Papa attended the A-MUG conference in Brooklyn March 18-20 and the rest of G-POD joined him in Manhattan for the rest of the week. The weather was cold. It was the first trip to NYC for all but Papa. We stayed at a very nice hotel named Affinia Dumont in the Murray Hill neighborhood. We had a one bedroom suite at room 1903. We had a view of the Chrysler Building from our room. The Empire State Building was about 4 blocks west of us on E 34th and visible as we exited or entered our hotel. We spend our first morning on a private 3-hour walking tour with Real NY Tours of Greenwhich Village, East Village, Tribeca, and Financial District. Our guide was Shawn Lynch. Highlights included seeing the Ghostbusters HQ, Trinity Chuch, and the City Hall ghost station seen only from subway Line 6. Everyone got off the subway at the last south station, but we stayed on as it turned around at the ghost station. Later that day Brock played a chess match against a hustler in Washington Square Park, similar to the movie scene in Searching For Bobby Fischer. We also ran into the Pidgeon Man, where some of his old pets as well as feral birds kept landing on him. Near the park we discovered the fabulous Molly's Cupcakes. We visited Times Square that night and had fun getting on the huge video screens. Lisa and the kids visited the American Museum of Natural History, also used as a movie location for Night of the Living Museum. We stopped by the nearby luxury apartments of The Dakota, where John Lennon lived and Yoko Ono still resides. Right after, Lisa, Maddy and Dane took a bike tour of Central Park which included the Strawberry Fields Memorial to John Lennon. We ate a meal at the original Shake Shake at Madison Square Park near Flatiron building and the subway stop at 23rd. The kids had fun feeding Chucky the Squirrel. That night we attended the Blue Man Group performance at Astor Place Theatre. We loved it! Maddy had a large jello mold shot at her, toilet paper covered us, and Captain Crunch cereal was spit at us. The kids were in the Poncho section and wore actual ponchos to cover up from being slimed. The next morning we went to the Empire State Building observatory on the 86th floor, then down to the free Staten Island Ferry where we saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island up close. The subway system rocks!
The Dakota Building, site of John Lennon's assasination.
Central Park pedicab ride with Ivan.
San Remo building upper right, home to many famous people.
Strawberry Fields Memorial to John Lennon.
Washington Square Park
After the Blue Man Group performance at Astor Place Theatre.
Empire State Building
Grand Central Terminal
Maddy on Madison Ave.
NY Public Library
Ellis Island from Staten Island Ferry.
Statue of Liberty from Staten Island Ferry.
Subway station near our hotel.
Affinia Dumont Hotel