New York City 2008

Thursday July 3

We flew US Air from Columbus to LaGuardia airport.  After a bumpy hour and a half flight we land in the Big Apple.  It was official because the airport runway has a sign that says welcome to New York.  As we stepped outside to catch a cab, the New York City aroma smacked us square in the face.   After a mildly thrilling cab ride, we arrived at the  Metropolitan Doubletree hotel on Lexington Ave.  However back in the cab, Dave noticed that the brake warning light and the ABS warning light were both illuminated on the cab dash as we were driving about 70 Mph ten feet behind the car in front of us.

After checking in, we head out to see the city at night.  We headed for Rockefeller Center as it was only 5 blocks away.  We then walked over to Times Square where it seemed like most of the tourists were hanging out.  Not a place for someone with claustrophobic issues.  We stopped in Smilers deli/convenience store and $16 later we are the proud owners of a six pack of Sam Adams beer. We stroll back to the room where we immediately put two beers on ice.  After a beer and tv, time for bed as we have a full week-end ahead of us.

Friday July 4

We rise early and start our day by heading over to the Today show to see if any concerts were playing on the Plaza.  No such luck, but a Lester Holt sighting did occur. 

 We hop on the 6 train and go one stop to Grand Central, transfer to the 4 train and go downtown to Battery Park and the ferry terminal area.  We stand in Battery Park and watch some older National Guardsman prepare a few cannons to shoot throughout the morning.  They are very loud! 

We walk over to the south ferry terminal and board the free ferry over to Governors Island. 

Dave's old Coast Guard stomping grounds.

This is the building he lived in while on Governors Island. 

 We walk all over the island for about 2 hours.  We see  Castle Williams and Fort Jay.  Dave gets nostalgic about his days on the island.  We ask the guide at Castle Williams if it is true that Walt Disney was held in the Castle.  No it is not true.  There is an abundance of  beautiful hydrangeas.  The view of lower Manhattan is still great.  The twin towers are obvious in their absence.    Fort Jay       Staten Island Ferry

Next stop - find the Fraunces Tavern for lunch.  Luckily, we did not need reservations and we were seated right away in the Tallmadge Room.  Two beers, two sandwiches (great corned  beef) and $48 later, we decide to take the museum tour that is upstairs as there is no admission charge today since it is July 4th.  According to the history, this is the tavern where General George Washington made his emotional farewell address to his officers.  Very interesting restaurant with lots of artifacts hanging on the walls.

Off to Wall Street to find the bull, since it seems he has taken a vacation from the stock market.  We stumble upon the miniature Statue of Liberty adorned in the Chicago Cubs attire.  Since NY is hosting the All-Star game on July 15, the city has placed many Statue of Liberty's adorned in baseball teams attire in many locations.   

On our way to see Ground Zero, we pass by Alexander Hamilton's gravesite which is located at Trinity Churchyard.  A few blocks away - Ground Zero.  We opt to take a tour through the mini museum of artifacts, stories and videos.  Very touching.  We then head over to see the ground where the buildings stood, only to hear the faint sound of a subway.  The area is making a comeback.

Instead of walking all the way up to Central Park, we decide to take the subway.  We stop at a park bench to rest our aching tootsies and enjoy the beauty of the park.  There were a lot of people strolling through the park.  Amusing entertainment by 2 gentlemen with some audience participation.  We also got a laugh out of the disco roller skating as it brought back memories to Lori and her younger days.  We head over to Central Park Boathouse to see about getting a drink and snack but too many people with whiny children so we walk on. The bar looked nice and inviting.  We walk back to the hotel and get ready to watch the Macy's fireworks.  Since the weather wasn't cooperating we decide to watch the fireworks on the television in the comfort of our bed and a beer in hand.  A nice show from what we remember, as we both were extremely tired and promptly fell asleep!

Saturday July 5

We wake to the sound of the Today Show - week-end edition.  We have a 9:15am tour scheduled of NBC Studios.  We walk over in the rain (we were prepared with 2 umbrellas) to Rockefeller Center to see who else is braving the elements to get their 10 seconds of fame.  Across the street we enter the NBC store and wind our way up to the cashier for the NBC tour and we are in luck they have room for 2 people for the 9:00am tour. 

Our tour conducted by Summer and another fine hostess begins with the three tone ring of NBC, Which you can hear by clicking on the chime picture.

 a film about the history of NBC and a lecture regarding the do's and don'ts of the tour:

- Do ask lots of questions

- No potty breaks - if you have an emergency, someone can escort you out and you cannot come back

- No guns - apparently guns are really frowned upon (even though guns save lives)

- No photography (darn!)

