Vacation - Day 9

Today was our first full day in NYC. We have no plans in particular, just wander through the city and take in the sights.

We are staying in the Marriott Marquis on Broadway just north of Times Square. On our walk to Carnegie Deli, we saw a few sights - Radio City Music Hall, the Ed Sullivan Theater (Letterman is on vacation this week), Rockefeller Plaza, and other sights and sounds on 7th Avenue.

Today I wanted to take the boys for bagels, so we started by going over to Daniel's Bagels over on 3rd Avenue. Our introduction to the Big Apple was almost immediate as we exited the hotel to throngs of teen girls screaming. The Jonas Brothers were over at MTV, and each time they would appear at the studio window, the screaming would begin again!

Next stop after bagels was MoMA. We walked over to 53rd St. I was immediately impressed by the line into the place! Where else would there be a 30 minute wait to get into an art museum! But that wasn't the only wait! Once inside, we stood in line for another 30 minutes to check our backpack! But the wait paid off as we wandered through the Salvador Dali gallery! Well worth waiting in line!

After the museum, we headed back to the hotel for some rest. At this point, we had been on our feet for about 5 hours and needed the rest. But - it was not to be! My wife's cousin was in the City (her husband was in the city for a job interview) and we arranged to meet. She was in Soho, so the plan was to meet at Madison Square Park - over on 23rd and Broadway. We ended up meeting in Union Park, over on 16th and Broadway. A great walk through the heart of downtown Manhattan!

Once we met, we walked over to Soho to grab a drink and spend some time together. Soho is a quaint neighborhood. Quiet and hip, my sons were impressed by the neighborhood. It reminds me a lot of Cambridge Massachusetts - the area between MIT and Harvard. We all enjoyed some time together and then we went our separate ways.

Since we were already down close to Little Italy, I convinced the boys that we should have dinner somewhere down there. We ended up having a great dinner! That pretty much spent the day for us, so we grabbed a cab for an *exciting* cab ride back to the hotel.

Tomorrow is our last day here in NYC. The plan right now is to catch the subway and go down to the Financial District, maybe see Ground Zero, and then flex from there! Tonight we will stay in the garden spot of the world - Newark NJ - so that we are close to the airport for tomorrow's flight back home.