Emily's
Sweet 16in New York City

Meet at the West Friendship Park & Ride I-70 and Route 32. Get dropped off here and we'll load up and head out. About four hours to the city with one stop. Bring headphones, chargers, and a car playlist. We'll have snacks for the ride up. Map

Park the car City Parking, 38 W 43rd St. The car stays put until Monday afternoon. Map

Drop bags at the hotel — or check in if the room is ready Hilton Garden Inn, 136 W 42nd St. Rooms usually aren't ready until 3:00, so we'll most likely check our bags with the hotel and head straight out. Since we probably won't get into the room first, you can come dressed for the show or do a quick change in the lobby restroom. If you want to do your makeup during the drive up, go for it. HotelMap

Quick lunch near the hotel Counter service, in and out, all within a few blocks and all on the way to the theatre. Here are some options and we'll just pick a spot when we get there: Los Tacos No. 1 — 229 W 43rd St. Tacos and quesadillas, cheap, and some of the highest-rated food near Times Square. There's usually a line but it moves fast. You eat standing up. Joe's Pizza — 1435 Broadway. Classic New York slices, two blocks away, the fastest option even with a line. Carve — 760 8th Ave at 47th. If you want an actual sandwich, salad or soup. Big menu, open all day, closest to the theatre. Los TacosJoe'sCarve

Get to the theatre Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 W 45th St. Bathrooms are down a staircase and the line is long — go before we walk over. Remember to bring a sweater, as the theatre can be cold. TheatreMap

THE OUTSIDERS About two and a half hours with one intermission, so we're out around 5:25. Heads up: flashing lights, a very loud train horn, haze, and a few dark stretches. The show

Birthday dinner at Gurumé 313 W 46th St, one block from the theatre. Emily and Grace ate here last December and Emily really loved it, so we're doing it again! Korean small plates meant for sharing, so we order a pile of things and pass everything around. We'll aim to be out by 7:20. MenuMap

Back to the hotel — finally into the rooms Ten-minute walk, straight down through the middle of Times Square. Consider it a preview. This is probably the first time we get into our rooms, so we can grab our bags and head up to drop everything off. You can also change into whatever you actually want to be photographed in. Be back down to the lobby in twenty minutes.

Cake and presents in the lobby This is the actual birthday part. Abby's and Alexa's families meet us down here, and we do cake and presents somewhere everyone can sit and hear each other instead of shouting over Times Square.

Head out to Times Square Families are welcome to join us if they'd like! The more adults we have for this, the better. Otherwise the six of us will need to stick very close together the whole time. Everyone walks over as one group. Times Square is two minutes from the front door.

Pictures, while the light is perfect The sun sets at 8:05 and the sky is deep blue going black right about now — every billboard at full blast, and still enough glow left that you can actually see faces instead of turning into silhouettes. This is the one you'll actually want to post. We'll head for the red steps above the TKTS booth at Duffy Square, 47th and Broadway. They're elevated, so the entire square stacks up behind you.

Then do whatever you want Photos are done, and the rest of the night is yours — but you must be with adults the entire time, either Grace and Leroy or others in our party. Everything below is within a few blocks and open late: M&M's World and Hershey's for absurd amounts of candy · Sephora · the Disney Store · souvenir shops selling glorious junk · street performers and the Naked Cowboy · or just wandering around gawking at all of it, which is honestly half the fun. This is where your own money comes in handy.

Back to the hotel Roughly. If everyone's had enough sooner, we go sooner. There will be leftover cake.

Sleep in a bit Checkout isn't until noon, so there's no rush. Grace is packing breakfast for the room — eat something, because lunch isn't until twelve.

Grace and Leroy run the bags to the car You can stay put in the room while we do this — have everything packed and by the door by 10:15 and we'll take it over. That way nobody's dragging a suitcase around Midtown all afternoon.

Check out Whatever you want for the day comes with you.

Bryant Park, right as the games open The garage sits one block north of the park, so we walk straight in. The free stuff comes out at 11:00 — ping-pong with paddles provided, chess, board games, pétanque, a putting green, Kubb, and a little carousel that costs a few dollars a ride. All of it is free and run by park hosts. Bring a photo ID if you want to borrow something and take it out onto the lawn. What's on today

Lunch at Olio e Più 5 Bryant Park, on the corner — the Italian place with the flower-covered front, one of the most photographed doorways in the city. Table's booked for six. Get your picture out front before we go in. MenuMap

Kinokuniya 1073 6th Ave — half a block from the restaurant, right across from the park. Three floors of everything Japanese: manga in English and Japanese, anime and Studio Ghibli merch, plushes and figures, blind boxes, and a wall of stationery. There's a café upstairs with a window looking out over Bryant Park. Emily, this one's for you. Everyone else, budget accordingly. Kinokuniya

New York Public Library — only if you want it 476 5th Ave, on the far side of the park and directly on our walk back to the garage, so it costs us nothing to stop. The marble lions out front are Patience and Fortitude. Inside, Astor Hall and the Rose Main Reading Room — a block-long room with painted clouds on the ceiling. Free, no tickets, half an hour is plenty. Completely optional. If everyone's shopped out and ready to go home, we just keep walking. Visit infoMap

To the garage Four minutes from the library, and no stop back at the hotel since the bags are already in the car. Last look at the city on the way.

On the road Home around 7:00. If everyone's wiped out we can head off earlier — no hard feelings.