I met Brady in the summer of 1981 when I was a camp counselor and Brady was a camper. Brady and his buddies would have the whole camp rolling on the ground when they performed Monty Python skits at talent night in the campfire circle.
A few years later we met again on the street in Seattle's University District and we have been great friends ever since. Brady is one of my longest friendships. He moved to New York in 2001 for his wife Julie to pursue graduate studies. Brady needed a hobby so he decided to create a high school from scratch. He's the founding principal of Validus Preparatory Academy, a New York City charter school.
One of the benefits of moving to Boston is that I'm closer to two of my closest friends: Brady and my friend Bill (also in NYC).
Brady invited us down for this past weekend. We were excited to go; it was our first trip to New York since moving (we hope to have many). I had two goals for this trip: take the girls to the American Museum of Natural History to see a classic museum with dinosaur bones (and a huge whale model); and see the High Line.
The High Line is a new park built on an old elevated freight railway in previously industrial southwestern Manhattan. The structure had been abandoned since 1980. On a previous trip to New York, Carol and I saw models and concept drawings, at MOMA, for the park which was at that point only a dream. I've been following its progress since then. The first section of completed park just opened and I was excited to see it.
Carol and the girls picked me up at work Friday afternoon and we drove down. It would normally be a 3 1/2 hour drive, but traffic leaving Boston was bad and it took us more than 5. But we found Brady's apartment in Stuyvesant Town pretty easily and got settled in.
Saturday morning we headed out, stopping for breakfast first at Cafe Centosette. The forecast was for a few possible showers in the morning but then nice weather the rest of the weekend. That's exactly what we had. After breakfast we rode the subway up to the museum on the upper west side. The girls loved it as I'd hoped they would. The adults liked it too. It still has plenty of the old school museum feel with dioramas and mounted skeletons. I kept imagining growing up in New York, say, in the 60's and learning about wildlife that way.
After a good visit at the museum we decided to head to FAO Schwarz. I can't remember all the recent history, but the corporation went bankrupt and someone bought the remnants and re-opened the flagship store on 5th Ave. We walked across Central Park to get there, past the zoo.
FAO Schwarz is quite the place. We had a great time browsing. Each girl got one toy, and we managed to escape for less than $30.
Right outside is the flagship Apple Store so we had to poke our heads in. It was mobbed. We stayed about two minutes.
From there we headed east to Lexington Ave. and Dylan's Candy Bar, a favorite place for Brady's family. They have every nostalgic candy from our childhoods plus every other type of sweet you can imagine. They have a chocolate fountain into which they will dip strawberries, graham crackers or marshmallows for you. We ended up with Jelly Bellies, Zotz and fudge, plus candy corn for Audrey and a big rainbow lollipop for Charlotte.
It was getting into evening by now, so we hopped the subway back downtown and went back to the apartment where Brady whipped up a delicious pasta dinner. Audrey got to play their Wii with Isabel. I got to keep reminding her to back up. As she played a sword game she kept inching toward the TV and I was very worried she'd eventually smack the screen with the controller.
Sunday morning Brady was back in the kitchen making a hearty breakfast before we headed out to see the High Line. There we met up with Brady's wife Julie who had been busy with work on Saturday, and also with Julie's daughter Gilly and a friend.
The High Line is pretty cool. It just opened in June. Most of the people there were visiting for the first time, like us. Everyone seemed very pleased with it. Plenty of the design details are evocative of the railroad origin. It's amazingly calming even though it is above busy streets. Even with limited landscaping it still feels like an oasis.
One of the coolest parts is the amphitheater. It has modern wooden benches sloping to a wall of windows that are directly over 10th Avenue. It's a mundane scene, but somehow viewing it through framed glass makes it more interesting. I wondered if it is because we are so media-centered - that we can relate to the real world better if it is presented to us like TV or a movie.
After an out-and-back walk along the length of the completed portion of the park (from Gansevoort St. to 20th St.) we had a pleasant lunch at a sidewalk diner. Then we walked the 12 blocks from 9th Avenue back to Stuy Town on Avenue C, past the market in Union Square. Charlotte was in an umbrella stroller and really liked it when I drove her over the subway vents so she could hear vibrato in her humming.
We hung out at the apartment for a bit. Audrey got to play some more Wii (perhaps there is finally a game console in our future - maybe for Christmas). Then we packed up and had an easy drive back to Boston.
Oh, one little "treat" of our trip - we got to use our toll transponders. They're free so I got them for both cars when I registered the cars in MA. They are good on almost all toll roads throughout the northeast. It's great to roll right through the toll booths. Plus it gives Big Brother one more way to keep track of us.
The weekend was fantastic. Thanks, Brady and family!
We shot a bunch of video during the visit. When I have some time I'll get it edited and post it.
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