With weary heads, after an exhausting school year and three full days of Stanfest shenanigans (Monday seemed to come very early for both of us), we headed due south for the state of New York and Manhattan. Reason... Janie was participating in professional development for International Baccalaureate (IB) teachers at the annual UNIS conference. So, while she furthered her training in IB the kids and I rallied to roam the many attractions of the city that never sleeps.

New York City has been a favorite for us, having landed there regularly over the last four-five years. We've always had excellent success there being lucky with the attractions we visited, weather, traffic... all those items that can be horrid at times in a city this size. One difference this excursion, however, was in the "time" of visit as all our other treks were in the shoulder seasons of spring and fall. During this stay we would find new attractions, as well as returns to favorites from past visits.

Once again, as we prepped for the stay, we purchased City Passes like we have in the past for Toronto and Chicago. From the sheer economic benefit to angling around line-ups, we used the passes as an organizational tool for planning the four days on the ground. They helped a lot!!! As for attractions, we had a great mix of museum, art, theatre, circus, skyscraper, sports, shopping and "people watching". Something for everyone as we packed as much as we could into the time on the ground. We made the majority of our purchases prior to departure and had a pretty firm schedule for visiting hinged on some major evening events. It was fun to plan... and we grew a pretty decent stay in New York in short order.

So, as I've done in the past, the following chronicle breaks out our family trip (for those of you who wish to read these sojourns) into daily itineraries, reflections and links. We've got several days tied up in travel as we decided to use the "drive" option to get to the destination and back. Some different things of note are more reliance on the kids for "Gallery" shots and the absence of Janie at some of the morning / afternoon attractions as Peter, Monica and I took the streets to explore on our own. I welcome you to travel along or or just sample some of our photos in the gallery. Maybe, if you're planning a visit to NYC in the near future, you may find an attraction or tip that'll help you plan!!!