At times, living in NYC can feel like being on a permanent vacation. I regularly tell the kids how lucky they are to live somewhere that many people dream of visiting just once in their life.
But, with the chaos of daily life, it can be easy to forget to take advantage of the opportunity or to take for granted all of our NYC experiences.
We’ve decided to try to be more intentional about not only taking time to appreciate these moments, but to also experience even more.
The goal: To explore something (or somewhere) new each weekend.
The reality: We may not succeed in this goal every weekend, and that’s ok, but we will do our best. Which pretty much sums up my parenting motto.
The High Line and Chelsea
We’ve lived in New York for over 2 years now and had never taken the kids to The High Line! This felt like a great first outing.
The High Line is a 1.45 mile elevated walkway/park that runs along the west side of Manhattan from Hudson Yards down to Gasevoort Street. Previously a section of the New York Central Railroad, the park runs alongside abandoned tracks, making it an especially fun outing for train loving kids.
For architect fans, it runs alongside several unique buildings and offers views of the NYC skyline. The landscape is thoughtfully curated with signs highlighting the different plants. And, rotating artist installations can be found throughout, with the exhibit on The Spur being one of the most visible. When we visited The Spur was hosting a giant pigeon sculpture, titled, Dinosaur.
The High Line is free to access and has several entry and exit points along the route, so you don’t have to commit to walking the full distance.
But first, breakfast
Before heading to The High Line, we started with brunch at 44 & X in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s about 11 blocks (0.6 miles) from the start of the High Line, so not right next door, but a spot we were familiar with from a previous outing to the Intrepid Museum.
They don’t have a dedicated kid’s menu, but the portion sizes are large enough to split one entree among two kids. They also offer complimentary mini muffins, which are a huge hit with my kids.
The restaurant has a vibrant atmosphere so I don’t feel bad if my kids are adding to the noise. They also had outdoor seating available when we visited, which we took advantage of.
Last stop, Chelsea art galleries
As a parent, I love exposing my kids to art. I grew up with an artist mom and art has always been a part of my life. One of the things I love the most about NYC is the access to a wide range of art.
While we go to art museums, galleries offer a way to see a smaller, more curated collection of artwork from a wider range of artists, and most are free. Chelsea has a large concentration of galleries, so we thought it would be fun to visit some as our final stop.
We exited the High Line at 23rd street and then walked away from the Hudson towards 8th. From here, we did a loop to 25th, stopping into galleries that sparked our interest as we passed.
Full disclosure: Our youngest isn’t a big fan of art. There were some complaints that were placated by promises for a post-galleries treat, which resulted in smoothies from Avocado Oh Smoothie, on 25th and 9th, before jumping in a cab and calling it a day.
Total step count for the day: 16k
A note on kids in galleries
When I enter a gallery with my kids, I remind them to follow museum rules: No touching and quiet voices. I often encourage hands in pockets as a reminder to keep hands off of the art.
Engaging with the kids about the art can help keep everyone engaged. Some questions I like to ask:
- What piece are you most drawn to? Why?
- What do you think about the artist’s use of [color, texture, light, media, etc]?
- How do you think they made this piece of art?
Once home, it can be fun to encourage the kids to use inspiration from the galleries to create their own pieces of art, if they are feeling it.
Have Kids, Will Travel 
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