15 minutes, but thankfully Shifra found it (apparently when I say main pocket its never the real main pocket). We got Crayons with names for grandparents and some cousins too! Then we drove back to Passaic. This actually was one of the funnest drives, because it turned into a Kumzitz/singalong that was really fun – even after the amount of time together, everyone was still into it and happy to be together. We went straight to Teddy’s which was very fun for everyone, and they even made Hadari special gluten free fries which is not on the menu. An incredible day.

Friday we woke up and decided to have a great day back at American Dream. We started at Legoland which was really fun to create legos and do things with them. Plus the laser room, the 4d movie where they got wet, the train, and the lego city were very cool. We also did a lego building workshop, and played in the lego climbing area. It was very cool. And the cool thing was there was a package with the next door aquarium that we got to see, which was one of the coolest aquariums I have every seen. You stand next to and under eels, sharks, rays, and lots of cool fish, it was very cool! And then there is a climbing area at the end. From there we decided to get them build-a-bear as a souvenir and Afikoman present. They got to choose great bears and clothes, got to fill it up with air, put the heart in, and do the whole procedure with the guys. From there, we went to Carvel with everyone, where I got a delicious Carvelanche – it was too hard to choose between the amazing toppings and ice cream, and so I got the carvelanche that let me put in like 9 toppings (reeses pieces, peanut butter cups, sprinkles, circle sprinkles, oreos, and more). From there Moshe and I went to return the car, and came back right for Shabbat. Shul and Friday night dinner were great. Then the next morning we had a bunch of fun! Shul was great, I like Rabbi G speeches, and the kids went to groups in the youth suite dedicated to the original candy man – their great great grandfather – they liked that a lot! Lunch was so fun with the stars and blums. Shabbat afternoon was fun with shabbat party, and I got to go to another Rabbi G shiur about why we daven at graves. The rest of shabbat was great. Saturday night we of course went back to Teddy’s, who threw in some garlic knots and an extra slice for me, and Shifra says her deep crust pizza was the best pizza slice she has ever eaten.

Sunday we woke up and decided to have more of a chill day. We played at the Blumenthals in the morning, in the park and at the “wedding” while mummy went to Target. (Eitan went back to the fire station to climb the ladder and even sit in the truck while it moved! and to Hatzala station to see the ambulance). Then we went to catch air, which is a climbing place that is so fun. Shifra and I went down the slide together, and everyone enjoyed very much. From there we went back to Blumenthals to watch a few minutes of the Pistons game before going to Delancey for dinner. Then I played a few MLB the Show games with Tan (won), and then packed and went to sleep.

Monday it was time to go home. We went to the airport, sat in the lounge, met Dovi N, and had a great flight home. I put Rinat in the overhead compartment which the flight attendants liked. BTW the flight attendants kept coming to ask if they can hold Rinat. We liked to see Metlife Stadium and Yankee Stadium, and all the different baseball/football fields. Was much harder since they didn’t really sleep as it was day time. We landed at 4 am, had the taxi driver take us back to Newmarks, and then we slept from 6-11 and forced ourselves to wake everyone. I took a sick day at work so I could slowly get back online and find out what I missed.

An amazing vacation. So thankful for the opportunity. And thankful all the hard work to get citizenship paid off.