Think I may be coming to Manhattan

[Gregg]

One of my life's ambitions has been to see Arlo Guthrie at his Thanksgiving Show which is at Carnegie Hall. I happen to have a week off and I think I'm gonna go.
Anyone wanna help me with some travel planning? I have never been to New York City outside of airports in my life...

I am not taking a car into the city,just can't do it, so where to stay that's almost reasonable to take a cab and stuff like that. The only other landmarks I'd be interested in are Grant's Tomb, Central Park and of course I'll need to make a blood sacrifice on Wall Street, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York or JP Morgan's building on the corner are good for that I hear...

[Gregg]

Oh, and if anyone else wants to go, tickets go on sale October 10th.

http://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/20 ... g-Concert/

[wserra]

I am not taking a car into the city,just can't do it,

Right. Don't even think about it. I live here, and I don't drive in Manhattan unless absolutely necessary. And something non-residents frequently don't realize: not only are the trains much cheaper than either cabs or private cars (parking in midtown starts at $15 per half-hour and goes up from there), they're often faster given the ridiculous mid and lower Manhattan traffic.

so where to stay that's almost reasonable to take a cab and stuff like that.

Lots of midtown hotels in multiple price ranges.

The only other landmarks I'd be interested in are Grant's Tomb, Central Park and of course I'll need to make a blood sacrifice on Wall Street, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York or JP Morgan's building on the corner are good for that I hear...

All easily accessible from midtown, by either cab or train. Central Park is actually quite large, and contains a lot of different stuff - the Central Park Conservancy's site will give you an idea. What constitutes the "don't miss" list depends on your interests (and can get huge), but mine would include at least a few other parks - the Cloisters (in upper Manhattan's Inwood section), the High Line (west side of Manhattan), Wave Hill (Riverdale in the Bronx) and Governor's Island (middle of New York Harbor); museums (at least the Met, Natural History, Guggenheim and Modern Art); Ellis Island (spectacular restoration - trust me on this); the Bronx Zoo; the New York Botanical Gardens (near the Zoo); the new Yankee Stadium (while you're in the Bronx); South Street Seaport; New York Aquarium (Coney Island in Brooklyn - note I haven't been there in a while); and, as I sit here writing, quite a bit else.

Getting together for a beer or six might be fun. Anybody else around NYC at Thanksgiving?

[David Merrill]

I saw Arlo by surprise at a local bar fifteen years ago. Some coeds at the college asked me to come down to that bar and none of us knew he would be playing. He had a song list taped to the back of his guitar and was having a difficult time reading it without his reading glasses.

But he got through the songs, including Alice's Restaurant flawlessly once he would refresh himself on what song it was he wanted to play.

He was playing after his son's band - Xavier.

I am pleased to hear he is still getting out!

[fortinbras]

Don't drive into Manhattan and don't rent a car there. No place to park and traffic is murder.
If you fly in, find a shuttle bus to a Manh. hotel, pay the bus fare (probably around $10 -- a cab would easily be $50) and then use the subway to get where you want. They give away subway maps in the stations. Buy one of those smartcards for subway/bus fares, invest at least $20 if you're thinking of staying more than a couple of days.

There is a TKTS kiosk just north of Times Square (where Broadway crosses 42nd St.) where you can buy half-price tickets for lots of Broadway, Off-Broadway and other shows for that night.

Best bookstore in town (maybe in the country) is Strand, on Broadway and 12th St (near Union Square). Three floors of used books, some of them current best sellers, some of them so new that new copies aren't even at the retail bookstores. This is the "reviewers' bookshop" -- book reviewers for newspapers & magazines get sent copies for free from the publisher and then they take them - sometimes without even unwrapping them - and sell them to Strand for may a quarter of the cover price and Strand then sells them for half the cover price. Includes a wealth of older and standard books. A full scale exploration will take about an hour per floor.

Also, discount stores, especially on Canal Street.

An inexpensive map of Manhattan, esp with the subway and bus routes, is a good investment.

Wear your walking shoes. Miles and miles of sidewalk.

[jcolvin2]

Best bookstore in town (maybe in the country) is Strand, on Broadway and 12th St (near Union Square).

