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inkribbon796 · 3 years

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Snow Angels

Summary: Illinois has a special surprise for Eric.

Directly after talking to the Host, Illinois ran from the library and into his bedroom where he promptly took a shower, trimmed his facial hair, and brushed his teeth.

For the finishing touches to his preparation he added a dab or two of cologne under his ears and quickly grabbed something he’d been hiding in his sock drawer for two years now.

He hadn’t intended to give this to Eric, didn’t think he’d ever give it to anyone after his third travel partner died. But Eric was everything . . . and he was incredibly resilient to Illinois’s luck.

Illinois ran down the hall, running into Dark. After a quick chat, Dark opened a portal for him about a block from the heroes’ base.

The instant the portal closed, Illinois pulled out his phone and made a quick call, “Hey Kay, it’s me, I need a favor. A big one.”

Eric was almost falling asleep on one of the lobby couches, resting his legs with his prosthetics on the ground next to him.

He was gently woken up to the sound of someone talking. Unlike most of the time when being awoken in his sleep would cause disorientation and anxiety, Eric had time to gradually wake himself up.

“Nah, I got it, don’t worry,” King said in the kitchen, pushing his glasses back onto his face. It took Eric some time to realize he was on the phone with someone. “Don’t worry lover boy, I won’t spoil the surprise.”

Eric groaned and picked himself up, reaching blindly for his glasses.

“Oh, hey Eric did I wake you?” King asked gently. “Sorry buddy.”

“Mmm’ fine,” Eric grumbled.

“Hey, you wanna head out with me, just for a bit, it’s not a patrol or anything I just don’t spend enough time with anyone,” King asked.

Eric shrugged and got up, wrapping himself up in a jacket and some gloves, he made sure he was wearing modified leg warmers so his prosthetics wouldn’t cause his legs to feel like they’d frozen over.

They made it two blocks, Kay joking around as he tried to get Randall to answer his texts. Then Illinois jumped out from behind a parked car and threw a whole mess of snow at Kay. The younger brother screamed in surprise and pushed Illinois away from, throwing snow back at him as Eric watched, mostly untouched by the impromptu snow fight.

After Illinois shoving some snow down Kay’s coat and almost getting his nose broken in retaliation, the three of them started walking. Eric and Illinois were walking hand in hand. Randall was going to join them for “security” but after a bit King stopped.

“Alright, something’s up,” King finally commented, looking at his phone. “I’m going to go and find him, Ills can you try not to eat Eric’s whole face while I’m not here?”

“No promises,” Illinois grinned, pulling Eric by his waist a little closer to him. “I can’t resist this face.”

Eric’s face flushed with more than just the cold.

King stared at him, and Illinois rolled his eyes.

“Fine we’ll meet you by the park,” Illinois took Eric’s hand and started to lead him away from King, the other hero on his phone.

They walked a bit until they made it to King’s park and to Eric’s surprise, Illinois took a couple of steps inside of it.

“King w-won’t mind?” Eric asked, looking around.

“I talked with him, so long as I don’t bring other people from work in, he’ll be fine,” Illinois dismissed.

They walked around the almost empty park. Illinois flopping into the snow and eventually coaxed Eric into making snow angels with him.

After a while they went and sat on a snow covered bench. Illinois tried to dust off most of the snow and ice. The bench was facing a river towards the back of the park, a sheet of ice coating the surface.

Eric was looking out over the park, a calm little half smile on his face. And Illinois thought that was the most beautiful sight in the world. “It’s so pretty with all the snow.”

“Yeah,” Illinois just stared at Eric. “The park is too.”

Eric looked over to notice Illinois was staring at him. He got all flustered and shy.

“I can see why King took the place over,” Illinois commented smoothly. “Lots of good memories here.”

“Like what?” Eric asked, leaning against Illinois.

Illinois smiled, leaning into him a bit and wrapping an arm around him. “Artie once pushed Kay into the river. Dark just about lost his mind, fishing him out of the river.”

Eric looked started, “Was he . . . uhmm . . . alright?”

“Oh yeah, he knew how to swim and it was late summer so it was like ankle deep,” Illinois dismissed. “You doing okay? Your prosthetics bugging you?”

Eric shook his head.

Illinois stood up, “if you’re sure, there’s this nice cafe we could go and warm up there. Or we can go out onto the river.”

Eric looked at the river nervously, looking down at his legs. “It . . . It’ll break?”

“What, the ice?” Illinois asked. When Eric nodded, Illinois smiled at him. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you, and you don’t have to go any farther than the bank if you don’t feel safe.”

“O— Okay,” Eric allowed and let Illinois pull him out and the instant Eric set foot on the ice the nanites in his prosthetics shifted and the ends of them became ice skates, a wide base above the blades to help with Eric’s balance.

