I can't help you with hotels as I never had to stay in one since I live so close and work there. Here are some suggestions for things to do, especially if you have kids 1) Serendipity - it may be overrated but definitely something to enjoy http://www.serendipity3.com/ 2) The Met http://www.ny.com/cgibin/frame.cgi?url=http://www.metmuseum.org/&frame=/frame/museums.html 3) Central Park (If its not too cold) you can go ice skating there, go to a zoo and eat at the Boathouse http://www.ny.com/sights/neighborhoods/central_park.html 4) Shopping at SOHO/Village (not really a kid thing to do but definitely something to do when you are in Manhattan) 5) Broadway play would be great (eat at at the stardust diner - we had a lot of fun there) 6) Burgers at the Parker Meridian hotel 7) Brunch at Sarabeth's or Jane 8) Empire State is a must only because that is a very NYC though I ewnt once with someone from out of town and thought it was boring. 9) Museum of Natural History on the West side is nice - great for kids though I like the one in Washington better Union Square is fun and a great shopping mecca as well If the weather is bad, go to chelsea piers for some indoor sports fun The intrepid or the Childrens Museum of Manhattan If you want to venture out to Brooklyn, there is an aquarium, puppetworks and the brooklyn children's museum Rockefeller is nice. within that area, there is the Ninetendo Store and the American Girl Doll store, St. Patrick's cathedral and Saks (the window display is cute but not as elaborate as the other stores) Check out the ABC Home Store for you and FAO Schwartz for the kids (there is also a GIANT TRU in Times Square Check out cupcakes from Crumbs and Magnolia Bakery Hope this helps.

As a perpetual tourist (I live here), here's my take: 1) STATUE OF LIBERTY. This is an all day trip. Go early. Book your tickets ahead of time on the Internet. Pack a lunch. The kind of food they sell on the island is the kind that gets you sick on the ferry going back. You can go to the highest point, the crown, if you go on the first boat of the day. But it's not worth it (tiny little room, tiny windows, crappy view, horrific climb up corkscrew stairs to get there). The rest of the day, you'll go to the base, which has a great view. There is also a fantastic museum IN the Statue. You can buy combo tickets for the Statue and Ellis Island, but even if you whiz through the Statue, you will end up with about an hour to spend on Ellis Island--if you are really interested in Ellis Island, think about making it a separate trip. 2) I third the STATEN ISLAND FERRY. Here's what I usually do with my guests. Find out when sunset is (check the paper's weather page or the Internet). Make sure that you are in the waiting room for the Staten Island Ferry 15 minutes before that time. Get on the ferry. Watch the sunset of the Statue of Liberty. When you get to Staten Island, get off the ferry and get on the next one going to Manhattan. If you are in the front of the boat, facing Manhattan, you will get a postcard view of downtown Manhattan all lit up. Did I mention that this trip is FREE??? As I think of more, I'll post more.

Central Jersey here... We installed fiberglass last year. I would never have thought of installing anything else. You'll probably pay more for a fiberglass pool, but you'll save both on maintenance and chemicals. We've got an 18' x 37' fiberglass, and for two years in a row... $49 gets us crystal-clear water all season. What little algae there was trying to cling to the fiberglass when we opened the pool a few weeks ago was absolutely gone with a quick brush-off. Try that with any other types of pools... It all depends on the quality of the installer, as you probably know. Installing a pool is a one-time thing, and you want it done right, NOT for the cheapest price. We set a budget, and overall, we came in right under the budget, and have had zero problems in the two years we've had it. Hope this helped a bit. Best of luck to you!

Vee -- I'm sorry I didn't visit this site earlier, so that I could give advice ... since I live in NY City ! Anyway, Trinity Church is waaaay downtown; but, since your daughter's friend works on Wall Street, she'll know exactly where to go -- and I'd assume -- how to get to it. Trinity Church is usually open -- so maybe your daughter could go inside and find someone connected w/ that church who would know about a map of the graveyard -- something which shows the names of all the people buried there, and where their gravestone is placed. West 83rd Street is a very lovely residential part of the upper west side of Manhattan. It's right by Central Park ... and only 20 blocks north of Lincoln Center - home of the Metropolitan Opera, the NY Philharmonic, New York City Ballet (of George Balanchine fame)). The weather this weekend is going to be sublime - it was 72 degrees today! -- So your daughter couldn't have picked a better weekend! ... I would definitely recommend a long stroll through Central Park -- maybe even rent a row boat on the beautiful tree-lined lake ... Afterwards - go to the nice restaurant that overlooks it ... right next to the boat rental. If she loves art -- besides the Museum of Modern Art -- the Metropolitan Museum of Art ... On the fabulous upper East side -- most posh part of Manhattan. This museum is set into Central Park. There's everything there -- Ancient Egyptian to European Old Masters to Abstract. My personal favourite -- the Medieval Hall w/ armor, chapel rooms imported from Europe and reconstructed, etc. Oh -- almost forgot -- in far-upper Manhattan is the fabulous Cloisters Museum -- an adjunct to the Metropolitan Mus. It's totally Medieval. Really beautiful old castle brought over stone-by-stone by a Rockefeller -- Sits atop a hill overlooking the mighty Hudson River, facing the magnificent Palisades across ... the setting inside the lush verdant (this time of year) Inwood Park is fabulous! I could go on and on, but these suggestions (not just mine, but everyone else's) are enough for one weekend! Let us know what she saw and did ... I'm curious.