Museum of Natural History

The Museum of Natural History is in a really gorgeous building right next to Central Park. This is another one of those great tourist places that is so huge it's not too difficult to escape the crowds (unless you want to see dinosaurs, tourists love dinosaurs!) It's also so huge that you can't really see it all in one trip. Add this to your list of inexpensive places to visit in Manhattan and head here when you're looking to escape the outdoors, no matter what the season.  Here are some pictures from our visit!

Confession time! These Subway pictures are from a different outing.

While there are several Subway stations around the city with unique decor, these 3D casts of fossils make the 85th St station a cool place to visit all on it's own!

Even the floor of the 85th st station has museum inspired decor!

I'm pretty sure the museum is unofficially dedicated to Teddy Roosevelt. 

Lots and lots and LOTS of life sized dioramas. Travis liked the peg-legged settler.

Dodo bird fossil

Hanging out with T-Rex

T-Rex towers over the whole dinosaur exhibit

Sara was one of my favorite characters in Land Before Time

More dinos!

I'm not really sure what this face is about. Cool giant armadillo thing behind!

Mammoth tusks are REALLY big.

 

A smaller Mammoth. Note how it is still very large!

A lot of sections of the museum were rather dark and not ideal for picture taking. Behind is a giant Blue Whale. It's kind of hard to tell...

Walrus diorama. Walruses can be adorable too!

PENGUINS! We'll have to go to the Central Park Zoo soon to see the real ones.

African animals diorama. 

That is a Zebra butt.  You're welcome.

Everything looked so life like

Elephants on parade!

Cheetah diorama

Rhinoceri! Or...Rhinoceroses.

Walking near the Museum of Natural History we discovered Lincoln!

This really cool fence was down the block from the Natural History Museum. We Googled the address to see what sort of building would have such an ornate barrier.  Turns out this is an apartment building. Not just any apartment building. John Lennon was murdered here.

Newbie Tip: There are several museums around New York that are operated by the city and only ask for a donation for entry. While the suggested donation is $20 per person if you're strapped for cash and looking for somewhere to spend the day these can be great places to visit! Just remember to pay it forward when you're not broke!

Staten Island Ferry

The Staten Island Ferry is a free commuter boat between Manhattan and Staten Island. It is a popular attraction for tourists because it offers great views of the city at no cost. The weather was perfect when we went and we were able to get a prime spot on the deck for seeing the sites.  Here are some of the great views.

Helicopters are as common a site as tour boats. We've put a helicopter tour on our list of things to do one of these days.

This is one of the more unique tour boats out on the water. This is something else we'd like to do. How cool would a trip on an old sailboat be?!

A view of New Jersey across the river.

The Manhattan skyline. From this angle the Freedom Tower isn't quite as massive.

A classic tourist "selfie" with the Statue of Liberty behind.

HDR mode created an eerie double image of the Statue of Liberty.

A panoramic view of the Statue of Liberty and the bay.

Another view of the Manhattan Skyline.

This is the Brooklyn skyline with the sailboat in front.

The Brooklyn Bridge!

Newbie Tip: The Staten Island Ferry is a great way to see the sites but remember that it is also used by thousands of people as a way to commute to and from Staten Island. Be respectful of the locals!  You'll also want to avoid rush hour and days when tourists are out in force.

Central Park Lake

According to the city's website there are over 1,700 parks, playgrounds, and city run recreational areas in New York. The most well known is, of course, Central Park.  We decided to swing by The Lake in Central Park one afternoon. With it's small dirt paths winding through wooded areas it's easy to forget that you're only minutes from skyscrapers and taxi cabs. The lake was full of tourists in row boats but there are enough walking trails that we could enjoy ourselves without feeling surrounded by tourists at every turn. We didn't get a lot of pictures from this trip, but here they are.

 Enjoying the view of the city from a quiet corner of the lake

This stone path lead to an old wrought iron gazebo at the water's edge

Shakespeare Garden is not far from The Lake and was in full bloom with a wide array of flowers. I had never seen flowers like this, they look like inverted Tiger Lilies.

Newbie Tip: Central Park covers close to 1.5 square miles of land making it nearly impossible to see everything in one day.  Make several small trips and you'll get to enjoy more of this gorgeous park with less stress! Like any major tourist attraction, plan visits to more popular areas of the park during less tourist heavy times.

July 4th

Nothing says "Summer in New York" quite like a trip to Coney Island. So what better way to celebrate the biggest holiday of the summer than to spend it at Coney Island! There was quite a heat wave the first week of July and Independence Day was no exception.  Here are a few pictures from that day's adventures!

Our neighborhood Subway route is the D train which terminates at Coney Island. That made it an easy commute down to the beach for the day!

Interesting masked rock band jamming in the subway terminal at Coney Island

First stop FOOD! We waited over an hour in the line for Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs. It was worth it, they were delicious. Nathan's has two locations in Coney Island, their first and most famous location (where the hot dog eating contest is held every year) and the one we went to on the boardwalk.

Coney Island is famous for it's mermaid parade. Mermaids are kinda a big deal around here.  The Wonder Wheel is also a big deal.

Enjoying the view on the Wonder Wheel

We weren't the only people in the city to escape to the beach for the holiday. Just look at that crowd!

We were informed that nobody really goes in the water here. It's in the bay on the edge of a city. It's kinda gross! It's still a great place to come and hang out and the boardwalk is where all the action happens.

This is Travis's long time friend and our roommate, Joe. He was our tour guide for the day!

A view of Coney Island from on top of the Wonder Wheel. Nathan's flagship location is on the right and the parachute jump tower is on the left. 

Another view of Coney Island from the Wonder Wheel. Here you can just barely make out northern Brooklyn in the distance.

 Newbie Tip: If you want to see fireworks on July 4th in NYC you don't have to travel far. Lots of neighborhoods have their own shows. If you want to watch the big show sponsored by Macy's there are great views to be found in Brooklyn. At the pier in Red Hook and Sunset Park you can watch the fireworks with the city skyline as your backdrop.

The Big Move

We moved to Brooklyn on July 1st after selling our cars and packing up everything we own in a 10ft uHaul.  Here are some pictures from that first day!

My chauffeur was camera shy

Our first cloudy, hazy, foggy, rainy view of the city

Sitting in a uHaul for 6 hours straight can make you a bit loopy...

I'm not sure if I'm more excited to be getting out of the uHaul or to be arriving in Brooklyn!

Our apartment building! The second floor windows are ours

A building on our street that is covered in ivy

Brooklyn has a wide variety of architecture. Like this unique house on our street!

Newbie Tip: Get a roommate who already lives in the city. It's easier to find an apartment when you already live here and a seasoned roommate can help you adjust to city living.