Like a day at the beach without the water

On Saturday, we headed out to Lauren's apartment to pick up bedding and towels for Lindsey's and Eric's impending visit and to have breakfast. After breakfast at The Breadbox in Long Island City, Felice and I headed back, much more heavily loaded. We got back with a minimum of walking, but it took 3 different subway lines. After a couple of hours rest, we headed to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. There were three exhibits there including one on Noel Coward, another celebrating the revues from about 1905 until the end of World War II and a small one of the music on the Titanic. The revues are shows that are defined by what they are not: burlesque, musicals, vaudeville, musical comedies or operettas. Think of the Ziegfeld Follies. I cannot do it justice, but if you go to the link you can learn more. http://lc.lincolncenter.org/shows/204759?show_date=2012-04-30%2012:00:00&hit=1 It was very interesting as it is a theater era I didn't know anything about. We then walked over to Whole Foods to buy some prepared foods and then had our own picnic in Central Park, around 60th Street and Central Park West. After dinner and people watching, we walked up to to 72nd Street through the Park to the subway. The scene there was very different from the scene in the Park we see near our apartment. There were thousands of people, many of whom just picked a patch of grass and hung out or sunned. There were joggers, bikers, Frisbee players and people eating. Seeing that, Felice remarked, "Like a day at the beach without the water." We walked 4 1/4 miles and wound up with a quiet evening at home.

On Sunday morning, we were treated the sounds of music groups from Central Park, which were probably from the Aid's Walk going through the Park. Later, there was a large booth and speakers right on 96th Street and Central Park West, where they were celebrating Ecuador, all in Spanish. Early afternoon we went over to Andrew and Katie Ullman's place to visit since they are neighbors being just a mile and a half away. We were treated to refreshments on their rooftop on a beautiful, sunny day. They have a wonderful view of the Upper West Side and the Hudson River over to New Jersey. We then walked to Riverside Park and then to a street fair on Amsterdam Avenue. After a little food shopping on our way home, we got to see the remnants of two individuals colliding on the sidewalk. The female's reaction was to yell at him and then throw her coffee on him to which he responded, "Great waste of a drink, huh?" But he was drenched with coffee. As we approached our apartment, someone noticed my UofA shirt and said, "Go Arizona!". So we do have fans all the way back here and I would like to believe that he was on his way home to watch the Wildcat softball team on ESPNU win their softball regional tonight. We walked 2 3/4 miles today and spent some of the evening planning the 5 days that we will have with this week with Eric, Lindsey and Lauren.

I have been asked to rate the Museums we have visited in order of pure enjoyment. While this is a very difficult task, I have tried my best. Note that I have placed comments to the side of most of the museums as an explanation or because the physical facility or a particular exhibit or piece made the museum special.

Metropolitan Museum of Art (there is so much art from so many great artists that it is incredible)
Museum of Modern Art (the place for contemporary art)
Guggenheim Museum (the building is a corkscrew and is phenomenal, but the experience is highly dependent upon the current show which right now is not that great)
Museum of Natural History (there is so much to see it takes two days, but also a lot of kids with their school classes)
Lower East Side Tenement Museum (gives a great understanding of immigration after the turn of the century)
Eldridge Street Synagogue
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum including the US Submarine Growler & Concorde supersonic plane (great to be on an aircraft carrier & in a submarine & soon to have the space shuttle)
Queens Museum of Art (the Panorama makes the visit worthwhile)
Whitney Museum (Jasper Johns Three Flags)
Frick Museum (the building is wonderful and though a smaller collection, the artists are all mostly well-known)
Morgan Library and Museum (the building is also wonderful and if you like books you will be impressed)
New York City Police Museum (the anti-terrorism exhibit is incredible)
New York Transit Museum
Anne Frank Center
Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History
City of New York Museum
Cloisters Museum (the building and location is beautiful)
Museum of the Moving Image
Paley (William S.) Museum, formerly the Radio and Television Museum
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center
New York Hall of Science (kids hand-on science)
Skyscraper Museum
Museum of American Finance
New York City Fire Department Museum
Brooklyn Museum
Bronx Museum
Society of Illustrators
Christie's Auction House and 20th floor museum
South Street Seaport Museum
Titanic Exhibit
Lightship Ambrose Boat

As you can see, the best known museums are the ones that are the most impressive, but if you have a special interest, like I did related to the Lower East Side, then there is a museum for you to go to. I think what I will take away from our experience with the museums are those particularly wonderful moments that were relevant to me like:
 the Panorama and how it gave us such a great understanding of the geography of New York City;
 the New York City Police Museum and how they have tackled anti-terrorism;
 the Tenement Museum and its relationship to Jewish Immigration;
 particular pieces of art from artists like Jasper Johns, Lichtenstein, VanGogh, Monet, and a few more. I absolutely fell in love with the work of Seurat during this trip as he was not an  artist that I was familiar with before; and
 how impressive so many of the buildings that housed the art.
While the last few days have brought us glorious weather, unfortunately, the weather forecast for Eric and Lindsey's visit promises some rain, so keep your fingers crossed for us.

Gary and Felice