I was in NYC this past week. The City was great. I arrived a day late due to the snow storm. The City was beautiful. I did plenty of walking. Bryant Park (behind the NY Public Library) was filled with shoppers, skaters and plenty of tourists. The flowing fountains were partially frozen. We visited Yankee Stadium and some of the shops there were open. I was able to see how the demolition of the old Stadium was progressing. ...kind of sad. I also walked the Brooklyn Bridge and walked around Borough Hall up Fulton Street (Mall) to the Long Island Railroad on Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. We had gotten an all day subway pass and traveled to both Wall Street And the City Hall stops. It was great to walk around lower Manhattan. We then went up to Central Park (around Columbus Circle). The Park was spectacular with the snow. I will blog more about this trip later.

I'll be off to NYC next week. This will be the fifth year I'll be visiting NYC during the holiday season. The City is fantastic at this time of year. The windows at Lord and Taylor are beautiful. The shops at Bryant Park are great to visit. I always hope to do something different than I've done before. I'll be up there with my nephew and his fiance. They're from Florida. I enjoy playing tour guide. The rates of the hotels in The City have come down significantly. The last time I was back in NYC was at the end of October. I got to see the Yanks beat the Angels in Game 6 of the ALCS for the American League pennant. I will blog again after I get back in about two weeks.

Things are right with the world. The Yankees won their 27th championship in The Bronx last night. The euphoria centering in N.Y. is contagious. I was glad I was able to see them clinch the ALCS a week and a half ago. The team showed to be one of class. I look forward to next season.

I was back in NYC last week. In addition to taking 18 hours of continuing education at the optometry school on 42nd street, I got to see game 6 between the Yankees and the Angels. This is the first time I got to see a playoff game. I got to see the Yankees clinch. The City was great. I was down in Little Italy and had some mussels. I also visited the New York Historical Society on Central Park West. I also had a great time at a Cuban restaurant on 45th St. between 6th and 7th. Right now the Yanks are leading the Phillies 2-0 in the first in game 4. Go Sabathia.

I also have a blog regarding vision. I am an optometrist and blog about my practice, vision care and some interesting cases concerning some of my patients. The blog is www.ranchocucamongaoptometric.blogspot.com.

I also write a blog considering New York City. You can go to www.newyorkcityhighlights.blogspot.com.

I'll be heading out to NYC next week for about 15 hours of continuing education in optometry, Many of the courses deal with pathology of the eye and its treatment. The latest in diagnostic equipment will be gone over. Also while I'm there, I'm scheduled to see game 6 of the ALCS between the Angels and the Yankees. It should be a great weekend.

I'll be attending Game 6 of the ALCS in the Bronx. I got my ticket via Stubhub. The last 2 times I had playoff tickets, the series had already been concluded. The first time was the Met Yankee World Series. I had Game 6 and it only went 5. The other time I had Game 5 of the ALDS two years ago against Detroit and it went only 4. I guess I have to hope the Yanks lose a couple of games first for me to see it. This is what you call a dilema.

As I'm watching the Yankees leading the Red Sox 1-0 in the eighth. I figure when I'm back in N.Y. in late October, if there's a playoff game, I'l l travel up to the Bronx and watch the game at the Yankee Tavern on 161 St. On my last three trips up to The Stadium, I visited there. ...great place.

I just got back from my trip to NYC. As stated earlier, I had visited the Brooklyn Museum on Eastern Parkway and The Bridge Cafe by the Brooklyn Bridge in Lower Manhattan.

Taking the 2 train downtown, it was a quick trip to the Brooklyn Museum, getting off at Eastern Parkway. It was interesting for me as this was where my mother grew up. The Museum has old with classic architecture and great exhibits. At the same stop you can visit the Brooklyn library, the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and Prospect Park, all beautiful. Also at the same stop is Grand Army Plaza commemorating the Civil War, also a great structure.

The Bridge Cafe is basically at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. You would take the 6 train downtown to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall. From there, call the restaurant for walking directions. The Cafe dates back to 1794. The food was good and you really felt the history surrounding the place.

From there it's a short walk to South Street Seaport where you have a great view of the East River with its bridges (Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and Manhattan). You also have a great view of Lower Manhattan, particularly at night.

Speaking of Lower Manhattan, a great experience is going down to The Lower East Side, especially if you're into bargain shopping. You and take the F or V train downtown and get off at Second Avenue (Lower East Side) You start to walk on Houston Street (pronounced "Howstun") until you get to Orchard Street. Make a right and start looking. there are many different clothiers there. As you keep walking on Orchard you'll cross Delancey Street. There you'll notice the Tenement Museum. It's quite interesting as you'll see how different families lived there in the late 1800's and early 1900's. If you're hungry, visit Katz' on Houston. It's a great place for deli sandwiches. We'll follow up with a discussion of the new Yankee Stadium later.

