Ride High above the East River!

Roosevelt Island is a wonderful respite from the busy life of Manhattan Island and its only 5 minutes away!! The best way to get there is the Roosevelt Island Tramway! For over 35 years the Tram has given 26 million riders spectacular views of Midtown Manhattan and a close up look at the Queensboro Bridge. Less than $5 will get you to and from this not so hidden treasure, a bargain!! Head to the northern tip to check out the lighthouse and bring a picnic, it's a beautiful spot.

Brooklyn Heights!

My wife and I had a wonderful day today looking at the fabulous skyline of Lower Manhattan from the beautiful Brooklyn Heights. We took our dog Isabel (pictured) on the 2 train to Clark Street. From there it's an easy walk to the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. Along the way you see some great architecture, including pre civil war Federal Style townhouses and Belgian Block cobblestone streets. The river front on a nice day is to die for! Jet skis, ferry's, water taxis, helicopters, people lounging on the many landscaped grassy areas. Food, live music and a 1922 carousel all situated between the magnificent views of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, it makes for a very lively afternoon. Talk about FREE and GREAT! I've lived in NYC most of my life and I never realized what a treasure the Brooklyn waterfront is. Please check it out before the winter arrives, and bring your dog!

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Museum of The American Indian

Most of NYC museums charge a donation to see the treasures inside. Well worth the $20 they ask when you consider the priceless artifacts you get to see, but The Museum of the American Indian, however, is FREE! Its part of the Smithsonian and it's built inside the Alexander Hamilton Customs House, which is an amazing Beaux-Arts building constructed in 1907. The museum is great but the venue will blow you away! As a customs house, you can see all the fantastic murals dedicated to shipping and industry all around you. The giant glass atrium above you is inspiring and may be remembered from the movie Ghostbusters II. In the movie, the Statue of Liberty comes to life and walks through the harbor, then smashes her torch through the atrium to allow the Ghostbusters to get inside. Outside you will see sculptures of the four seafaring nation of Aisa, Africa, Europe and America. The figures were created by Daniel Chester French who also carved the likeness of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. If you're in the area of Battery Park and have an hour to kill I highly recommend it. Did I mention its FREE?!

Click HERE for more info

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Geocaching: a GPS treasure hunt!

Geocaching is a wonderful way to see all the nooks and crannies of NYC with out spending a dime on entertainment! It's basically a treasure hunt using a gps to find "Caches" hidden all over the city. And they are EVERYWHERE! The caches are different sizes and there are different levels of difficulty based on terrain and location of the treasure. Inside the caches you will find trinkets you can keep and replace with your own treasures for the next explorer. I've done this for years with my daughter and it's a great, FREE, informative trip around the five boroughs. You look up the caches online, which has the coordinates and hints to it whereabouts and they take you to fantastic places. See the restaurant where the cast of Seinfeld hung out, go to the pier on the Hudson river where the Carpathia docked with the survivors of the Titanic. Many locations in history and pop culture you would walk by with out knowing. Don't have a GPS? No problem, as you might imagine, there's an App for that!

Hunt HERE

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Central Park's 'Secret' Butterfly Gardens!

Butterfly! Butterfly! You hear that exclamation at the end of Puccini's Madame Butterfly when Ciocio-san takes her own life...but on a lighter note, you also here that exclamation from scores of children in Central Park during July and August as families stroll through the Shakespeare Gardens and the Conservatory Gardens. These gardens, as well as some spots in the North Meadow are teaming with these beautiful creatures. Some of the butterflies sighted in the Park include: question mark, zabulon skipper, red admiral, silver-spotted skipper, summer azure, banded hairstreak, American lady, mourning cloak, eastern comma, pearl crescent, spicebush swallowtail and peck’s skipper! You had no idea there were so many butterflies did you! Well, that's what I'm here for. Of course it goes with out saying that butterflies are FREE and a wonder to behold. Please take some time to smell the flowers in the park, just watch out for the bees!

Find peace HERE

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Summer Block Party!

This weekend and the next is the the Fifth Annual Summer Streets! From the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park you can walk, bike or run up Lafayette St and Park Avenue in all it's splendor. From 7am to 1pm, 7 miles of city streets will be opened to pedestrians with lots of activities to chose from. New Yorkers and tourists alike can ride a zip line through Union Square! There will also be rest stops along the way with water stations and FREE bike and roller blade rentals! This is the biggest block party in the world and you're invited!!

Click HERE

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Sony Wonder Technology Lab

Sony Wonder Technology Lab is a wonderful place in Manhattan to kill a few hours with inquisitive kids who love to explore the latest technology! Did I mention it's FREE! There are robots, signal stations, dancing motion captures, virtual surgeries, and many other exhibits to spark the creativity in younger minds. You even get to go on camera and see whats it's like to be a real newscaster! Check the calendar for a wide array of family events and workshops to suit every interest. Escape the summer heat and explore your inner child.

Check it out HERE

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