Once again, my love of train travel is reinforced. We left our hotel at 8:52am, arrived at Penn Station at 9:02am, and had plenty of time to spare to catch our 9:35am train. The train left right on time and we enjoyed great views of the mid-Atlantic. I especially love it when we cross the Susquehanna River.
I’ve decided that unless I am pressed for time, the Northeast Regional is the train to take in the future. It’s not as crowded as the Acela, there is more legroom, and it’s less expensive. Yes, it does take 35-45 more time, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s no time at all. And since there is AC power in every row, I can work, or CJ can watch a movie.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Waterfalls of New York
The raison d’être of the trip is the New York Waterfalls by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. My mom read about the waterfall exhibit and invited the rest of the family to join her in seeing them. We got our tickets for a Circle Line boat tour months in advance.Our Saturday boat ride was canceled because of Hurricane Hannah, but thank goodness they let us reschedule for Sunday, since we were all leaving Monday morning.
The boat ride is the same old boat ride you can book normally, but it’s extra special for a few months because of the waterfalls. There are 4 waterfalls in the East River and New York Harbor:- Under the Brooklyn Bridge (on the Brooklyn Anchorage on the Brooklyn side, facing Manhattan)
- Between Brooklyn's piers 4 and 5 (west of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, facing Manhattan)
- Pier 35 in Manhattan (adjacent to South Street at Rutgers Street -north of the Manhattan Bridge, facing the Bridge)
- Governors Island (on the north shore, facing Manhattan)
The waterfalls were certainly worth seeing., but it was the overall experience that was the highlight. After Hurricane Hannah, Sunday was a glorious day, with blue skies and low humidity. We had clear views of the Manhattan skyline, the status of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Wall Street. If you like boat rides, this is one worth doing.
Yes, You Can Take a 4-Year Old to Museums
Whenever we go on a trip, and certainly around Washington, we visit museums and take CJ with us. Maki and I love museums (Maki joined us in NYC on Saturday afternoon) and we figure CJ will love museums if we get him started early.
On Saturday morning, mom, Alex, CJ and I visited the Museum of Natural History. The dioramas filled with stuffed animals from Africa were lifelike and very well done. CJ loved looking for the baby animals and guessing the names of the animals. We all enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit, as well as the reptile exhibit. I wish the exhibit had more hands-on elements, or even some interactive kiosks, but otherwise, no complaints. We need to watch Night at the Museum, the Ben Stiller comedy set in this museum.
On Sunday morning, we all made the mandatory visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Alex says he has spent many, long days at this museum, especially when he was living in New York. We started our visit the Egypt collection, culminating, of course, at the Temple of Dendur, my favorite spot in the museum. Then we visited the armor collection, including a special exhibition on Tibetan armor. Then we wandered into musical instruments, and then dashed through European history. We also enjoyed a Jeff Koons exhibit on the roof of the museum featuring three sculptures; the most fun was a stainless steel sculpture that looks just like a dog balloon!
CJ obviously can’t read the descriptions and can’t sit through long explanations, but he enjoys looking at everything, commenting on what he sees, and looking at the varied items. Next time, we will have to catch the Children’s Museum, which we hear is terrific and fun for kids.
On Saturday morning, mom, Alex, CJ and I visited the Museum of Natural History. The dioramas filled with stuffed animals from Africa were lifelike and very well done. CJ loved looking for the baby animals and guessing the names of the animals. We all enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit, as well as the reptile exhibit. I wish the exhibit had more hands-on elements, or even some interactive kiosks, but otherwise, no complaints. We need to watch Night at the Museum, the Ben Stiller comedy set in this museum.
