A Weekend in New York

With mixed moods (Josh and the Varsity team had lost 0-4 to Newburyport while Jake had a goal and an assist leading the JVs to a 3-1 victory) we piled into the car and set off for the Big Apple on a rainy Friday night…

We arrived safely at the Wyndham Hotel that would be our home for the weekend but it was late enough that we just enjoyed the views from our room and a quick stop at the hotel bar. But the next morning, we were up and ready to go!

After some breakfast, we set out to walk Broadway to the South to see what we could find!

Along the way we found a Korean street fair, a farmers market, numerous vendors selling discount goods, and even Andy Warhol in the form of The Andy Monument. We thought the tomato soup really added something.

Next stop was Chinatown where we marveled at the fresh seafood and produce and the men playing Xiangqi (Chinese chess) in the park.

We next happened upon NYU’s main campus and since it’s on Joshua’s college radar, we stopped in to the Visitors’ Center to pick up some brochures and just check things out. Pretty cool urban campus!

Pretty soon we reached the financial district and the Occupy Wall Street protest that was going on near there. We talked with some of the protesters about what they were trying to do and some of the challengers they face. It was pretty interesting!

Along the way, Jake found some cool things to photograph- he has a good eye for such things!

We couldn’t get tickets for the new 9/11 Memorial – they’re booked way in advance. But we did get to walk around it and check out some of the new buildings going up and see some of the surrounding memorials. Very moving.

We ate our lunch at P.J. Clarke’s on the terrace behind the World Financial Center. This is a gorgeous new area with views overlooking the marina and the Statue of Liberty.

Next it was back uptown for a walk around Rockefeller Center and the NBC studios.

It began to rain a bit hear so we ducked into some of the stores in and around Times Square and just had fun exploring!

After a quick nap back at our hotel, it was time to head out for the evening!  We had a nice Spanish dinner at Sangria 46 before heading to the Foxwoods Theater to see Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark.

The show was a live comic book. Though we didn’t leave with a truly memorable song in our head (OK, maybe Rise Above), we were taken by the spectacle and the kids seemed to really enjoy it!

On Sunday morning, we headed down to Battery Park to catch a ferry out to Liberty Island. It was a gorgeous morning for it too!

We’d booked tickets in the spring to tour the crown of the Statue of Liberty and boy were they ever worth it! Not only was it a bargain ($16 for adults including the ferry), but we were treated like VIPs as we passed through security and were ushered through the special entrances.

It’s 354 stairs to climb to the top – many of them on two tightly wound concentric spiral staircases. Total fun!

The view from the top was AWESOME! If you have the chance, do this!!

We even got to see the Liberty Bike on display on Liberty Island! Cool!

Our last stop was Ellis Island. We didn’t spend a lot of time here – but did start to get a sense for what it must have been like for folks arriving in New York from far away lands!

 

Then it was home. Tired from all that touring – it was nice having three drivers to trade off between on the way!