The Strand is no doubt the best bookstore in NYC and well worth exploring, but the best bookstore in the country is surely Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon.

[Mr. Mephistopheles]

I can attest from the experience of an outsider that Grant's Tomb, the Met, Natural History, Guggenheim, the Bronx Zoo, and Ellis island all well-worth the time. Unfortunately MOMA was being remodeled when I was there. The subway system is cheap, easy to navigate, fast, and rather interesting if you enjoy people-watching. If you enjoy large scale architecture the cathedrals are very impressive and Riverside Church is very close to Grant's Tomb. It's a nice time of year to be in NYC. The Intrepid Museum is a good visit if you're interested in aircraft and mechanical sorts of things.

[Demosthenes]

I grew up in Topanga Canyon, and my mom was the costume designer at Theatricum Botanicum, the Shakespeare theater started by Woodie Guthrie and Will Geer. Arlo was a regular fixture there. Fun times.

[wserra]

The Intrepid was indeed among the many things I forgot. But I need to recommend a place I already mentioned more strongly. The Cloisters is simply a one-of-a-kind place, relatively unknown because of its location (Ft. Tryon Park at the northern tip of Manhattan). Ever wonder what a medieval monastery would look like if the monks could afford to collect world-class stuff? Visit and wonder no more. Courtyard gardens, Gregorian chants on an unobtrusive sound system, lovely art and peace - in Manhattan.

[NYGman]

Wish I were not already booked to go away, Would loved to have seen Arlo, oh well... As you are going to be here Thanksgiving Weekend, you may want to catch the Macy's balloons being blown up right next to the Museum of Natural History, around Columbus and 81st the night before the parade. Also, if you are thinking about going to the parade, you may want to catch it near the start rather than by Macy's. I usually do leave town that weekend, but I remember catching some of it in the high 60's, one year, I honestly don't know where it starts from now.

Manhattan is very walk-able, you would be amazed with how easy it is to use subways, buses, and feet to get just about anywhere within about 20 minutes. I also recommend you check out the restaurants. Please, please, please DO NOT eat at a chain/franchise restaurant while you are here. Find a Dinner, or better yet try the great local places. We have some of the best places to eat in the world, do your self a favor and try them. Hells Kitchen, Tribeca, West village, Chelsea, SoHo, Little Korea, China Town, Murry Hill for Indian, the list goes on. You owe it to yourself to try. Many World renowned chefs, do some research before you come, and see if you can book. I am partial to Morimotos in Chelsea, if you are in to Sushi. Never had a bad meal there.

All restaurants are graded by the health department, I will only eat at ones with a blue "A" in the window, anything with a B or C or Grade Pending (Unless clearly a just opened place) I avoid. but a "B" probably wouldn't kill you The is an android app (Called "Nyc Department of health" I think) that makes it easy to look the up and verify, some will actually post fake letters, go figure...

As to getting in to the city on the cheap, you can actually take the AirTrain from JFK to Jamaica station, and then the LIRR to Penn station. From there you can walk to many hotels, or take a subway (2 or 3 uptown) one stop to times square, and go from there, if that is where you are planing on staying. This is probably the cheapest option for 1 to 3 people, and the fastest, as not subject to traffic.

[Cathulhu]

Best bookstore in town (maybe in the country) is Strand, on Broadway and 12th St (near Union Square).

The Strand is no doubt the best bookstore in NYC and well worth exploring, but the best bookstore in the country is surely Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon.

Agreed. We make the pilgrimage every year. So why don't any of the other Quatloosians ever come out to the West coast, anyway?

[jkeeb]

Did D Merrill have a sane lucid post?

[Mr. Mephistopheles]

Agreed. We make the pilgrimage every year. So why don't any of the other Quatloosians ever come out to the West coast, anyway?

I confess, it's because of me. I live in the OC and probably I am scaring them off.
...

DING DING DING DING! We have a winner Johnny!

[The Observer]

For example, in mid-April 2012, Arlo Guthrie will be playing in Irvine,...

You plan on borrowing David's time machine?