On Sunday morning, we all made the mandatory visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Alex says he has spent many, long days at this museum, especially when he was living in New York. We started our visit the Egypt collection, culminating, of course, at the Temple of Dendur, my favorite spot in the museum. Then we visited the armor collection, including a special exhibition on Tibetan armor. Then we wandered into musical instruments, and then dashed through European history. We also enjoyed a Jeff Koons exhibit on the roof of the museum featuring three sculptures; the most fun was a stainless steel sculpture that looks just like a dog balloon!CJ obviously can’t read the descriptions and can’t sit through long explanations, but he enjoys looking at everything, commenting on what he sees, and looking at the varied items. Next time, we will have to catch the Children’s Museum, which we hear is terrific and fun for kids.
A Weekend of Yummy Asian Meals + Amazing Doughnuts
I come from a family of eaters. Growing up, birthdays and celebrations were nearly always celebrated with dinner at a nice restaurant, the family favorite being sushi. This trip to New York felt like a gastronomic tour of Asia’s greatest hits. Following recommendations from Fodors.com (my favorite online travel resource), we visited, in this order:
Nha Trang, a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown. This is Alex’s favorite restaurant in New York City. I was blown away by the hot and sour shrimp soup and the shrimp with salt and pepper sauce. Best of all, dinner for 5 was a mere $70 and you should have seen how much food we ordered!
Cendrillon in SoHo, my favorite Filipino fusion restaurant in the world. Despite Hurricane Hannah, which slammed into New York on Saturday afternoon, the restaurant was full by 8pm. Romy, the chef, does an amazing job and greets every table personally. I loved the mussels, the laksa noodles, lamb shank and kare kare (Filipino stew made with peanut butter, oxtail, tripe and vegetables). For dessert, we adored the passion fruit crème brulee, the bibingka, and champorado (sweet, sticky, chocolate rice porridge, what's not to love?).
Momofuku, a ramen noodle joint on the Lower East side. Momofuku serves fresh, Japanese style ramen noodles. The menu is limited, and unless you don’t like pork, order the pork steam buns and the pork ramen, which are superior to their chicken counterparts. Service was a little snotty. And since the restaurant does not take reservations, it’s best to arrived before 6pm. We got there at 5:45pm; the place was packed by 6:15pm on a Sunday. We've had better ramen on the streets of Tokyo, but good ramen places are rare in the US; to date, we have found none in the DC area.
Doughnut Plant in the Lower East side. I heard about this little doughnut place on Food Network, when Bobby Flay challenged Doughnut Plant owner, Mark Israel to a throwdown. Mark Israel’s doughnuts won hands down and I knew we had to make a pilgrimage. The $20 cab ride was worth it. If you go, order the tres leches doughnut, a cakelike doughnut that is out of this world. CJ loved the chocolate doughnut.
Nha Trang, a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown. This is Alex’s favorite restaurant in New York City. I was blown away by the hot and sour shrimp soup and the shrimp with salt and pepper sauce. Best of all, dinner for 5 was a mere $70 and you should have seen how much food we ordered!
Cendrillon in SoHo, my favorite Filipino fusion restaurant in the world. Despite Hurricane Hannah, which slammed into New York on Saturday afternoon, the restaurant was full by 8pm. Romy, the chef, does an amazing job and greets every table personally. I loved the mussels, the laksa noodles, lamb shank and kare kare (Filipino stew made with peanut butter, oxtail, tripe and vegetables). For dessert, we adored the passion fruit crème brulee, the bibingka, and champorado (sweet, sticky, chocolate rice porridge, what's not to love?).
Momofuku, a ramen noodle joint on the Lower East side. Momofuku serves fresh, Japanese style ramen noodles. The menu is limited, and unless you don’t like pork, order the pork steam buns and the pork ramen, which are superior to their chicken counterparts. Service was a little snotty. And since the restaurant does not take reservations, it’s best to arrived before 6pm. We got there at 5:45pm; the place was packed by 6:15pm on a Sunday. We've had better ramen on the streets of Tokyo, but good ramen places are rare in the US; to date, we have found none in the DC area.
