We have AWESOME timing

Or not. We went to New York City for the weekend. Sam's first trip there, at least the first trip he might remember since the last time he was there he looked like this.

We drove to Poughkeepsie, where Ben's Dad grew up, and caught a commuter train to Grand Central Station. Sam was very impressed with the tall buildings but what he really wanted to do was go to Central Park! Good thing our hotel was just a couple of blocks from there, on 7th and 57th. We were on the 24th floor--it's a long way down.

We immediately went to the park where Sam discovered the concrete playground. Perfect for a head-cracking good time! Must have immediate access.

Of course he couldn't limit the hazards to the playground as it's important to make sure to expand his horizons. Tree - check. Cliff - check. Road - check.

The next day I got up early while Ben and Sam wasted the morning snoozing away. I walked down to Times Square to see the sights. It's quiet at 6:30am on a Saturday morning even when there is a run/walk for ovarian cancer scheduled a short time later. Just think, in a little over twelve hours this is the scene of the attempted car bombing.

But after my quick swing through Times Square I headed back to the park where I was able to sit all by myself with a cup of coffee and a book. The weather was perfect and the park was filled with wealthy New Yorkers walking their dogs, runners, and bicyclists.

It occurred to me that things had changed drastically over the years. I remember going to NYC in the 80's and watching someone break into a car without knowing what I could do about it. The city was generally dirty, subways dangerous, and Times Square was filled with strip bars, homeless people, bad fast food restaurants and dirt. Now Times Square is filled with chain stores and Disney characters, shiny doo dads, tourists, and police officers - it feels a bit like a heartless corporate enterprise now. The old Times Square seemed more authentic. Where did those people and businesses go? I'm sure they just moved but we didn't run into them while we were there.

When I got back to the hotel, Sam was still in bed. By the time he and Ben were ready to go out for breakfast the run/walk event was in full swing so we ate our breakfast at a diner watching thousands and thousands of people go by -- more people than the entire population of Burlington.

Sam really really really really really wanted to go see the Statue of Liberty so we took the subway from Columbus Circle to Battery Park. Alas, being a sleepyhead means that there will be a 1.5 hour wait just to get ON a ferry and that we couldn't go into the statue when we got there anyway. We had to settle for this. and and

We meandered back through a Romanian street festival where Sam and Ben bought cheap wallets that Sam lost within 30 minutes. Then we went to the World Trade Center site. Time passes. Things change.

Next stop: Museum of Natural History. Here we discovered that on the moon, Sam weighs 9.6 lbs. At least it's slightly more than the day he was born. We saw snakes and lizards. and Sam and Ben took a bit of a break. But the highlight of the day for Sam were the dinosaur bones. They are impressive.

Then off to our next adventure...back at Central Park. We found the boats but did not ride. Instead, we headed to Central Park Zoo. It's small but very nice. The snow leopard was impressive. Sam decided to mark off each animal as he saw it and declared the sea lions his favorite. Alas, the zoo closed before he could visit children's zoo.

Dinner at the Carnegie Deli where Ben got a pastrami sandwich as big as his head and followed it up with an equally large slice of cheesecake. The Carnegie Deli has Chew and Swallow sized food, after the weather changed. Sam and his hamburger. I think he could sail away on that bun.

While we were eating we heard lots of sirens but we didn't think much of it. The next morning we heard about the attempted car bombing and put two and two together. We were about 12 blocks down from the bomb site.

The next day Sam asked me to wake him up early so he could go to the park too. Later we had brunch with friends and walked back to Grand Central Station through Times Square. Sam enjoyed the crass commercialism. He spent his own money buying an m&m dispenser...and now seems disappointed that we don't share his goal of keeping it full.

Then back through Bryant Park, just to show how he's grown since his first visit. Ah, what's six years here or there?

We'll be back, we didn't have nearly enough time to do the things we wanted to do. I wonder if anyone would be interested in a NYC/Burlington house swap for a week in the summer?