All Illinois did was put something on the base of his shoes and icicle blades magically grew from the soles of his shoes, magically strong enough for him to skate with.

Illinois was already out of the ice, testing it and proving the ice was sturdy but Eric’s few attempts resulted in Eric slipping on the ice a lot.

Eric tried to keep his balance while Illinois was already doing small little spins on the ice. All Eric could do was smile and watch him. His arms held out in an attempt to balance himself.

After pulling out of another spin, Illinois slid over. He dropped to a knee at the final part of his slide. He was smiling up at Eric. “You like my little tricks?”

“I can’t,” Eric paused a looked away in frustration for a bit as he tried to say what he wanted, “ca-n’t sk-ate like you.”

“That’s okay, I’m better at magic tricks anyway,” Illinois smiled, an expression of absolute adoration on his face. “Wanna see a new one, I just learned it?”

Eric gave a small smile, nodding as he looked back at Illinois.

“Okay,” Illinois felt his heartbeat quicken with excitement as he prepared to do a sleight of hand trick. “Watch closely, I’m going to make something appear out of thin air.”

He grabbed Eric’s hand with one hand, distracting him as a black jewelry box seemingly appeared in his other hand. Eric stiffened in surprise and Illinois with one hand flipped it open to reveal a silver band with green and white stones set into it.

“Eric Derekson, these last few months have been the most wonderful I’ve ever been and felt in my life. Will you marry me?”

Eric just stared at him, eyes blown open in shock before he just started crying.

“Uhh,” Illinois just stayed kneeling on the ice, unsure what to do. If that was a no or yes.

But then Eric managed a tearful but smiling, “Yes.”

“Yeah?” Illinois smiled.

Eric was still crying as he nodded, Illinois sliding the ring on.

Illinois made this happy whooping cheer and scooped Eric up and stepped back onto the snow, his enchantment for his shoes running out just in time for Illinois to capture Eric’s lips with his own.

“You won’t regret this,” Illinois promised Eric, resting his forehead against Eric’s. “I swear, I’ll spend every day of my life making sure you don’t regret it.”

Eric hugged himself to Illinois, he hadn’t been expecting the proposal. He hadn’t even imagined even being in a relationship where that would be an option for him. But Illinois treated Eric like he was someone worth loving, and not just in a “we’re actually friends and I care about you” type of way. Illinois was different. The hope of something more . . . something that amazed and terrified him with how it made him feel.

“Let’s go break the news,” Illinois said in excitement. “We’ll start with my family then we can tell yours.”

“Wa-Wait,” Eric said in nervousness, pressing on Illinois’s shoulders.

“Let’s go,” Illinois smiled.

There was a clearing of a throat and Eric looked to see King standing about ten feet away with his phone, pointed at them. “Smile for the camera.”

“He said yes,” Illinois was all smiles.

“Yeah, yeah, do the future grooms have anything to say to the camera?” King asked.

“Did you get the whole thing?” Illinois asked.

“I started when you two got out onto the ice,” King smiled.

“Uhh, umm, Ran—” Eric started before King smiled.

“Nah, he’s at the base waiting for us,” King grinned. “He just got off patrol. You two should head off to break the news to Dark. Don’t worry kid, he’s an asshole but he won’t hurt you.”

“Oh, uh okay,” Eric said nervously. Illinois finally put him down.

The adventurer pulled his hat off his head and tapped at the bronze star. A portal promptly opened up for them. Illinois offered out his arm for Eric. “Shall we, or do you want to talk to the heroes first?”

Eric was nervous. Dark was — in his mind — a foreboding force of nature. And he knew from how Illinois spoke of him and he meant a lot to him.

Reluctantly, Eric took his arm and clung to it. He hid behind Illinois as they looked at the portal.

“I won’t let him hurt you,” Illinois promised.

Clinging onto Illinois he nodded and they walked through the portal.

Dark was sitting on his desk, flipping through a magical tome with a look of frustrated concentration on his face, a stack of old looking books in front of him. “Illinois, do you remember which of these blasted books you got from Bagdad? The alchemy one with the concealer charm?”

“It’s the one with the eclipse diagram in it, because I know you can’t read Arabic,” Illinois commented.

“Right, right,” Dark tugged a book out of the stack and stood up. “It was the one with the Turkish Constantinopolitan dancers that Wil said—”

At that moment Dark realized that someone other than him and Illinois were not alone, Eric ducked behind Illinois in fear and Dark just stood on him.

Thankfully Illinois spoke up first before Dark could get over his shock of having a complete stranger in his personal home office.

“아빠,” Illinois said in pure excitement. “아빠 I have the best news. I want you to meet Eric.”

Dark seemed to recover quickly and tried to look around Illinois. “Eric?”

Eric glanced up and just about screamed in fear when his eyes met Dark’s.

“Oh, Derekson,” Dark recognized.

