hype? coverage? "they"? thoughts: Earth Day was "kicked off" on April 22, 1970 as an environmental "teach in" and is now observed in virtually every country on the planet ... a community oriented day that allows everyone to "think and act locally", learning more about their local environment and it's global connections - water supply, quality & distribution - conservation and recycling - etc,etc,etc - providing a vehicle for the "masses" to show their concern about the planet .... our area had presentations, discussions, displays in conjunction with the first Farmers Market weekend of the season ..... I learned that there's a small alternative energy business in town that I hadn't heard of, which is meaningful to me, and the area .... large groups of volunteers did things like removing invasive species "weeds" from important habitat areas, and cleaning the flotsam of "civilization" from local beaches the "masses" need to come to the "message", not be handed it by the news media Bill Here is a link that might be useful: Earth Day is every day

The only difficult thing about Times Square is the sheer volume of people. It can be a challenge getting a group of five people down a city block all at the same time, lol. Unless your focus is theater going I wouldn't necessarily stay right in Times Square unless you really want that experience. (You can google Times Square cam and see a lot of street scenes online. ) If you're after a more genteel city stay with cleaner streets and leafy trees along the sidewalks, with close proximity to museums, you will want a location much farther up. With five people you may have trouble with taxis--- some will not take that many and you will have to take public transportation or two cabs. So it becomes even more important to stay near your places of interest. One thing I would urge you to do is visit the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan. The former is packed with kids, and the latter has great workshops for kids if you're interested in that. The Museum of the City of New York also has great family programs you can register for online. There are wonderful playgrounds in Central Park and I highly recommend spending time there. Not a fan of zoos but there is one in CP, along with the carousel. One suggestion for a quieter stay, if that's what you want, is the Battery Park area near the SouthStreet Seaport. This is much quieter--- some might say dead, lol, at night---but gives you a good location for the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Staten Island Ferry, Circle Line tours around Manhattan, pretty easy access to Brooklyn via water taxi, Chinatown, the 9/11 Memorial, Fulton Market, etc. The Fraunces Tavern is also in the financial district and is an often overlooked "attraction." There is a small museum of revolutionary war art and artifacts, and the tavern is still a working restaurant. You will be taking public transportation everywhere else, but that is pretty straightforward. Rates are best on weekends as hotels in this district cater to business people during the week. Its a lot to consider --- and all depends on what you really want to see. In June you should be able to get a good deal on hotel rates. With a family of five my personal priority would be on room size and location. Booking directly with the hotel usually nets the best rates and avoids any third party booking site "misunderstandings." Finally, when you call a hotel don't forget to ask of there is road or building constriction on either side of their block. That can make or break a hotel stay. Good luck!

I didn't take any photos, but in honor of ElizPiz and the lovely group I will share my favorite dessert recipe. Eliz gave us all one of her faves! It was adapted from two different recipes. (all art is derivative). Very yummy and impressive. Hope it doesn't get weird when I cut and paste .... Pear Quince Tarts with Salted Caramelized Pistachio Brittle Yield: Serves 12 Ingredients 1 sheet (about 10 by 12 in.) frozen puff pastry (14-oz. package), thawed (I use DuFour) 3-5 ripe yet not mushy pears, I prefer Bartlett About 1/3-1/2 cup quince paste 1 large egg, beaten About 2 tbsp. raw sugar 1/2 pint whipping cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly butter 2 large baking sheets. On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll out pastry to 16 by 18 in. Cut pastry in thirds lengthwise and in half crosswise. Cut in half again crosswise. With a wide spatula, transfer the 12 rectangles to baking sheets. 2. Core pears and cut into ~1/4" thick slices; do not peel. Arrange, slightly overlapping, on pastry rectangles, leaving a ~1/2" border bare (angle slices if necessary). Use at least 1/4 pear for each tart, or as much as half a pear. Warm the quince paste (carefully and briefly on a low setting) in a microwave oven to melt, then brush over pears. Fold border over edge of pears, stretching slightly and pressing down to hold. Brush edges with egg, then sprinkle sugar over tarts, especially pastry edges. 3. Bake until pastries are browned, 25 to 30 minutes. 4. Whip 1/2 pint of fresh whipping cream and 1t vanilla extract, just until stiff peaks form. 5. Serve tarts warm or room temp with pistachio brittle (see below) on the top, and whipped cream on the side. Salted Caramelized Pistachio Brittle Servings: Yields 2 cups Ingredients 1 cup salted whole roasted shelled pistachios 1 cup granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt (very important to the flavor) Directions 1. Line a baking sheet with foil or waxed paper. Butter the foil or waxed paper. 2. Microwave the nuts on high for 1 minute so they will be warm when you add them to the caramel. 3. Pour 1/2 cup water into a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Pour the sugar and salt in the center of the pan and pat it down just until evenly moistened (there should be clear water all around the sugar). Cover the pan and cook over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves, 2 to 4 minutes. Uncover and cook without stirring until the syrup begins to color slightly, about 3-5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, swirling the pot gently if the syrup colors unevenly. 4. When the caramel is a pale to medium yellow, about 3 minutes more, add the warm nuts. With a heatproof silicone spatula, stir gently and slowly to coat the nuts with caramel. Continue to cook until a bead of caramel dribbled onto a white plate is reddish amber, about 3 minutes more. Immediately scrape the mixture onto the baking sheet and spread it as thin as you can before it hardens. When the caramel is slightly cooled but still warm, slide the foil or wax paper with the caramel nuts into a zip-top plastic bag and seal the bag. Cool completely. Chop or crush. NOTE The the timing to make this varies widely with the btu of your burner, gas vs electric, etc. Hang in there if it takes longer. Watch it like a hawk in case it takes less.

rococogurl, you nailed it with that Grand Central train to White Plains recommendation. 12:30pm - Walked out of my room at Hotel Plaza Athenee, upper east side manhattan 12:48pm - Caught the Grand Central Metro North train on Track 112, via the elevator down near track 30 with 2 x 29" luggage in tow at this point... Destination: North White Plains. $8.50 maybe. Odd though - I couldn't use my MCA card to pay for it. There was a kind woman setting nearby who said that even this car opened, at that North White Plains station, although that wasn't always the case. I made the train by all of 2 minutes, so I hopped on the caboose...or the first car available. 1:30pm - I was in the elevator at North White Plains train station! I remember this time clearly because I thought the elevator was stuck. I eventually realized I had to first go UP and change elevators in order to go DOWN. Picked up rental car from the Hertz there. Totally painless. More soon! :-D.