Day Four

Overnight I made an optional plan should Stephen be unable to commit to the hockey game at MSG. As promised, he called bright and early and, unfortunately, he could not shuffle his work commitments. Plan "B" kicked in with the Empire State Building as the starting place. We decided to venture into the city with the car via the previous days route and take advantage of what was another day of nothing but a sweater weather.

• Day 4
  • Empire State Building - No icon is perhaps more associated with NYC than the Empire State Building. We lined up first thing, after another well executed trip into the city, to get our tickets. This was the first time we had really experienced a line-up, but it was minimal as the line moved steadily from ticket to elevator. With two kids in tow, my wife and I boarded the elevator with ten others and quickly scaled the first 80 floors (ears popped). Then we proceeded to the elevator for the last six floors and to the observatory deck. Here is where I slowed down. Not being one for heights, I was rather careful in my movements about the outdoor deck. My wife and daughter were fearless and I was glad I made the journey up with them. Watching her look between the railing and through the viewers was surprising. Definitely a great view of the city and on a calm day such as ours, quite a nice trip.
  • Times Square - Toys R Us - Our daughter had eyed on Day Two the ferris wheel in the Times Square Toys R Us. Next stop then, was to get her and her brother on the ride. Mom had to accompany as the age limit was 14 and over. Impressive store, with rides, a huge second floor dinosaur and even clean bathrooms!!! We picked up a couple of toys compliments of Grandma and made our way out to Rockefeller Centre. We also hit a hot dog vendor to keep the spirits up. My wife, at this point dropped into Minksoff Theatre on Broadway to inquire about the possibility of tickets for the Lion King. The possibility of rush tickets in the morning for a Wednesday matinee would cap an excellent trip.
  • Rockefeller Centre - An impressive part of town. We walked through the streets viewing some amazing buildings and landmarks, like Radio City Music Hall. Saw a really cool sign that was keeping track of GW's national debt. Nasty!!! We stopped at an open seating area (just above where the skating rink is located in the winter) and enjoyed hot dogs and a new favorite of mine, the gyro. We'd put on a lot of miles at this point so the rest was welcome. It was about now that the kids started to ask where the car was. We made our way back.
  • Grand Central Station - On our way my wife saw a low building at the end of the street from 5th Avenue. I grabbed the map and we were a block away from Grand Central. We toddled over there together and walked into supper hour foot traffic. Another absolutely impressive piece of architecture. The kids said "Just like Madagascar". It was good to know the location should we choose to train in on Day Five. We took a couple of pictures and made our way past a very busy New York Public Library. On another trip I'll be dropping in and wandering through the halls of that building.
  • Madison Square Garden - Curiously, the day started and ended with MSG on the brain. We had parked several streets from the the Empire State Building closer to the West Side. While walking back we saw the crowds lining up in front of MSG for the game so we decided to wander through the area and check out the sights. Once again, cool for another trip when the boys and I head down for some sports (ie. Football / Basketball / Baseball / Hockey). We packed up and got home by about 8:00 o'clock to a man-eating meal of chicken and ribs. Jen's not only a great guide but she can cook too!!!

Evening Planning: We were all exhausted. We had only Lion King on our minds as a possible way to spend our last day in NYC.