We'll take Manhattan

Molly and I popped in on our oldest son/brother Charlie this weekend. The good news for Molly and me is that Charlie works in Manhattan. We loved every Strawberry Field-matzo ball-Greenwich  Village-crazy cabbie with a heart of gold-Broadway-Times Square-stinky subway-bocce ball minute.
We arrived, stored our bags and hit the road to the Time Life Building where Charlie works. Much to our sweet surprise and his consternation, the Time Life Building was just a block and a half away from our hotel.
This situation provided us with my favorite line from the weekend after I excitedly and Midwesternly gushed to a Time Life security guard.
"We're here to visit my son - her brother- but we don't know what floor he works on," I said.
"Well that makes three of us ma'am," he replied. Hilarious.
Charlie wasn't expecting us for several hours, which is why I'll forgive him for the greeting he gave his mother who had not seen him since June.
"I thought you were going to call when you got to your hotel," he said. Sweet.
In the 48 hours that followed, Molly and I (who were later joined by our oldest daughter/sister Katherine) walked through Central Park, spent so many hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that they will require their own post, had dinner on a rooftop overlooking Rockefeller Plaza, stood in the sleet at the half-price ticket booth in Times Square, saw a Broadway Show (obviously), had lunch at Katz's Deli, took a subway ride back and toured the underground city, had dinner at an Italian restaurant that houses the country's oldest indoor bocce ball court, sipped drinks and heard a great band in Greenwich Village, went to mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, had lunch at a delicious kosher cafe, and did a little shopping on Fifth Avenue.
Very little. We are not shoppers.
We're hoping we absorbed some of the energy that beautiful city has to offer. We have several things on our list that we were unable to see, including the 911 memorial, so here's fair notice to young Charlie: We will be back soon.
So many pictures and just one blog. Here are 10 of our favorites:

"Look Molly, Charlie works here," I said as she
pretended not to know me. I had to squat in an
unsophisticated manner to get this shot.

It's the little things that thrilled us -- like free
fresh water stations on every floor of our hotel.

Caught this guy spray painting the Trump Tower sign. And you
thought they were made of real gold!

Central Park checkerboard.

Shakespeare's Garden in Central Park. Such tranquil beauty
amid such roaring chaos! It's a city of extremes.

Scary low rider. Apparently common this time of year.

We shrugged too!

Charlie said the subway station was right up the street. It was
a sleeting, messy hike, though. Even that was fun!

Happy Katherine in line at the half-price ticket booth.

Irritated Katherine in the basement of the subway
after a wet and chilly hike.