“You’ve met?” Illinois smiled.

“Twice, very briefly,” Dark answered firmly, “everytime else he was in that ridiculous outfit.”

“Oh yeah, he’s adorable in that,” Illinois commented.

Dark rolled his eyes, “Right, you had to inherit something from Wil.”

Eric braced to get hit or thrown out of Dark’s office so that they could “talk” about who Illinois chose to spend his time with.

The ringing from Dark’s aura was gone and when Eric bravely glanced up Dark’s wasn’t there . . . Damien was there instead.

“Hello,” “Damien” gave a small smile, Eric was a lot more willing to look at Dark. “Eric, right?”

“See, he’s not going to hurt you,” Illinois told him. “Show him, dulcito, we have great news 아빠.”

Eric still hid his face in Illinois’s shoulder but let himself be moved out enough for Dark to see his hand.

Dark caught the ring instantly, and his form flickered between, his red and blue forms.

“He said yes, we’re gonna get married,” Illinois smiled. “Isn’t this amazing?”

“I,” Dark felt a weight form in his throat. “I wasn’t aware your relationship was this advanced.”

“We met when I was in Brazil,” Illinois explained and he started going off about how brave and kind and wonderful he was and how the trip went. He very noticeably omitted Roman and Marvin’s presence and involvement in the strip entirely.

“How,” Dark began, but in his head his red soul thought: “you’re going too fast!” but he only said, “wonderful.”

His ring finger burned with the long-thought dead memory of his red soul’s own wedding ring. “You just met him, you barely know him!”

“You’re just,” Thoughts of a wedding that led to a marriage that ended in complete and utter disaster burned in Dark’s mind. A look of complete calm came over Dark as he took his blue soul’s form again. “I do wish you’d told me sooner, weddings don’t just happen in a day.”

“We can take as much time as we need,” Illinois dismissed.

“I can draft up the better housing areas in the city,” Dark quickly offered. “Or would you heather take the lake house?”

“We can talk about renovating the lake house some other time,” Illinois told Dark, feeling Eric grip his hand tighter a little. “Not getting married next week.”

“Of course,” Dark nodded.

“I gotta take Eric back home,” Illinois told him. “We’ll talk about the lake house when I get back.”

Dark nodded, opening up a void portal that was right in front of the hero’s base. As soon as it was closed and Dark was alone he let out a scream that he felt really encapsulated his raging storm of emotions. Only one he was calm and his screaming was done did he grab the time he’d been looking for and began heading towards Bim’s bedroom. He had to be quick before Bim’s aura got any stronger and started fighting him.

At the base the heroes were very hesitant with Illinois. He wasn’t allowed inside, obviously but King had gathered all the heroes currently in the base for “a surprise” and once the ring came out the reactions were mixed, but mostly positive.

Roman looked at the ring and then he screamed at the top of his lungs in joy, jumping up and down, shaking Virgil harshly in his excitement. “He’s getting married! Ahhhhhhh! I’m gonna die!”

“Princey, Princey,” Virgil tried to pull him off but Roman jumped away and rushed towards Eric, Illinois protectively and instinctively stepping in front of Eric to protect him.

“Please let me plan it, I promise it will be amazingly perfect, it’s my dream, please, please, please” Roman rambled.

“You can talk to the Old Man about that,” Illinois told him. “We’ve got time to plan this whole thing. Make it as fancy or simple as we want.”

Roman looked especially put out about that but his bruised ego and Illinois reluctantly left, kissing Eric only the lips before gently touching his lips to the knuckle that bore Eric’s new ring and waved his fingers as a ring appeared on his own hand, promising, “I’ll return for you soon, my sweet. Dream of me.”

Eric blushed and watched Illinois leave through a portal.

Everything was calm for a couple seconds as Eric stared at the space his new fiancé had just been in.

Then Ethan spoke up, questioning, “Didn’t you meet him like a year ago or something?”

“Hush, it’s true love,” Roman told him, waving in his direction.

“Congratulations my boy,” Wilford clapped his hand to Illinois’s shoulder, hugging him to his chest.

“Thanks,” Illinois smiled.

“Bring the nice lad around, we’ll give him a tour of the old place,” Wil offered.

Bim stomped into the foyer where Wil and Illinois were, looking pissed. Dark was coming from the kitchen with a glass of what looked like wine in his hand. “Could you fuckers be any louder?”

“Here,” Dark offered Bim, his aura coming back from a portal he’d opened up just before entering the room. “This should help.”

“Thanks,” Bim snapped and downed it in one go. There was an odd aftertaste to it but he was too tired to register it as something he should be suspicious of.

“Good news Bimmy Boy,” Wilford smiled. “Old Illy here’s getting hitched.”

“What?” Bim demanded angrily.

“I’m getting married, you remember that hero I keep telling you not to eat?” Illinois clarified. “Him.”