I'll be taking off for NYC tomorrow night on the Red Eye out of Long Beach, CA. After dropping off the bags, eating, and then possibly taking a snooze down at Foley Square during one of the trials, I will travel up to Zabars to pick up some pickled herring with onions and cream source for my uncle in Port Washington. (I guess they don't have good herring on Long Island.) My girlfriend and I will probably pick up a few other items there. We've got quite a few things planned.

Labor Day Weekend in NYC

We'll be heading back to New York September 3rd staying over the Labor Day Weekend. A couple of new places that we'll visit will be the Brooklyn Museum on Eastern Parkway and hopefully the Bridge Cafe by the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm looking forward to visiting the New Yankee Stadium for the first time. My first trip to the Big Ballpark up in the Bronx was June 28, 1967 where the Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox in a doubleheader (and I don't mean day/night). I was at the last game of Yankee Stadium before renovation (1973) as well as well as the last game of Yankee Stadium (last year).

Part of the fun of going to New York is you don't have to have a lot of things planned before you go. It's just an exciting place and things just come up.

The Red-Eye to New York City

Have you even taken a red-eye flight from the West Coast and arrived in Manhattan at 6:00 A.M.?

If you can't get into your hotel room, drop off your luggage grab breakfast, then take the 6 train downtown to Brooklyn Bridge. You can get off and visit the court houses in Foley Square. There you can sit in on a case, listen or take a nap.

The last time I did this I sat in on cases with an elderly judge presiding over individuals receiving bench warrants for not showing up to jury duty.

Even though this website is devoted to optometry and my office, I wanted to share with you an area I’m quite passionate about. I was raised on Long Island in New York. As is true about a good many people raised there, they never enjoyed what New York City had to offer. It took me moving to California to really get passionate about visiting The City. In this section I’ll discuss places that I’ve really enjoyed. Some of these places are touristy and some are not.

What’s great about New York is you can visit many places either walking or by subway. The subway is not that difficult to navigate and you can always find a friendly New Yorker to help you navigate. A few places of interest come to mind which are easily found. Ground Zero, where the World Trade Towers stood can easily be reached as it’s the last stop On the E train going downtown. If you go uptown you’ll wind up in Queens. The second place of interest is The Brooklyn Bridge and City Hall. It’s quite interesting how many native New Yorkers have not walked this historic landmark constructed in 1875. It’s wonderful. The whole area around City Hall is quite beautiful and historic. You can visit here by taking the 6 train downtown to The Brooklyn Bridge stop. This is the same number train that was featured in the movie, “Taking of the Pelham.” If you take this train uptown you’ll wind up in the Bronx. The one subway train you want to take uptown is the 4 train. If you take it uptown, and get off at 161 Street, you’ll be at the most famous ballparks in America, Yankee Stadium. If you happen to be a Met fan, you can take the 7 train toward Flushing (Queens) and visit Citifield. Two landmarks of historical interest of course are Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. You would take the 1 train downtown to South Ferry (the last stop). You can take a ferry to both places. You could spend hours touring Ellis Island. It’s that interesting. And what more could you say about the Statue of Liberty?

The more trips I make to New York, the more I want to make. When I visit, I sometimes visit new places (that friends tell me about) or places that I’ve visited over the last 30 years when I started going into The City on a regular basis when I attended school there. One of my favorite places to visit is Beekman Tower. It’s on the northeast corner of 49th and First Avenue. It’s has a bar/restaurant area located on the 26th floor. You have views that are great and you can actually sit on the outside. Facing east you see The East River with the 59th Street Bridge. Facing west, you have an awe-inspiring view of The City’s buildings. I’ve been back there many times over the years.

Another area I’ve visited frequently is the Lower East Side of New York. One of the great places to have a deli sandwich is Katz’s. You take the V train downtown to Second Avenue. There you’ll see a sign overhanging one of the tables stating “this is where Harry met Sally.” This is of course in reference to the movie where the actors were sitting. Another place to visit down here of interest is the Tenement Museum on Orchard Street. The location was a condemned building (for decades) that was reopened as a museum depicting life in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. There is also great bargain shopping down there.

An area of interest located at 72nd Street and Central Park West just inside Central Park is Strawberry Fields. This is a memorial site remembering John Lennon (of the Beatles). He was murdered across the street from there. I was there on the 25th anniversary of his death. It was very moving.

I usually take the red-eye flight from California and arrive in New York around 5:30 A.M. Even though you can check your bags into the hotel, you can’t actually check into your room until later. After I grab breakfast I’ve taken the 6 train down to Brooklyn Bridge and visit the court houses down in Foley Square. There, I try to sit in on a couple of trials. You could actually nap there for a while (they do scorn on snoring) if you wish.