Off to the studios for a look around.

First stop - Brian Williams, evening anchor.  We saw the different backdrops used behind Brian during his newscast and right next to his set is the MSNBC studio.  Brian likes to stand in front of a video wall as he doesn't really like to have a desk between him and his audience.  He appears to be good at multi-tasking as he is reading the news, he is constantly looking at his competitors on the many monitors in the desk to see what they are reporting.

Second stop - Conan O'Brien's set.  Extremely small set, but made to look much bigger.  There is a reason why Conan never puts his legs under his desk - he is too tall for the desk.  The guests' chairs are made small so shorter guests (i.e. Tom Cruise) won't have their feet dangling.  Conan's band, The Max Weinberg 7 is literally 10-15 feet away from Conan's desk.  Hence, you will notice the two are never in the same screenshot.  The taping of the Conan O'Brien show is at 5:30pm to allow guests and crew to have time with their families at a "normal" hour.  According to Conan, it is easier to get a guest on the show at 5:30pm instead of late at night.

On the way to our third and last stop, we bump into the 2008 Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest winner - Joey Chestnut with trophy and all.  Apparently, he had been interviewed on the Today Show and was getting ready for another interview.  We take the elevator down to the Saturday Night Live studio - small studio, but very interesting how the show comes together in a spastic kind of way.  Basically the show is put together Wednesday through Saturday.

Total tour time 1 hour and 10 minutes.  We definitely enjoyed the tour and would recommend it.

Since it is still raining out we decide to go to the Museum of Modern Art or MOMA.

  Dave's own modern art from a photo he took of a large industrial spring  located on the second floor of  MOMA.  They have a lot of neat design examples at MOMA. The museum helps one appreciate the design of everyday objects.  Dave pulled Lori through every level.  Very nice museum with a wide variety of art work.

We then head to Times Square to do some touristy stuff.  Our first stop is the Hershey Store.  That's right.  It is more like Disneyland now around Times Square. 

  Mmmm.  There was a giant Eddie Murphy head for his new movie Dave.  Good name.

Time for lunch and a break from walking in the rain and the "lost" tourists.  We decide Rue 57 appears to look very nice.  We promptly order a bottle of red wine to enjoy with our lunch.  Service was impeccable and the food was good.  The restaurant has a lot of beautiful woodwork on both floors.

After a little more walking around the shopping area we decide to head to Chinatown.  We take the N train to Canal street.  They have taken many of the fake purse vendors off the street...sort of. If you look closely at the picture  below you will see a woman in a pink shirt holding a placard with pictures of purses.  If you like one they take you to a special place and sell it to you.

We saw one person go in a doorway of a small store to buy some.  After walking around most of the day we head back to the hotel for a much needed rest via the train.

Tonight we have tickets for the Top of the Rock.    Click on the picture for a nice view of the city at night.

First however, a sandwich from the street vendor is in order.  Dave buys a gyro and Lori orders a jumbo pretzel.  Gyro was good and the pretzel got hard.  Good thing Lori wasn't hungry.  We find a seat in Rockefeller Plaza so we can sit, eat and people watch.  About 9pm we decide to go get in line as our tickets were stamped with a 9:15pm entry.  However, it seems as if you have a ticket you can just go up no matter if the time stamp is current or not.  We take the elevator up to the 67th floor (very smooth ride up) and have a peek around.  There are curtains of thick glass to keep one from jumping or falling off the building.  Lori's stomach starts to get a little queasy so she decides to stand a little further away from the edge.  It is slightly foggy/hazy this evening so the view was not as clear.  But it was still an awesome sight.  We decide to take the escalator up another floor for another view.  By now, Lori is starting to feel very uneasy and her stomach is turning cartwheels.  Dave snaps a few photos and we start to go down to the next floor to take the elevator back down to ground level.  After a stop in the bathroom, we head back to the hotel for a good nights' sleep.

Sunday July 6

We wake up relatively early so we can pack, check-out and head to the airport.  But first, we must have breakfast.  We walk 1 block down to a deli and order breakfast.  You order by number off the menu.  Simple but tasty breakfast and we head out for a quick walk before heading back to the hotel.  We check out and get a cab to the airport.  Our flight to Columbus was on time and the ride was uneventful.

We had a great week-end in NYC!!!!