“You’re getting married?” Bim looked conflicted. “You two living here or moving out.”

“Move out,” Illinois shrugged. “Stretch my wings out a bit. I won’t go far, Dark’s been talking about renovating the lake house for me. ‘Bout time we did something with the place really.”

“Wait you,” Bim started before collapsing on the ground in a sleep-induced unconsciousness.

“Oh good it works,” Dark commented.

“What was that?” Illinois asked, pointed at Bim as Dark picked him up with his aura.

“A potion for when Wil gets out of control,” Dark lied, his aura stroking Bim hair lovingly and gently removing his glasses. “It dilutes wonderfully in alcohol. Get some rest, Illinois, we have a lot to discuss tomorrow.”

“Can I have some of that, it looks fun?” Wilford smiled.

“Of course, give me a bit to put Bim to bed,” Dark smiled at him.

Illinois watched Dark disappear into a portal but did eventually go to bed, texting Eric as he did so.

#Superhero AU #Masks and Maladies #Markiplier #Thomas Sanders #Illinois the Adventurer #ahwm Illinois #Eric Derekson #King of the Squirrels #Darkiplier #Bim Trimmer #Roman Sanders #Wilford Warfstache #Ericilly #pure fluff #fluff #slight hint of angst

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dracoaleksander · 7 years

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Hand’s On Training

The crunch of metal on ice range out once more as Yuri attempted another turn and scratched the landing. He managed to stay upright and continue the next arc of the routine, but silently cursed his inability to land the move consistently.

“You’re thinking about it too much,” Viktor said from the wall, “just let it happen.”

“That’s what you always say,” Yuri said, thankful that his blush would probably mix into the redness his skin always took on during extended practices, “but how can I when I’m worried about whether or not I’ll land on the other side?” He broke his tempo and drifted over to the other man

“What were you thinking about the other day in the competition?” the coach asked bluntly.

“W-why do you ask?” the skater said, fearing that his embarrassment would become obvious despite the current rawness of his skin.

“Because you landed everything perfectly,” Viktor said innocently, “so you must not have been thinking about the routine.”

“Not everyone can be as empty-headed as you,” Yuri said, turning and skating away. He gathered up speed with the intent of continuing his routine where he had left it off.

“Were you maybe thinking about someone?” the coach said, speaking loud enough to be heard.

“Not everything is about you!” the skater said, yelling back.

“Oh?” Viktor said with a smile, “I was thinking maybe it was Yuko, but now you’ve just come out and told me.”

Yuri could not help but trip up. He ended up on his face, sliding across the slick surface of the frozen rink, radiating anger and humiliation.

“I did not!” he said as he came to a stop and turned over, “I was actually thinking about Yurio, and how much more I needed to work if I want to stay ahead of him.”

“You do need to keep working,” Viktor said, walking around the rink, then using the closest gate to join his partner on the ice, “but you’re lying. You were thinking of me.”

“...so what?” Yuri said, not looking his coach in the eyes, but taking the hand he proffered.

“Nothing, really,” Viktor said, “I’m just amused. Here, let’s work on something else for now. Have you done any work with Minako lately?”

“You know I haven’t,” the skater said, exhaling despondently, “I’ve spent all my time practicing with you.”

“Indeed you have,” the coach said, still smiling, “but I actually have gone and talked to Minako during our off time. I had to wait until she closed the Kachu for the evening, of course, but she showed me some training techniques I could remind you about.”

Without warning, Viktor started to pose Yuri. The act involved practically dragging the man over to the wall in order to use it as an impromptu barre, and would have been comical to anyone watching due to the instability created by the skater’s footwear. Inside his head, through, he was simply caught up in being so directly guided by his coach.

“Careful about your balance,” Viktor said, “You don’t want to hurt your ankles.”

“T-then maybe you should let me take off my skates,” Yuri said, protesting weakly and grabbing at the top of the wall.

“No, no,” the coach said, “you have to be able to hit these poses just as well standing still, Minako said. That way, you won’t have to worry about hitting them while you’re moving.” While there was not any pressure in his tone, the phrase suggested that he would be disappointed if his protege was unable to do as asked.

The skater wordlessly started running through his routine in place, wobbling occasionally. However, he only tightened his grip on the makeshift barre whenever his partner corrected his posture or position with a simple touch.

“Again, but better,” Viktor said, his voice resonating like Yuri imagined the man’s own ballet teachers sounded.

He did the routine again, but better. Again and again, never leaving the wall, but needing its support less each time, the skater performed the routine. Eventually, he even started including the arm positions he would need to use when in motion. At first, it went well, but he eventually overbalanced himself as a result of being still. The vertigo of falling shot through his head once more, but he found himself caught in his coach’s arms.

“Let’s try this a different way,” Viktor said.

