New York beach day! Rockaway, Queens

When you think about New York City, many images and impressions probably spring to mind. I’ll wager none of those include pristine white beaches and refreshing ocean waves – all reachable by subway. Rockaway Beach in Queens offers an easy beach day far from the stresses of mega-city life, and all for the price of…

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Views over Washington, DC from the Old Post Office Tower

In a city where buildings are not supposed to be built higher than the Capitol dome, there aren’t a lot of panoramic views over Washington. The Washington Monument is the best vantage point, but the Old Post Office Tower comes a close second. The Old Post Office was built between 1892-1899 in the Romanesque Revival…

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The playgrounds of NY’s Central Park

My kids are “too old” for them now, but over the years, we have spent countless hours in the playgrounds of New York’s Central Park. If you are visiting the Big Apple with kids, I highly recommend that you plan some stops in these well organized playgrounds to get the energy out. Or, if you’re…

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An urban oasis in New York’s Morningside Park

While most people know (or know of) New York’s spectacular Central Park, fewer know its less famous sibling – Morningside Park. Morningside Park was designed soon after its more famous neighbor, by the celebrated landscape architects who had designed Central Park – Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvin Vaux. Olmsted and Vaux produced a design for…

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Pretty lake views from New York’s Lake Geneva

I spent four years of my life at the “neighboring” lake of New York’s Finger Lakes. I already wrote about visiting my alma mater, Cornell University, on the edge of Cayuga Lake, but on that same visit, we also made the trip to the town of Geneva, on Geneva Lake. Geneva is home to Hobart…

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Prohibition-era beer in Utica, New York

On a trip out to western New York last summer, we were staying near then small city of Utica, New York. I’d never been to Utica before, but I knew its Saranac beer (and soft drinks). We saw there was a tour of the Matt Beer Brewery Company and decided to join in on the…

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NY cuisine: Eating hotdogs on the steps of the Met

I’ve been dragging my kids to museums ever since they were little. Actually, when they were really little it was easiest, since back then they really couldn’t complain. : ) When I’m back in NY, I always love to go to the museums, and since we are members at the Met (the Metropolitan Museum of…

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