Recently I got the urge to “get outta town” on a Friday afternoon, and in less than an hour I had picked out our MTA Getaway package which was listed as a day trip - but I jumped onto Expedia and booked a hotel, turning it into a relaxing three-day weekend!
The Destination? Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. The Maritime getaway package includes a round trip off-peak Metro North ticket between Grand Central and South Norwalk Station (takes about 65 minutes), a ticket to the aquarium, and a ticket to the IMAX show. It costs $39 (cheaper for kids and free for under 3 years), but without the package it would run you about $50!
Luckily I have a stand-by "what to pack" list so packing wasn't much of an issue, and we were on our way Saturday morning! First stop, Grand Central Station (an hour into our journey already, thanks to living all the way down in Bay Ridge Brooklyn!!) to buy our Metro North rail and aquarium package tickets. I love Grand Central, it's my favorite spot in the City!! So beautiful...
After just over an hour on the train, we arrived at South Norwalk station and called the Hilton Garden Inn to come pick us up - they have a free shuttle anywhere in the area, which we used, several times! Awesome!! Unfortunately we didn't bring a car seat, and of course they didn't have one, so yes, another nomination for Mother of the Year goes to yours truly... >_<
I wanted to get out and start having some fun, but my boys had other plans...
After they woke up, we went down to the pool and had a blast!! The water was a bit cool but not too bad, and the jacuzzi was sooooooooo nice!!! We went down to the pool once each of the three days, and met 3 families who were there on a staycation!! So funny!
We ran next door to Mrs. Green's Natural Market to grab some organic yogurt for Kenzo's breakfast (we're too cheap for the $12.95 buffet). One really cool thing about the Hilton is their lobby area is HUGE! They have a dining area, a main lobby with tons of huge comfy chairs, and off to the side is this big dining room with a flat screen TV and lounge chairs. We never saw anyone else in there, so we made ourselves at home for breakfast and dinner the second night!