48 Hours in New York City

I needed to be in the NYC area on Monday for work, so Jennifer and I did a last minute trip to the city for the weekend. Thanks to Michelle and Terri for watching the three amigos on such short notice.

On the first night we wandered through Times Square and then took a "bike chariot" to a Bobby Flay restaurant for dinner (he's a chef on the food channel famous for his spicy concoctions). The bike ride was crazy -- we sat in a bike trailer and this insane rider weaved us in and out of traffic on 5th Avenue. I felt like Nathan must feel as we take him on rides in his bike trailer. The food at the Mesa Grill was simply fantastic -- until Jen puked all of hers up. Seriously...but she recovered by the next morning.

On the next day we went on a stroll through Central Park. It was cool to see that the park is heavily used by people who live in the city -- lots of baseball games, rollerbladers, etc. We found a turtle pond and a castle that were just fun to explore, and had lunch at the Boat House.

When then headed for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Obviously a great museum -- our favorite areas were the Egyptian section with its mummys and rebuilt temple, the American section with a famous George Washington painting, the impressionists, and a Jeff Koons special exhibit of cool sculptures (like the shiny balloon dog below).

After getting our cultural fix we headed to Serendipity -- the creators of Frrrozen Hot Chocolate. It was delicious. I would have had a dozen servings if Jen would have allowed. Afterwards we decided we needed a workout -- what better way to do it than hike to the top of the Empire State Building, eh? Well, we learned that they don't allow you to take the stairs. Instead, you buy a $20 ticket, take two elevators, and suffer the harassment of vendors all along the way. The views from the top were impressive.

We capped off the day by attending the Mary Poppins musical on Broadway. We had great seats and really liked the way they changed the set from scene to scene. Great music, and lots of fun.

Our final day began with a cruise around Manhattan island. We saw some great sites, including the Statue of Liberty, and just enjoyed spending time on the water on a warm day. Afterward we headed to SoHo for lunch and perused the hip shops, and ended the day in Rockefeller Center. Jen jumped into a cab to head back to the airport exactly 48 hours after we landed.


The trip was awesome. I have the best wife in the world.