Day 346 - Saturday November 24, 2012

Today we had a VERY full day with lots of walking.  Mark left at 8:00 with Arri and they walked to her rehearsal on 59th and 7th.  We are staying on 45th and Broadway.  He walked back and we had some breakfast and then we headed out for the day.  We first walked to Central Park and went to the Central Park Zoo.  Next Mark headed back to get Arri and we walked through Central Park.  We all met up at 72th and 8th to go to the American Museum of Natural History on about 80th.  We stopped at the street vendors and had some lunch outside the museum on some benches.  Mark missed the vendor that had lobster in a bun (??).  We then went through the museum.  I should say that Bridgett and I did one room--the animals of Africa--and then everyone else did the main floor and the second floor.  I found a semi quiet hallway with a bench and Bridgett stretched out with my coat as a pillow and slept.  After a while I went and asked for a wheelchair and I pushed her around a little.  Bear in mind that it is the Thanksgiving weekend and there are SOOOOO many visitors and so the museum was packed!  There were so many people and so much noise.  Bridgett was much more comfortable in the quiet more deserted areas of the museum.  After a while everyone else was done and their feet were tired too; it was also getting later and we wanted to get back before dark.  Tyler and Arrianne offered to walk back with Bridgett while Mark, Steph and I did the lower floor; we never did get to the lowest floor.  They made it back to the hotel just fine while we went through the ocean and rain forest exhibits as well as animals of the forests (straight from our backyard it seemed!).  Then we headed back as well, arriving just after it got dark.  Everyone was hammered after walking 80 city blocks plus around at the zoo, park and museum.  Bridgett was feeling better than everyone else but then she had a nap and didn't walk through the museum!  After some dinner we all headed to bed early.  BTW if I didn't say it before....Bridgett is adamant that we not take taxis anywhere, so we are walking everywhere.  Of course, that is great most of the time, but it does mean that we don't go very far from the hotel, like to the Staten Island ferry as planned.  However, we are realizing that under the circumstances we are getting lots of sight seeing done without stressing everyone out to the max and so it is just as well.