Bryant Park and Bus Night Tour

Back to the Westway Diner for breakfast/lunch. We made an unexpected stop to get my beard trimmed after spotting a barber....long overdue....probably could have concealed weapons in that thing. We walked back to Bryant Park and the guys got on the waiting list to play ping pong. I actually got to read the paper while Will shagged balls from the ping pong players ahead of us. The girls made a run to the Build-A-Bear store on 5th & 46th St while we waited to play ping pong. We ended up getting in a game of ping pong, Pétanque (basically the same as bocce ball), and some time on the putting green by the time the girls got back. We had a beer on the Southwest Porch before getting the kids some sandwiches and walking over to the Grand Hyatt (next door to Grand Central) to try and get a glimpse of the Giants at their hotel. After 20 minutes and no sign of the Giants,  we took the 7 train from Grand Central back to Times Square for Christy and I to get a bite at Schnippers on 8th and 41st St. The Green Chile Turkey burger that I had was money. Hard to say whether the Shack Burger or the burger from Schnippers was better. I'd probably weigh in 20lbs heavier if either had a Portland location. Last stop of the day was the CitySights double decker bus tour. We intentionally took the Night tour for the lights. Tour itself was ok. Our tour guide was nice but had zero enthusiasm. The Circle Line tour guide on the cruise was muuuuch better. The last 15 minutes of the bus ride were a little tough for poor Jessi.  She had to pee and had serious "happy" legs to try and control herself. We knew they wouldn't stop during the 2 hr tour so had the kids use the restroom at Schnippers. When we boarded the bus, we asked how long we had before leaving hoping to get in one more restroom trip. The driver told me 20 minutes so after finding 4 seats on the top level, the kids and I started back down the stairs. We found the doors closed and were trying to get them open when the bus started moving. Oooooh-kay.....so much for 20 minutes. I think there are better tour companies than CitySights but we live and learn. Highlight of the tour was probably the view when crossing the Manhattan Bridge. We were back to the hotel before 10pm.

Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum and more Times Square

Took the C train a downtown a few stops for breakfast at Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Co on 8th Ave between 24th & 25th. Bagels were awesome and just as good as Best Bagel from yesterday. Their jalapeño and Asiago cream cheese has fresh jalapeños rather than the usual pickled....a little spicier. Immediately took the C train uptown back to 42nd and walked the 6 or so blocks to the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum which is (mostly) on the decommissioned USS Intrepid aircraft carrier. They've got a submarine (Growler) and a bunch of planes including an A-12 Blackbird, F-14, F-16A, an old Blue Angel, a Concorde, the Space Shuttle Enterprise (prototype Shuttle) and a bunch more. Will made a few friends, Kyle and Dillan (brothers). Best part was that our OMSI membership covered admission to everything except the shuttle. We closed down the museum at 5pm and walked back to 42nd to train down to Joe's Pizza near the corner of Carmine St and Ave of the Americas. Quick rest in the hotel before walking around Times Square to shop, see the lights and people watch.

Bryant Park, Library, and Rockefeller Plaza

Breakfast at Best Bagel & Coffee on 30th street. Bagels were awesome.....i think we'll be back there. We walked a couple blocks to see as much of Madison Square Garden as we could for free. Quick run through Macy's and then a very brief subway trip to Bryant Park. We ended up staying in Bryant Park much longer than expected. The park has a ton to see/do including juggling, ping pong, a putting green, bocce ball, board games, racks of children's books, newspapers, and outdoor places for food and drinks. Jessi and Will read a few books and Will and I played a couple games of ping pong while Christy and Jessi started touring the Children's Exhibit, "The ABC of it", in the NY Public Library which is on the same block as the park. Will and I found the girls in the library after our games and we all had a drink back out in the park (Will did some putting on the putting green too). Took the subway one stop to Grand Central to check out the market section and get a quick bite (I had to have a Shake Shack Burger again - those are money - up there with in-n-out). We had a nice chat with an older lady next to us. Jessi told her this was her "first trip to this city" and Wills demo'd his pitching motion. Last stop of the day was Rockefeller Plaza. We had a beer in the plaza while waiting for our time slot to take the elevator to the "Top of the Rock". We originally planned on going to the top of the Empire State Building but our favorite hotel front desk person, Ariel, suggested the Rockefeller Building instead since you actually get to see Empire State from the Rockefeller rooftop. We've also already been to the top of the Empire State 7 years ago on our last sabbatical trip. View from the Top of the Rock is a good one...honestly don't think it matters too much which tall building you look out from in NYC, the views are all good. 9The Top of the Rock does have 3 different floors for viewing and does seem less crowded. After leaving Rockefeller Plaza,  we walked through Times Square back to the hotel...before 9pm tonight.

Downtown and Harbor Lights Cruise

Nana and Papa's last day with us. :-( Breakfast at Westway Diner on 43rd where Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld conceived Seinfeld. Took the subway down to Wall Street and walked by the Stock Exchange building, the statue making where George Washington took the oath for his first term, and the charging bull statue. We turned down Broadway and walked to Battery Park for a view of the Statue of Liberty and for Will and I to play some catch. After some lemonade and sodas, we made the walk to the 911 memorial and the yet to be opened 1 WTC building. The size of the two fountains marking the footprints of the twin towers is pretty powerful...as are all the names on the plaques that circle each fountain. Next stop was ice cream at Baskin Robins on Chambers suite before a subway ride back to midtown for dinner. After the subway ride, we walked past the Ed Sullivan Theater (Letterman Show), the Carnegie Deli, Carnegie Hall, and the Russian Tea Room on our way to pizza at Angelo's on 57th. Angelo's pizza was really good. General consensus was it was a close second to John's. However, the atmosphere at Angelo's isn't close to John's. Finished dinner and took the subway back to 42nd street,  dropped off leftovers at the hotel (can't waste pizza) and walked the 6 or so blocks to pier 83 for the Circle Line Harbor Lights Cruise.  Cruise was very good and not too long (1.5 hrs). The tour guide does a good job of calling out as many of the notable buildings and landmarks on the way from the west side of midtown, by the Statue of Liberty, around downtown, up to east side of midtown and back again. After the cruise, we headed back to the hotel.... again in our room by 10pm.