[Pottapaug1938]

The Intrepid was indeed among the many things I forgot. But I need to recommend a place I already mentioned more strongly. The Cloisters is simply a one-of-a-kind place, relatively unknown because of its location (Ft. Tryon Park at the northern tip of Manhattan). Ever wonder what a medieval monastery would look like if the monks could afford to collect world-class stuff? Visit and wonder no more. Courtyard gardens, Gregorian chants on an unobtrusive sound system, lovely art and peace - in Manhattan.

Years ago, my father-in-law's building restoration company did some work on The Cloisters; and some years back my wife and I took our kids there. What a place!

[Pottapaug1938]

Did D Merrill have a sane lucid post?

It looks that way to me. I wish that they were all like that.

[ashlynne39]

Oh, and if anyone else wants to go, tickets go on sale October 10th.

http://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/20 ... g-Concert/

If you're buying . . . I'm in.

I love New York. I took my niece several years ago for her 16th birthday. Sadly we missed the Strand and the Cloisters. Two places I wasn't aware of at the time but wish I had been. We stayed in a Boutique hotel in Midtown. I wish I could remember the name because we loved it. We also took cabs almost everywhere because I did not want to mess with the subway - so we did spend a bunch of unnecessary money on that. We had a lot of fun though and I would go back in a heartbeat.

[Gregg]

Oh, and if anyone else wants to go, tickets go on sale October 10th.

http://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/20 ... g-Concert/

If you're buying . . . I'm in.

I love New York. I took my niece several years ago for her 16th birthday. Sadly we missed the Strand and the Cloisters. Two places I wasn't aware of at the time but wish I had been. We stayed in a Boutique hotel in Midtown. I wish I could remember the name because we loved it. We also took cabs almost everywhere because I did not want to mess with the subway - so we did spend a bunch of unnecessary money on that. We had a lot of fun though and I would go back in a heartbeat.

I intend to buy 2 tickets, and as of yet one is not spoken for, so if you're serious, I guess I'm buying. I offered to take someone we all know but apparently not everyone is so unencumbered as to blow off Thanksgiving weekend on a lark.

I think I'll drive up from Gettysburg on Friday, stay at a hotel and sight see just for the day before the concert, I may stay Saturday night but more than likely I'll be heading back after the show. Driving in the wee hours is something I often do and I'll only need to get back to Cincinnati by Monday. I would Wes, be glad to have a drink or dinner Saturday if you'll be in town, and anyone else. How hard is it to get into 21? Failing that, where can a guy get a decent steak wearing a hockey jersey? (I'd dress for some places, if someone has one, but if I had my druthers I'll be #17 on the '78 Stingers)
My real dilemma is which car to drive. The only practical choices are the Mustang and the Escape, the Mustang obviously I'm loathe to risk getting caught on the wrong side of the mountains with in winter, let's just say it's not a good car in the snow. The Escape is perfect for the winter, but it's a lease and pretty much stays in Cincinnati full time, I'd be using 2 months worth of miles to take it. If it was summer, I'd fly to Gettysburg and take the roadster but again, a car with no roof isn't something you take on long range trips in November in the northeast... If I can get a good feeling about the weather, I'll bring the Boss, if there's any chance of snow (and this is something I need to know 5-6 days in advance) it'll be the Escape.

So, for now, I need to find a place to stay outside Manhattan Friday night with an option for Saturday. Howz about I stay at a hotel by the airport and take a shuttle into town?
I'm spitballing here.

And I know that some people in New York think anyone who has never been there is some rube who will more than likely get hit by a bus, but I have lived in Boston and London so I do know how to survive in the big city. (and London is really hard to make the first few days in until you learn to look the other way when you cross the street. Seriously)
Boston is in fact why I know better than to take a car into New York. I was a pizza delivery boy (on a bicycle no less!) and when people asked me directions how to get out of Boston I started with "First, sell or abandon you car..."

[Pottapaug1938]

Boston is in fact why I know better than to take a car into New York. I was a pizza delivery boy (on a bicycle no less!) and when people asked me directions how to get out of Boston I started with "First, sell or abandon you car..."

Hell, I was born and raised in the area, and still live here; and with all of the road changes in the past twenty years I have trouble figuring things out.

[Gregg]

And that's on good days. Who knows when the MIT guys get a little drunk and change all the one way signs so that there isn't a legal way out of Cambridge once you go in.