The Big Apple & Blake

If you know me at all, surely you know I'm a huge Blake Shelton fan.  {remember the ol' country girl at heart references}  I've been listening to country music ever since I could choose my own tunes...like way before country was cool.  I'm telling you it's just something rooted deep in me...although, my Mom is still puzzled about it all.

But, back to Blake {and I promise this will relate to NYC here in a moment}.  I've loved his music all the way back to his mullet days {gag}, but add his role on The Voice and I may just have fallen head over heels.  I am obsessed with all things Blake Shelton.  {sigh}

So as soon as I heard he was heading out on tour, I begged my non-country music listening hubby to take me.  He agreed, only if, "we could at least see him in a cool city".  And now, the title of this post is starting to make sense, huh?

Well, now I imagine you are wondering how Jack ended up on this trip.  Well, I am a Mommy first and a Blake fan second.  When I saw the school calendar gave my kiddos a full 5 days off of school while Clay and I were supposed to be in NYC, the guilt took over.  I just knew we had to take at least one of them...right?!?!

The answer was obvious...we were confident Jack would completely appreciate it, take advantage of all the city had to offer, and enjoy some quality time away from his littles.

So off the three of us went to the Big Apple.

Properly so, the dynamics of our weekend vaca drastically changed when we decided to treat Jack.  After a bit of research and a hefty list of must sees on Jack's part, we hit the city as real live tourist.  Not just Blake fans on a weekend get away.

Upon arrival, we fed Jack an authentic roadside hot dog.  He was thrilled.  {see what I mean by dynamics changing...not exactly the fare I had in mind}

We then checked into our hotel which was situated beautifully in the heart of Manhattan.

Before we could even put our bags down, Jack was ready to start knocking things off his list.  Not too mention, Clay and I were headed to Blake in the evening, so time was of the essence.  I was on board with Jack's anticipation.

His first stop...The Empire State Building...

We decided to walk there in hopes of giving Jack a good feel of the city.  We did just that plus a pair of very exhausted feet.

Once we arrived, we waited in a variety of lines before taking the elevator up to the 86th floor.  Jack was fascinated.  {actually, we all were}

We returned to the hotel just in time to get cleaned up, meet the babysitter {who was recommend by a friend in NYC}, and catch the subway to Brooklyn.  Here I come Blake!

Boots & Blake...I don't know if it gets much better.

As a special treat to me, we got the Gold VIP tickets {that's a pic of my lanyard:)}.  The package included a special acoustic set by Blake and a Q&A session in a private lounge.  No too mention, he gave us some pretty amazing Blake Shelton beer mugs to bring home.

We even got to sit in Blake's original Voice chair...amaze-o!

Come concert time, we were seated in the third row.  I'm pretty sure some of his sweat graced me periodically.  But, what I am  definitely positive about, is that BLAKE pointed and winked at me!!!  That made this country gals day!

{excuse the blur, he really was close, I am just horrible with a camera phone}

I was pretty much on Cloud 9 the following day.  That's why when Jack wanted to hit every. single. museum in NYC, I obliged.

I can only post so many pictures of dino bones and ancient artifacts.  But, in all truth, Jack was in hog heaven!

We also made a pit stop in Times Square.

The Rockefeller Center.

Took Jack on his first subway ride.

Got him some real New York pizza.

And a big fat trip to Dylan's Candy Bar.

We all slept like rocks that night.  

The following day was a weather shocker.  It had been gorgeous up to this point.  All of a sudden the temps dropped a good 15 degrees and it started raining.  I was miserably cold and wet.

However, seeing this boy's face light up at our next few stops made it all worth it.

What would NYC with a 9 year old be without visiting the Statue of Liberty?  We were making progress on that list of must-sees.

We then followed the dock over to the Intrepid which has served as an aircraft carrier since WWII.

We toured the inside and the outside which I have to admit was fascinating.

From there we grabbed a late meal and headed to the airport.  A quick, but very action-packed weekend in the Big Apple.

And there was plenty more that my little camera phone didn't capture like...lots of jerky cab rides, a boat tour, lots of skyscrapers that were "must -sees"...the Chrysler, 9/11 memorial, etc. , Central Park, the Highline, and a teeny tiny bit of shopping to my dismay.  { and only dismay because of the "teeny tiny" part}

But even with all that incredible venturing out and the amazing night at Blake's concert, I think Clay and I would both agree that a little solo time with our first born was the best part!

Love that kiddo!