He kept his hands near Yuri’s waist, just barely touching the man. It let the skater know that the support was there, and allowed him to continue performing without the fear of falling. His mind began to wander, traveling through that light touch, up his coach’s arms, and to the man’s smiling face. His heart began to pound, though not due to the effort put into his dance.

“I think I need to take a break,” Yuri said, not daring to look at the other man, but not yet stopping his routine.

“So anxious to get away from me?” Viktor said.

“N-no,” the skater said, “I just need some water.” He wondered if his mind was playing tricks, or if the white-haired Russian was a bit closer than before.

“Are you sure?” the coach said, starting to accelerate toward the body of the Japanese man, “If you take a break now, we’ll have to go back to doing the full routine once you’re done.”

“Really?” Yuri said, “But we’ve been at this all day. I was hoping we could go do something else for a while…”

“We can’t leave until you figure out how to take your mind off of your routine,” Viktor said. Though his face was smiling, his eyes were quite serious.

Before he knew it, the skater’s gaze had been captured by the coach’s. For a few seconds, it did not matter. However, his body eventually reached a move that would have required him to tear his eyes away from his partner’s in order to complete it correctly. The Japanese man ended up in the Russian’s arms once again, their eyes never leaving each other’s.

“Well, then,” Viktor said as he righted himself and his partner, “I guess we can go.” He started to head for the nearby gate.

“B-but, you said…” Yuri said, nervously steadying himself on the wall.

“And now your mind is on anything but your routine,” the coach said without turning around, “So, mission accomplished. Now, are you coming or not?”

“A-ah!” the skater said, hopping forward, having forgotten momentarily that he was still wearing his skates, “Y-yes, I’m coming!”

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Written as an anniversary present for @twiglightdragon. Love you!

#writing #yuri on ice #practice #present #fanfic

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2traveldads-blog · 6 years

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New York City with kids is both a dream and stressful idea. I mean, it’s New York. It’s the Big Apple and the ultimate American experience. We learned a lot about doing NYC with kids and can say that it is worth the effort and can be unforgettable in the best ways. Through our partnership with IHG Rewards Club, we were able to plan a trip, book a great hotel and have our first family experience in New York and it was even over the holidays.

So how do you even approach NYC with kids? Well, you need to decide what’s important to you for your visit from big ticket sights to where you want to wake up each morning. We knew we wanted to see the sights the kids would recognize or remember, and also to get the feel of Christmas in New York (visited during December). We picked our top travel goals and plotted out our time, and you can do it too!

NYC with kids and planning a successful family adventure

What does your family want to check out in NYC? Wanting to experience New York City is so often influenced by the movies and shows that we watch and have seen all our lives. So, do you want to hit NYC and hang like a local (or like your favorite sitcom character) for a few days or do you want to see the iconic sights and relive classic movie moments? For our family, we wanted food, views, history and ice skating, but not in that order. Here’s how to make NYC with kids a success.

Where to stay in NYC

We aren’t big on the crowds, so New York City had us a bit anxious, especially for visiting during the holidays. We partnered up with IHG Rewards Club and looked at the available IHG properties around Manhattan. We found what would work well for us and our travel goals: Holiday Inn Manhattan Financial District.

A post shared by 2 Travel Dads (@2traveldads) on Dec 24, 2017 at 5:28am PST

Top selling points for booking this particular IHG property:

location – away from the crowds

dining on property – even though we are all about experiencing the food of a destination, you MUST have on-site food options

room style – getting the right bedding arrangement for a family of four can be tricky in NYC

the Holiday Inn Manhattan Financial District is the tallest of its brand, making our view from the 44th floor incredible

We really liked having the Holiday Inn Manhattan Financial District as our home base because it’s located away from the hustle and bustle of the city during the holidays. Located just off Wall Street, the neighborhood was shockingly peaceful when you consider that Manhattan is so densely populated. NYC with kids needs to be a trip where you can escape from Times Square and recharge for your next outing. Our hotel was in an ideal, quiet neighborhood perfect to explore between our big ticket sightseeing, as well as a stress-free place to sleep each night.

True, our room was by no means huge, but it’s NYC! What do you expect?! The hotel was very clean and the housekeeping service was consistent and timely. The staff was very helpful throughout the duration of our stay, including providing us with the necessary supplies to wrap Christmas presents (traveling over Christmas). It was ideal.

Booking via IHG Rewards Club

Booking using IHG Rewards Club points was a simple process to get through. Because IHG Rewards Club points have so few restrictions we had tons of hotel choices all over Manhattan, from Kimpton properties or Intercontinental Hotels, to Holiday Inn. We opted for the super family-friendly brand we’ve stayed with many times before (recently on an impromptu Disneyland adventure) because we knew it would fit all of our requirements. After about two minutes of perusing the site and making sure our dates and location we correct, we booked it and were good to go.

