Three good days in NYC

I'm back from a brief mini-vacation in NYC.

Here are some of the highlights

1. Visitng Liberty and Ellis islands. I was completely against this, figuring it would be too crowded and touristy. It was, we waited more than an hour for a ferry. And the Statue of Liberty was cool, but not that cool. Ellis island, however, was awesome. It's been converted to an immigration musuem which was fabulous. It is hard to imagine giving up everything where you are to come to a new country sight unseen. And kids and wives often followed with just a train ticket pinned to their coats to direct them where they were going.

My favorite was asking my kids the questions the examiners asked the immigrants. I asked my son if he was a polygamist. He didn't know what that meant, so I asked if he wanted to have more than 1 wife. "Not at this time" he replied.

2. The NY Public Library. Beautiful building, free and the map collection room is great. For a time it was believed California was an island, disconnected from the rest of North America. The main reading room is also wonderful

3. Ice skating at Rockefeller center. A Mastercard moment: you can't believe the price, but my daughter's smile was priceless

4. The Lion King. Tremendous, especially the costumes and sets. I thought it would be smarmy Disney, but it was wonderful. Yesterday, I mentioned that I'd seen it to one of my pateint's parents who is a theatre professional and she said she'd cried during the show because it was so wonderful. Appropriate for almost anyone (Isabel, who is 5 sat throught it, mesmerized)

5. The Intrepid. A converted aircraft carrier with lots of planes, helicopters, etc. including a Concorde. My son loved it and it had lots I was interested in as well+

6. American Museum of Natural History. This was okay but overrun by schoolkids and the "space show" was not much better than what you can see for free elsewhere (like the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh).

7. Books on tape. We drove the 6+ hours both way and listened to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It makes the time fly, yet doesn't really distract you from driving