Taryn's 18th Birthday in NYC - Day Three

Sunday morning there was another surprise in store for Taryn. It was the day of her actual birthday, and we were scheduled to have dinner with my sister Karen and her family. Her son CJ and Taryn are 2 days apart, so dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant, Angelo's on Mulberry, had been reserved. This Taryn knew. What she didn't know was that her father wasn't going to miss his daughter's 18th birthday dinner.

There we were, standing in Toys R Us in Times Square looking at the people on the ferris wheel. A little tap on her shoulder and Daddy stood behind her. I think if we keep this up, we may give the little girl a heart attack. Sadly, Aunt Cheryl never made it, but Gene in NYC was a major deal. He is not a huge fan of the city crowds. After some hugs and tears, we dropped his bag and headed off in the rain to see the tree. $5 street umbrellas saved the day. As did a really nice lady at the ticket booth at Radio City Music Hall, who gave the birthday girl some great last-minute discount orchestra seats for the Christmas Spectacular.

After the show, we found our way to Le Parker Meridian Hotel, which I've heard houses the "Burger Joint", a hole-in-the-wall, cash-only place that serves 2 things... greasy burgers and fries. Oh, and beer. Behind a big red curtain off the lobby, this place was everything I'd heard. Hard to believe it's inside a 4-star hotel. The gingerbread houses in the lobby were a delight to look at while we digested the wrongness of that lunch.

Some rainy day shopping worked off a bit of the calories (yeah right), and we headed back to the room to prepare for dinner in Little Italy. So we get to Angelo's, and note to self: do not let Billy order! He is an Angelo's regular and the guy likes to order food. Parmesan and olives, calamari, stuffed clams, shrimp, mozzarella spedini, calamari salad. Followed by bowls of pasta, filet, chicken parmigiana, and more. Three bottles of Classic Chianti later we had laughed and ate and laughed some more. I love my sister's family, and I loved that the kids spent their birthdays together even though they live so far apart.

The night was still young, and we spent another hour next door at the 100+ year old bakery Ferrara, ordering pastries and espresso. Then, we went to the tree (again), watched the skaters in Rock Center, lit candles for our father at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and then wandered through Times Square. The best memory of the evening had to be the stop off at Charmin's public restrooms, which turned out to be a playground for all ages themed with all things potty. Who knew bathrooms could be so fun! We even took our turns at powering the 2010 sign for New Year's Eve in the Duracell room. Kudos to Charmin and Duracell for great marketing.

After our good-byes with the Jersey Tavernise's, Gene retired to the room and Chris, Taryn and I headed to the rink. Taryn's one wish for the trip... to skate in Rockefeller Center on her birthday. What a blast we had, and miraculously, we all stayed vertical.

Thanks New York, for another wonderful memory with my daughter.