Doughnut Plant in the Lower East side. I heard about this little doughnut place on Food Network, when Bobby Flay challenged Doughnut Plant owner, Mark Israel to a throwdown. Mark Israel’s doughnuts won hands down and I knew we had to make a pilgrimage. The $20 cab ride was worth it. If you go, order the tres leches doughnut, a cakelike doughnut that is out of this world. CJ loved the chocolate doughnut.
New York, Here We Come or Why I Love Amtrak
Last Friday morning, CJ and I went up to New York on Amtrak. I love Amtrak. Maki dropped us off around 9:00am for a 9:25am departure and we still had time to pick up breakfast at McDonald’s and make a bathroom stop before boarding the train.
Family and friends know that CJ is crazy about trains, so it was a real treat for him to ride the train up to New York. We even ran into our friends Debbie and Bert, and their son Max, so we had company for part of the ride. CJ played Go Fish! with Max, he watched a couple of Thomas movies on the PSP (Playstation Portable), and we paid a visit to the café car for some lunch.
Catching a cab was a breeze because it was the middle of the day, so we got to our hotel, Club Quarters in midtown, in no time.
This trip to New York is a mini-vacation before CJ starts school on Wednesday, as well as a family trip. We met my mom, older sister and brother in New York; they flew in from San Francisco. The impetus for the trip was the waterfall exhibit by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who created waterfalls from four locations in the East River and New York Harbor (more on that later when I post about our boat ride on the river.
Family and friends know that CJ is crazy about trains, so it was a real treat for him to ride the train up to New York. We even ran into our friends Debbie and Bert, and their son Max, so we had company for part of the ride. CJ played Go Fish! with Max, he watched a couple of Thomas movies on the PSP (Playstation Portable), and we paid a visit to the café car for some lunch.
Catching a cab was a breeze because it was the middle of the day, so we got to our hotel, Club Quarters in midtown, in no time.
This trip to New York is a mini-vacation before CJ starts school on Wednesday, as well as a family trip. We met my mom, older sister and brother in New York; they flew in from San Francisco. The impetus for the trip was the waterfall exhibit by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who created waterfalls from four locations in the East River and New York Harbor (more on that later when I post about our boat ride on the river.
CJ Loves the Pool
The pool in our neighborhood is closing. Here’s a great photo of CJ jumping into the pool last weekend. With his Spiderman vest on, CJ is fearless. And check out the huge smile and perfectly balanced arms. When it comes to the water, CJ is definitely my son. I’m going to have to look into swimming lessons at community center or the local Y.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Adventures at the Mall
On Saturday, Maki, CJ and I went to the mall. I just had to share some of the funny things that CJ said.
On approaching Nordstrom, CJ was trying to read the store name.
CJ: Mom, are we going to Netherlands?
Mom: Netherlands? No, we're going to Norstrom.
CJ: No, we're going to Netherlands.
On leaving the Verizon store, where they sell Crocs carrying cases for phones.
CJ: Mom, this isn't a phone store, it's a Crocs store!
As we went from floor to floor.
CJ: Mom, I want to take the excavator.
Mom: You mean the elevator or the escalator?
CJ: No, the excavator!
As we approached EVERY mall directory.
CJ: Stop, I want to look at the map. You are here. We're here, mom! (pointing to the red "you are here" dot on each map)
On approaching Nordstrom, CJ was trying to read the store name.
CJ: Mom, are we going to Netherlands?
Mom: Netherlands? No, we're going to Norstrom.
CJ: No, we're going to Netherlands.
On leaving the Verizon store, where they sell Crocs carrying cases for phones.
CJ: Mom, this isn't a phone store, it's a Crocs store!
As we went from floor to floor.
CJ: Mom, I want to take the excavator.
Mom: You mean the elevator or the escalator?
CJ: No, the excavator!
As we approached EVERY mall directory.
CJ: Stop, I want to look at the map. You are here. We're here, mom! (pointing to the red "you are here" dot on each map)
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