A few weeks ago my mom came to visit me for Easter. She hadn’t been to New York City in almost 10 years and really wanted to go, so after giving her a little taste of downtown Hartford (lunch at Max Bibo’s and stroll down Pratt Street), we said goodbye to the Nutmeg State and headed for the Big Apple.

Once we were there I found myself at a bit of a loss in how to entertain my mother for three days. My friend Julie – who you met before last year – suggested we hit up the New York Botanical Garden’s orchid show, which was closing out its last weekend. My mom was a little skeptical. She said she had been to the United States Botanic Garden in DC and a few others, and had never been impressed. But she changed her tune once we stepped into the conservatory.

Mom also wanted to see the 9/11 Memorial, so we braved the tourist traffic and the crowds of lower Manhattan to begin what ended up being a four-hour ordeal – standing in line to get the tickets, waiting around an hour and a half for our designated entry time, spending another 45 minutes or so standing in line to get into the memorial … and then about an hour actually enjoying the memorial.

Mom also got a little more Hartford time on Easter Sunday. Although both the Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe houses were closed for the holiday (something I didn’t anticipate), we were able to find an awesome brunch place in West Hartford called The Hearty Kitchen that serves delicious chicken and waffles.