Scattered Thoughts . . .

A s mentioned in my previous blog entry, we visited Bryant Park with the kids twice now.  This last time was just this past weekend during the warmer months so it didn't at all resemble the winter park with an ice rink like the last time we were at Bryant Park with Lukey and Kenzie.  If we hadn't told the kids this was Bryant Park, they might not have recognized it in the warm weather!  The park really does look a lot different in the summer months compared to the winter months. During the winter months, they jam-pack this park with a big ice rink, a locker and changing facility, a few different socializing areas, and close to a hundred small shops.  When all the winter seasonal attractions are packed away for the summer, the park looks completely different.   We quickly walked the few blocks from Grand Central Terminal to Bryant Park... Below, the Public Library is behind them as they try to get their bearings... Below is the back side of the Public Librar...

This is another blog entry with a lot of photos and a short video down at the bottom of the page. N ot only did Gee and Kenzie get to skate at Rockefeller Center but we also scheduled an early morning skating session at Bryant Park.  Of course, Lukey was supposed to skate with them on both days but he was on crutches with a broken foot so he stuck with me during the skating sessions.   This session at Bryant Park wasn't as early as the session we had previously at Rockefeller Center but it was their earliest session of the day for Bryant Park.  We figured that the crowd would be thinner earlier in the morning plus the ice would be best first thing in the morning.  The temperatures reached into the 40s during the day while we were there which isn't so great for ice, however, the ice would have a chance to freeze well through the night when nobody was skating on it and the temperatures were down around freezing again.  By the end of the day, both rinks had be...

S ince Lukey and Kenzie are totally engrossed in the television series, "Only Murders in the Building" by Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, I surprised them by sneakily guiding them to the doorstep of this famous architectural landmark while we were visiting Manhattan.   In the show, this large apartment building is called "The Arconia" but its real name is "The Belnord". We took the subway uptown on the premise that we would walk back through Central Park and taking the subway uptown would save us half the walking.  That actually was part of the plan because there were many things I wanted to show them in Central Park but I specifically chose this spot to start our walk southward because I knew they would enjoy seeing "The Arconia". I think they enjoyed riding the subway but they definitely stood out as tourists due to their incessant questions that made them stand out as not being at all familiar with the subway, the stops or even th...

While we were in Manhattan last week, among the  many sights we saw, we stopped at Bryant Park behind the New York Public Library. Not only does Bryant Park put up a large ice rink for Christmas but they also have very many little shops. It really is a well-designed little park with many events throughout the year.  This time of year, however, it is decorated for Christmas with a little Christmas Village. The rink is quite nice, however, it is not your typical hockey ice rink. This ice rink has illuminated boards topped by a smooth white handrail. The facilities are nice. The shops are nice. The Christmas tree is nice. Other Christmas villages around the country could learn a thing or two from Bryant Park.  Sheila and Adam are on line at one of the shops waiting for some French pastries and hot apple cider... A penguin skate aid... some of the adults could have used a skate aid too! It still was not dark out when we left the park b...