We had the option of paying with points, currency and points, or just straight up out-of-pocket. If you have the points… USE THEM! IHG Rewards Club points go pretty far, and when you travel as much as we do, accruing and using points makes family travel less stressful and more cost efficient.

Step 1: choose Reward Nights

Step 2: input destination & dates

Step 3: locate available properties (we liked Map view)

Step 4: Book it! You’re done!

*our trip was in partnership with IHG Rewards Club so that we could share the full experience, from booking to Broadway, with you. All opinions and written content are our own.

Choosing activities for NYC with kids

New York City is full of excitement and iconic places to visit, but it’s also, as Chris says, the “hurry up and wait” city. It’s true. NYC with kids can be perfect with the right planning and pre-thought when it comes to managing kids’ energy levels.

Here’s the criteria we measured all of our activities against before adding them to our NYC itinerary:

will all four of us enjoy some aspect of the experience?

is there something to learn or is the experience truly a new one for us?

will the activity be less than three hours from start to finish?

if we end up having to cut it short, will anybody be totally upset?

A post shared by 2 Travel Dads (@2traveldads) on Dec 27, 2017 at 4:42am PST

Using these guidelines we were able to create a great family-friendly itinerary that took us five days to complete. We could’ve done it in four days, but five worked perfectly. Want to see what we actually got to do in five days of NYC with kids?

Wall Street sites; Times Square; The Lion King on Broadway; National Museum of Natural History; 5th Ave, Grand Central, Rockefeller Center and all things Christmas in NYC; Top of the Rock; Historic Lower Manhattan; Central Park; Ice Skating in Bryant Park; Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island National Monuments; Little Italy…

Isn’t it crazy to think that we covered this much ground in five days? And we have our next trip already planned out to include some other sites and museums that we didn’t have time for. NYC with kids can be incredible, but it took planning to be able to execute it successfully.

Top tips for building your NYC itinerary

This is your to-do list for planning NYC with kids. Do these four things and you’ll have a stress-free adventure!

familiarize yourself with the layout of Manhattan and the subway system, particularly understanding your hotel in relation to sites and subway lines

determine a daily start and end time for activities so you can plan your meals appropriately

if booking a Broadway show, consider matinees or early evening shows if you have kids with you (check TodayTix for deals) or use a loyalty program for booking. (Thanks IHG Rewards Club concierge!)

when planning museum visits, check for current exhibits to know what you MUST SEE when there

Dining in NYC with kids

When you think about dining in NYC with kids, you probably are picturing trying to keep them calm in a Michelin starred restaurant or some over the top place you saw on the Food Network, but dining in NYC is much easier than that.

The main foods we wanted to be sure to experience were New York pizza, lox, bagels, authentic Jewish delicatessen cuisine, cheesecake, Italian food and street food. Done. Boom. We did it. Again, it’s all about the planning and how you make things a priority.

Bagels and lox were super easy to come by in nearly every neighborhood, and we were able to tackle them as both breakfast and dinner. New York pizza was also a breeze once we figured out where to look. Pizza can go for fancy or basic and once you know what you want, just look up and it’s there. Cheesecake was also easy to find in Lower Manhattan, as each small deli would have a good selection of pastries and desserts. And street food: everywhere (even if it was just hot dogs out in the cold).

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Here are the places we went, aka Our Top Picks for dining in NYC with kids, but remember that NYC is huge and full of great food; go explore and find your own faves!:

Bagels and Lox – Leo’s Bagels in the FiDi OR Katz’s Delicatessen in the East Village

New York style pizza – Pomodoro for fast and easy pizzas OR Sauce and Barrel for and elevated menu

Pastrami and Delicatessen dining – Katz’s Delicatessen in the East Village

Authentic Italian – Ciao Vineria con Cucina at Mulberry + Broome in Little Italy

Of the many places we ate during our five days in NYC, these ones stood out as either being the most delicious, the most kid-friendly, or the most New York (particularly Katz’s). If you want to seek out your own NYC food discoveries, do what we always recommend wherever you are: ask a local for their favorite spot for a good meal, not necessarily where to get a nice dinner, but just a good meal and you’ll usually be directed to someplace that’s down-to-earth and tasty.

Transportation in New York City

We only took the train for all of our transportation in NYC with kids. Why? Because we have little people that still require a car seat or a booster, and if you order an Uber that isn’t equipped, they don’t have to honor your ride request (and you want to be safe anyways). NYC has some strong laws around child safety and the drivers are good about following them.

Also, the subway is SO EASY. Nearly everywhere you’ll want to go in Manhattan is within a few blocks of a subway station. If you don’t live in a place with a great public transportation system or just no subway, riding the subway is a tourist attraction in itself. It’s fun to watch the performances, to make quick train transfers, and in general to just pop out of the subway in a totally different place.

