Dates visited: 5/29/2022 & 12/17/2024

I've been wanting to take this trip for some time now. I just couldn't figure out the logistics of actually getting to Manhattan with the dogs. I thought about taking the train, but ultimately decided to book valet parking in advance and drive into the city. It actually worked out great, as driving and parking was much easier than I expected. I didn't really know how much of a challenge the actual adventure would be. Mandy and Lexi were over-stimulated at first, and then by the end of the day, they were very tired! We started at Times Square and walked over four miles around mid-town. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work!

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We walked through Times Square on our Christmas-time trip to Midtown Manhattan . It was the first time we were back here since our first trip here, two and a half years prior. This time we were here in the evening, and the impact of all the lights and craziness hits harder! It was also much more crowded this time as well. In addition to Times Square, we also visited Rockefeller Center, the area near Radio City Music Hall, and Verizon Plaza on this trip.

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Date visited: 5/29/2022

Is there a more iconic train station than Grand Central Station? I don't think so. Even though we decided not to take the train in, we still had to stop here for some pictures.

Dates visited: 5/29/2022 & 12/17/2024

Rockefeller Center was our third stop on our mid-town Manhattan adventures.

After seeing that the forecast for this day was sunny and 60 degrees in New York City, I thought it would be a fun adventure to head to Manhattan and check out the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center. It seemed like a great idea, but didn't quite turn out the way I had envisioned. The issue was that thousands of people had the same idea as me and flocked to Rockefeller Center to see the tree on a warm Tuesday afternoon! It was just too crowded to get the photo of the dogs in front of the tree that I wanted. We did the best we could and did get a couple photos, but we were further back and you couldn't really see the gold statues or the skating rink. We were able to walk around the general area, and also visited the area around Radio City Music Hall, Verizon Plaza, and of course Times Square. We also walked to the Winter Village at Bryant Park, but it was too crowded and I wasn't able to get any photos of the dogs there at all. It was still a fun (and a little bit stressful) trip, and we actually walked almost six miles through the crowds! We did get a few nice photos, even if I didn't get to take all of the ones I wanted to take.

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Date visited: 5/29/2022

We stopped at Bryant Park to take a break. We sat for a bit, and had some water and treats! Just outside Bryant Park is Nikola Tesla corner. The street corner at West 40th Street is named after Tesla, as this is where he would feed the pigeons.

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Date visited: 12/17/2024

Most of the pictures here are from the plaza across the street from Radio City Music Hall. Obviously, the dogs couldn't really go inside the actual venue and watch the Rockettes! The plaza across the street has fountains and was all decked out for the holidays! I think these were the best pictures from our trip, which also included Rockefeller Center, Times Square and Verizon Plaza.

Date visited: 12/17/2024

This is a small park, near Bryant Park, where we were able to sit down and take a break. It was nice to get away from the crowds for a few moments, after walking through the very busy Rockefeller Center, and Times Square. In addition to some modern art sculptures, the park was also decorated with Christmas lights.

Date visited: 5/7/2024

It was a perfect day for a walk through Central Park. You couldn't ask for better weather! We probably only covered about half of this very large park. We started near The Metropolitan Museum Of Art (we parked in the museum's garage). First, we hit the section called "The Ramble". It's an area with lots of small hills and rocks, that doesn't look anything like a big city. Once through the ramble, we walked along the trail near the American Museum of National History. Then we headed toward "The Lake". After "The Lake", we headed to the Sheep Meadow. I did not see the sign that said that dogs weren't allowed in the meadow until we were leaving. There were other dogs there, and no sign where we entered. After that, we headed over to the carousel, before walking down the path called "The Mall". "The Mall" is lined with vendors and street musicians. We then headed under 72nd Street, and reached Bethesda Fountain, and then the Bow Bridge. We continued our walk by the Alice In Wonderland statue, then under the 79th Street Transverse, and around the Met near the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. Then we headed back to the car after a fun five and a half mile walk.

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Date visited: 4/22/2024

This is the area around the World Trade Center, including One World Trade Center, the 9/11 Memorial Memorial Museum and Pools, Liberty Park and South Oculus Plaza. The sculpture with the blue globe and the crossed arms, created by Daniel Anderson, is called "XO World", and was installed in the fall of 2021. Nearby South Oculus plaza includes three sculptures from artists Gille and Marc: "The Elephant & Rabbitwoman", "The Rhino and Dogman", and "The Giant Tandem Bike". There are also other painted murals as well. Liberty Park also contains the "The Sphere", from artist Fritz Koening, which originally stood between the two twin towers, and was damaged when the buildings fell.

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Date visited: 4/22/2024

We started our Lower Manhattan adventure here. Most of Battery Park is closed due to construction, so we picked up the Battery Park Greenway here, and headed west. The walkway runs along side the southern shore of Manhattan, with views across the river to Jersey City. The pathway passes through many gardens, and at one point passes through a large tulip garden. With most of Battery Park closed, our best view of The Statue of Liberty for the day was from this section of the greenway. The weather was absolutely perfect, and this was a great start to our six mile walk around Lower Manhattan.

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Date visited: 4/22/2024

We continued our six mile walk through Lower Manhattan along the Battery Park Greenway. This park is directly west of South Cove Park, and east of Hudson River Park. Dogs are restricted from the grassy areas, but are still allowed on the walkway.

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Date visited: 4/22/2024

This is another stop along the Battery Park Greenway. This area has some piers, and a large fish themed playground for the kiddos! There is also a dog park somewhere in the area, but we didn't see it. We didn't continue any further along the greenway, instead headed more inland to the World Trade Center next.

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Date visited: 4/22/2024

Unfortunately, most of this area was closed due to construction when we visited. Only a small section near the Statue of Liberty tours remains open, and there was no place to view the statue that we could access. Castle Clinton, an old historic fort is here, as well as the Staten Island Ferry. The closure of this park was a minor disappointment, but didn't really spoil our otherwise great trip through Lower Manhattan.

Date visited: 4/22/2024

This is a small park that we passed through, making our way back to our parking garage from Battery Park.

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Date visited: 2/18/2024

This is the park around City Hall. We walked through here after crossing into Manhattan on the Brooklyn Bridge.

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Date visited: 2/18/2024

This section of Manhattan is also known as Federal Plaza, and includes Thomas Paine Park. It is the area around the federal buildings, court houses, and police headquarters. You may notice Mandy favoring a paw in some of the pictures, but don't be alarmed, she is fine. I think she had a piece of dirt or something stuck in her paw. This was our last stop before walking back over the Brooklyn Bridge to where we parked.

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Date visited: 4/15/2024

This park encompasses most of Randall's & Ward Islands (the two islands are conjoined). The island is considered to be part of Manhattan, but sits in between Manhattan, Queens, and The Bronx. There are walkways and bridges connecting the island to each of the surrounding boroughs. There are plenty of walking trails throughout the park, and in the spring there are numerous flower gardens. It was a hot day on our visit. It was our first 80+ degree adventure in five and a half months, so I did let Mandy & Lexi cool off in the Harlem River. We mostly followed the All-Trails route that loops around the park, but cut off one end because of construction on the Bronx side of the island. As it was, we still walked four and a half miles here, which was plenty for a hot day. There seems to be plenty of free parking scattered through the park, though the main lots fill up fast. There are many athletic fields here, and kids were being bussed in from all-over for what looked to be a little league tournament, so the park was getting very busy as the afternoon progressed. This is definitely a nice place to visit in the spring.

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