Where in LA, Las Vegas, New York and Hawaii to visit?

[Peter Lewin]

Colin, I feel a need to counterbalance the glut of West Coasters with their LA and Vegas area expertise !

I will reinforce my recommendation for the Metropolitan Museum, it is really world class. Like many NY museums, the entry fee is steep, but it is also a "pay what you want" system. This means that while most people feel embarrassed to pay less than the posted amount, you are allowed to pay whatever you want. Saying you are visitors stretching your dollars seems to me a good way to go.

A couple of less obvious ideas occurred. From lower Manhattan, the ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty is fun and inexpensive. While the Statue is an icon, I would consider it more for the ride on the ferry back and forth.

There is also something called the High Line which is very popular. It is a re-purposed elevated train line which is now a linear park, with nice views of Manhattan and the Hudson River, plus a ton of "people watching." And because of the unusual view point, fun with a hand held camera.

Yet another lesser known museum, consider the Morgan Library, which is also the mansion of one of the most famous "robber barons," J.P. Morgan. Of course, with the way real estate prices in NYC are going, I think the age of the robber barons is returning...

Anyway, enough for now. The urge to think of recommendations is overwhelming, probably a bit as if I posted a request "what should I see in Australia?"

[ScottPhotoCo]

Colin,

The Huntington is an amazing place and worth the effort to go. I am a "reader" at the library as I am researching a long term project and can likely get you a couple of passes to the gardens if you like. (Normally $20-25 I believe). Let me know.

Tim
www.ScottPhoto.co

[Tin Can]

That is a very ambitious vacation.

Next trip, stop in Chicago and slow down a lot.

I usually pick one city and stay a month in one hotel. Spent a month in London for the fake Millennium and a month the next year in Venice Italy for the Venice Art Biennale.

I like museums and I never ran out of things to do in those diverse cities.

Now I go to the North woods, very soon.

Good luck!

[lab black]

Colin,

The Huntington Gardens are spectacular and well worth a visit, especially with Tim's gracious offer of two passes.

[John Kasaian]

Between NYC and Las Vegas, there is New Mexico. Santa Fe has no shortage of museums and galleries and some very good Mexican food! The cable car to the top of Sandia Peak and the view is nearly magical at night.

[MikeH]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntington_Library
http://www.huntington.org/

The Huntington is located in a very wealthy residential area. There are no stores within several miles of the place. It's been a while since I've been there. I don't recall any picnic areas, but there might be some.

[Colin D]

a stay in LA would not be complete without a visit to Venice Beach.. and then to the nearby MUSEUM of JURASSIC TECHNOLOGY

http://www.mjt.org/

also..why not take in a Dodger's game or hell..a Yankee's game in NYC?


your time in LV is probably best spent hitting the tables and pounding the buffets


and yeah..get some real, authentic, california-american Mexican Food in L.A.... then maybe to Norm's for a late night shake or something

Thanks DrTang, now I had going to a Jets v. Broncos game on my list, didn't think of a ball game, but that might just make it as well if I can simply convince the missus to spend one more day at a sporting event .

[Colin D]

Colin, I feel a need to counterbalance the glut of West Coasters with their LA and Vegas area expertise !

I will reinforce my recommendation for the Metropolitan Museum, it is really world class. Like many NY museums, the entry fee is steep, but it is also a "pay what you want" system. This means that while most people feel embarrassed to pay less than the posted amount, you are allowed to pay whatever you want. Saying you are visitors stretching your dollars seems to me a good way to go.

A couple of less obvious ideas occurred. From lower Manhattan, the ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty is fun and inexpensive. While the Statue is an icon, I would consider it more for the ride on the ferry back and forth.

There is also something called the High Line which is very popular. It is a re-purposed elevated train line which is now a linear park, with nice views of Manhattan and the Hudson River, plus a ton of "people watching." And because of the unusual view point, fun with a hand held camera.

Yet another lesser known museum, consider the Morgan Library, which is also the mansion of one of the most famous "robber barons," J.P. Morgan. Of course, with the way real estate prices in NYC are going, I think the age of the robber barons is returning...

Anyway, enough for now. The urge to think of recommendations is overwhelming, probably a bit as if I posted a request "what should I see in Australia?"

Great, fantastic recommendations Pete. The High Line I had not heard of before but sounds cool. And a ferry ride around the statue has to be a must do if one is going all the way to NYC.

The wife is ultra keen to go up the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building, is one better than the other?

Getting closer, only a month to go.

Colin

[MikeH]

Colin: The Dodgers regular season ends very early October, and, although they have a good chance of making the playoffs, tix would be hard to come by.

I would avoid Venice Beach right now: there are a number of problems and it is not a good area to be in, day or night.

[Peter Lewin]

Colin: Since it has been ages since I visited either the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building, I checked via Google. The Chrysler Building is not really "viewable" since it is purely a business building. Entry to the lobby is free, apparently there is a famous art-deco mural, but anything else is off-limits. You have to make do with the famous photograph of Margaret Bourke-White out taking pictures from one of the gargoyles. (I may have the wrong photographer, but the image is famous.)

The Empire State Building courts visitors, but to me seems outrageously over-priced. $29/person to visit the 86th floor "main deck" and $46/person to visit the main deck and then the extra elevator to the 103rd floor highest observation point.

While playing with google, a couple of additions/changes to my earlier suggestions. Take a look at http://www.nyhabitat.com/blog/2013/1...e-do-new-york/ which points out that while the ferry to the Statue of Liberty has a fee, the ferry to Staten Island is free. Since it is a longer ride, with more views of the harbor, I would just take the ferry to Staten Island, then take the next ferry right back to Manhattan. Other links in the same blog, to museums for example, show the times when some otherwise expensive museums have free entrance times.

For views of Manhattan "from above," while the Empire State (& the similar "Top of the Rock") seem over-priced just for a view, I stumbled across www.theviewnyc.com, which is a rotating restaurant & lounge at the NY Marriott hotel. For the same or less than the Empire State, it looks like you can have a meal or a drink and still get a birds-eye view. I've never been there, but I got involved in trying to find a view for your wife which didn't offend my sense of value for money.

Anyway, enough of this amateur tour guide stuff, I'm on to daily errands!