Tip: for subway riders who will be getting on/off 13 times or more during a one week period, the unlimited ride pass is the best option for cost and ease of use. Even if you won’t be riding 13 times, if you’ll be using it a good number of times during your NYC trip, it’s much easier than buying single ride tickets and will save you time.

Our biggest recommendation when it comes to mastering the subway is to download Google Maps (including offline) and NYC Subway Map (for Android). Even trained New Yorkers still need to check subway route maps to make sure their transfers and plans are correct. Don’t forget, you can do Uber, Lyft, taxis, the bus, CitiBike, walk… but the subways is the easiest and most consistent method of transportation we can recommend.

Tip: if you’re in a station with an MTA employee around and you’re concerned about catching the right train ALWAYS ask for help. There are some stations that are completely confusing even when you feel really confident with your map. Ask for help.

Now aren’t you excited to plan and book a trip to NYC with kids? While our hearts will always lean towards adventures in the wilderness, our family trip to New York City was really fun and unforgettable. We learned a lot about doing a city break and earned our chops on the subway. Next time, we’ll probably venture to NYC in the spring for some warmer weather, but in the meantime, we’re still riding high off our awesome moments exploring the chilly city as a family.

Want to pin this for later and for planning your own NYC (or other city) adventure? Go for it! And remember, the same rules/tips we suggest can be applied to any sort of family travel, so get out there and see the world!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of IHG Rewards Club. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Planning NYC with kids: from building an itinerary to booking with rewards New York City with kids is both a dream and stressful idea. I mean, it's New York.

#budget travel #Christmas #city break #family travel #Holiday Inn #IHG #IHG Rewards Club #Manhattan #NYC

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2traveldads-blog · 7 years

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One of our favorite things to do with the kids when we’re traveling is to go biking. We try to do it anywhere possible and it turns out that it’s even fun in our hometown. The opportunity came up to have a “dads day” in the city and we got to enjoying biking in Seattle with Ofo, a bike sharing app that just launched here. It was kind of awesome and was the perfect Saturday Seattle activity.

We’ve had a few biking operations pop up in Seattle, but we’ve never tried them. We’ve seen them in loads of European cities and other spots around the USA, such as Madison, Wisconsin, but this was our first time trying out the concept of free-form bike sharing. Ofo asked us to try out the newest addition to Seattle’s already eco-friendly commuter scene and we were happy to partner with them. And you know, it made impromptu biking in Seattle so easy. Check it!

What is Ofo

Ofo biking runs off an app. You can download it through iTunes or the Google Play store for free and then register it super fast. Ofo is location based, so once you register you’ll see a map with you (a little dot) on it… and then all of the bikes all around you. Ofo has the necessary features for locating a bike, unlocking it digitally, reporting an issue with a bike, and even tracking your distance.

One of the awesome things we discovered about biking in Seattle with Ofo was that it’s super cheap. I’m mean, you’re the one putting the energy and time into the transportation. At just $1 USD per hour (as of Aug 2017) it’s the least expensive way to either play tourist or be an eco-friendly commuter. Considering that in Seattle a bus ride is going to run you at least $2.50 USD for a ticket, grabbing an Ofo bike to get almost anywhere in Seattle is cheaper and more fun, for sure.

Note: new users get to have their first Ofo bike ride for free, so already it’s a win.

How to use Ofo

So, you’ve downloaded the app and you’re ready to ride. Here’s how this rolls…

Grab your helmet (Seattle and King County have a helmet law) – other cities may not require helmets, but safety first.

Open the Ofo biking app

If you don’t automatically see an Ofo bike in plain sight, locate the nearest one on the map

Arrive at your bike

Select “Unlock” in the Ofo app

Scan the QR code OR allow the bluetooth to communicate

The digital lock releases and you’re good to go!

Tip: before you start riding all over the place always take a moment to adjust your seat height so you’re up high enough to not have to have your quads constantly firing and wearing you out too fast.

While using Ofo for biking in Seattle does give you the flexibility of riding wherever you want to and not worrying about returning your bike, you still should probably make an informal plan about where you’re riding. For being a bike-friendly city, Seattle doesn’t have a ton of clearly marked bike lanes, but there are plenty of designated bike paths. We’ve got some ideas below for easy rides within Seattle, but also know that Google Maps will help you create a smart bike route.

When you’re done with your day of biking in Seattle or you are just ready to drop off your bike for a while and be on foot or have a meal, you just need to lock your bike. How? Easy. You park your Ofo bike anywhere you might normally park a bike that’s not blocking any pedestrian or vehicle path and then move the lock dial on the back wheel. Done. Easy.

Once your bike is locked you’ll get a message on your phone telling you and it’ll give you a summary of distance, time and cost.

