We finally got a sunny day in New York. Eliza had already determined that our day was to begin with a visit to Balto’s statue in Central Park. But we needed breakfast, so we looked on the map and saw Betty Bakery just 2 blocks away. We devoured apricot rugelachs, apple pie, palmiers, banana bread and even a gourmet twinkie.
Eliza recalled seeing a cat in the window of a toy store (near the bakery) the night we arrived and had been dying to return during shop hours ever since. So we made a quick pit stop at Gumbo, a delightful kids’ store owned by, I swear, the nicest woman in Brooklyn. She took such an interest in the girls and cut Eliza quite a deal on the whimsical necklace she was admiring.
Whiskey, the resident cat at Gumbo, Brooklyn.
Next, we hopped the train in search of Balto.
The moment Eliza heard we were going to New York City, her eyes lit up at the possibility of seeing this statue. We spent over an hour with Balto. 
When the pigeons showed up near the statue, the day officially surpassed Eliza’s wildest dreams. That’s the amazing thing about kids…their wishes are simple and as long as you’re not rushing them off to the next best thing, they’re absolutely content.
And as long as this guy has a rock to perch on or search for, he’s content as well.
I was content to soak up the afternoon sunshine in Central Park.
….and the evening mist in Times Square.
Yesterday we joked that Eliza’a pigeon obsession could lead to her becoming like the pigeon lady from Home Alone …in case you don’t remember her:
We looked up the location in Central Park where they filmed the Home Alone pigeon lady and discovered it was shot at Gapstow Bridge, not far from Balto. As we came upon the bridge we saw a man covered in pigeons. The girls took off running towards him. 
Eliza was face to face with her hero. He had gained the trust of these wild animals and to our delight, he could sense how badly Eliza wanted to do the same. He dug into his bag and handed her a peanut. He said she had to hold it “just so” and explained that they probably wouldn’t trust her right away. She waited and waited holding perfectly still, but nothing came close.
The girls did not lose hope. They held perfectly still and eventually…
Eliza gained trust
And Georgia did too!
The pigeon man had to go, so he handed the girls a fist full of peanuts and before long…
The pigeon girls of Central Park were a main attraction and people were flocking to take pictures of them.
eyeweise 