New York - February 23,2007

Jim & I took Rose and Alice for a New York weekend.
We arrived on Friday, February 23, mid afternoon and took a cab/van from LaGuardia to the The New York Palace Hotel.

After a brief check in, we proceeded to take in a few sights before dinner. We headed down Madison Avenue to Grand Central Station.
From there we went to The Empire State Building for a view of the city. The staff here could not have been more accommodating in assisting us to all the elevator banks. Traveling with the two wheelchairs definitely gets you preferred treatment.



The first stop was on the 87Th floor, which is an outdoor viewing spot. The weather was quite cold and the wind strong. So needless to say, we were not out doors for a long duration.

We took the elevator to the 102ND floor, where the viewing area is small but all enclosed. The view was great, and inside away from the wind.

Afterwards, we went to Rockefeller Center, watched the ice skaters in the plaza.

We headed back to the the hotel, catching a nice view of Times Square. Though the cold did not not make for a lengthy view of the the area.

Dinner on Friday was at the Gramercy Tavern, one of our favorite places. The atmosphere is casual but the food and service are excellent.

Saturday morning we left the hotel at 10A. We walked past the United Nations building, then took a cab to Battery Park, where we had a view of the Statue of Liberty.

We went to Ground Zero and through the village for a pretty lengthy walk that ended at The Union Square Cafe for lunch. The restaurant was full for a Saturday afternoon, so our 1:15 reservation was a must. The meal was great and relaxing after our full walking morning.

After lunch we did more city strolling to the The Lincoln Center. Then past The Dakota where John Lennon was killed, and Yoko Ono still resides. It is located across from Central Park so we strolled through part of the park on the way back to our hotel.

We had enough time to rest after our sight seeing day before we went to see Mary Poppins at 8P.

Though Jim & I had seen the show in London last year, the production in NY was excellent. The effects here were slightly different but made for a spectacular event. If the opportunity arises, it is definitely show that should not be missed.

Our post dinner was a Bar Americain. Once again the dinner was excellent and made for a perfect ending to a full day.

On Sunday morning before our scheduled flight at 1P, Alice & Rose attended St. Patricks Cathedral , located across the street from our hotel, for 10:15 mass. Our original plan was that we all would attend, and head out to the airport. Unfortunately, Jim & I had to stay back at the hotel and plan alternate transportation back to Chicago.

The weather in Chicago was experiencing ice/snow storms since Saturday afternoon. This resulted in our flight being cancelled and we were re booked for Monday afternoon. Because the storm was moving to the east coast on Monday morning, we did not want to chance the possibly of not getting a flight out for a few days.

So we rented a car, and left for home at 11:45A. We were fortunate not to get hit by any adverse weather along the way. Minor snow showers and a bit of rain.

We arrived in Tinley Park 12 hours and 800 miles later.

A great well rounded weekend.