Note: if you ride to some place without a lot of Ofo bikes but WITH a lot of potential riders, know that another rider can grab your bike. Once you lock it the Ofo bike is up for grabs. Don’t worry though, we were seeing Ofo bikes everywhere and could’ve easily locked up and gotten new bikes.

Ideas for biking in Seattle

One of the things we loved about biking on Jekyll and St Simons Islands in Georgia was how mellow and level the bike routes were. And biking on the beach in Daytona was smooth sailing too… But we’re talking about biking in Seattle and it’s the city of seven hills (like Rome or Cininnatti) and anywhere you go you’re going to have a tiny climb at least. The following bike routes should provide some great sights to see while keeping the ride chill.

Biking to West Seattle

Quick disclaimer: we didn’t use our Ofo bikes to ride to West Seattle and Alki Beach, but we’ve done it plenty of times. Starting from downtown Seattle by the ferry terminal, you can follow Alaskan Way until you join the Elliott Bay Trail and Marginal Way. This gets you through the industrial side of downtown and keeps you right around sea level. You’ll then continue to the West Seattle Bridge Trail (don’t worry, you’re not going on the high bridge) until you get to the Alki Trail.

The Alki Trail will guide you along the rocks and boulevard, going past condos and coffee shops and giving a beautiful view of Seattle across the bay. It’s very popular for biking in Seattle as well as running, walking and rollerblading/skating. Be sure you’re using the correct lane while you’re on bike. At the end of the trail is Alki Beach Park, with picnic spots, sandy beach, Duke’s Chowder House and more. Alki is the Seattle version of a beach neighborhood and it’s perfect for sunny summer days.

Tip: if you love lighthouses like we do, continue pack the Alki Beach Park to the Alki Point Lighthouse. It’s one of two lighthouses within Seattle city limits and is pretty adorable.

Bike route link: click here to view bike route details or load on Google Maps on your phone

Biking to Ballard

Two of the most well known neighborhoods of Seattle are Ballard and Fremont. They are right next to each other, north of Downtown Seattle. Biking to either of them from the Seattle waterfront is pretty simple. Starting along the waterfront and seeing iconic sights like the piers and the Great Wheel, you’ll quickly move into the Olympic Sculpture Park (OSP). You can either continue through it (walking your Ofo bike) or take the low road along the water through Myrtle Edwards Park. On our most recent day biking in Seattle we went through the OSP.

If you chose to stay by the water, riding through Myrtle Edwards Park will keep you on a simple, nearly continuous bike path via the Elliott Bay Trail. This will actually give you the opportunity to cross the Ballard Locks and check out the Shilshole area before reaching Golden Gardens Park where you’ll find a beach and small estuary.

Bike route link: this route crosses the Ballard Locks. Open in Google Maps for details.

The other path you may choose goes through the OSP and then along Elliott Avenue to the Ballard Bridge. Riding over Seattle’s Fisherman’s Wharf and through the old town of Ballard Avenue you get to see where Seattle keeps its hipsters. Keep on going and you’ll make it to Golden Gardens.

Tip: you can still make a stop off at the Ballard Locks if you would like to. Remember, if you park and lock your Ofo bike, another rider and unlock it, so it’s best to keep it with you in this area.

Bike route link: the way crosses the Ballard Bridge and takes you through the trendy spots. Open in Google Maps for details.

courtesy of Wiki media commons

Biking to Fremont

Fremont is one of Google campuses, but it’s also home to loads of good restaurants, quirky shops and lots of cool public art. Riding to Fremont from downtown Seattle is just as easy as biking to Ballard. You can either take the short way with a hardcore elevation gain and ride along Lake Union (pretty!) or you can keep it chill and follow the Elliott Bay Trail and then the Ship Canal Trail and just breeze along. You can’t go wrong either way, but the Ship Canal Trail is about fifteen minutes longer.

Bike route link: Fremont via Lake Union in Google Maps; Fremont via Ship Canal Trail in Google Maps

We could go on and on making fun routes for all kinds of different experiences biking in Seattle, but these options are going to be the easiest with some of the best sights. We loved using Ofo to have a new biking adventure and really appreciated the flexibility of the app/platform. While bike sharing is probably going to be used more by locals getting from point A to point B, it’s actually perfect for tourists looking to get some exercise and blend into Seattle’s awesome outdoor, eco-friendly culture.

Have you used Ofo in another city? Do you have a suggestion for our next adventure of biking in Seattle? Leave a comment below so we can plan our next “dads day” in the city and get Ofo bikes again!

Want to pin this for later when you’re planning your outdoors adventures in the Pacific Northwest? Go for it!

Biking in Seattle: bike routes and using Ofo bike sharing platform One of our favorite things to do with the kids when we’re traveling is to go biking.

#bike rental #bike routes #bike sharing #biking #Ofo #Seattle #sponsored

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