6.15.04

I am back at work today. I took yesterday off since the in-laws are in town. Craig and Camy came in on Saturday around 3 p.m.

SATURDAY: We just stayed at our apartment that night and cooked some ravioli. Afterwards, we took a leisurely stroll around Astoria. Nothing too stressful.

SUNDAY: For breakfast, we took them to a great little diner on Northern Boulevard. It is one of the original train-car style diners. Food isn't anything to rave about, but the owner is really nice and we like to give him our business.
We decided to avoid Manhattan because of the Puerto Rican Day parade. It is a madhouse on the entire East Side. This is probably the largest of all the parades--maybe even larger than the Macy's.
So, we stayed in Queens and took a tour of the recently-renovated Noguchi Museum and stopped by the Socrates Sculpture Park. It was a beautiful day. Cloudless and around 75 degrees. We also took them to the American Museum of the Moving Image, which they had never seen. Micah and I go fairly often since we are members and get in free. There were a few new things since the last time we were there. There were some costumes from the movie Chicago and also some wonderful drawings by Tim Burton. The museum has always had vintage arcade games, but this time around, they gave use tokens to actually play them. I played Donkey Kong, Frogger, and Space Invaders. Loads of fun.
For dinner we went to a Greek restaurant figuring we had to since Astoria is known for the excellent Greek good.

MONDAY: This was the day we ventured into Manhattan. We did the Soho-shopping thing, making sure to stop at the new location of Pearl River. We wandered until we reached Little Italy and stopped for coffee at Sambuca's. It seems that whenever I am in Little Italy, I always go there. I think it is because it is easy to spot and it cheaper than some other places.
After the coffee, we started walking north and passed several galleries in the East Village. We kept on wandering until we got to Union Square and stopped at Heartland Brewery. This is a chain that is supposed to make you feel like you are in the Midwest. The food is decent and the beer is great. It is a corny little place, but if you are hungry, it's a good option.
After the late lunch, I left the group and headed home. Poor Zero needed to be taken outside. The rest of the family left for the Hudson River Pier 83 to catch the CircleLine cruise around Manhattan. I have already experienced the cruise and because I was exhausted, I skipped out. Also, I knew I had to be back at work today and wanted to rest up.
I got the scoop when they got back. They both loved the cruise and also were amazed at Times Square at night. I had forgotten that we didn't do the Times Square thing when they were here last.

TODAY: As noted, I am back at work. I just called to check in with them, and was told that today they are going to Saint Patrick's Cathedral and the American Folk Art Museum and then just wander. You do a lot of wandering in NYC. I leave work at 5 p.m. and will meet up with them on Indian Row in the East Village. We felt that they could not leave NYC without that experience. Our favorite of the restaurants is Milon, so I think that is where we are headed.

more later. . .