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The weather was picturesque again today, and we made the best of it with a trip to the Net York Botanical Gardens for their annual orchid show. We had planned to take the train to the Bronx for $15, but the total journey would have gotten us there an hour and a half later. For $60 we could get there in 30 by taxi or Uber. As we walked toward Grand Central to pick a trail, we agreed that if Woody was here he would suggest we just get the taxi… first class only a nickel more. About 30 minutes later we were at the botanical garden.  Leaving the hotel for adventures   Napping in the cab.  Jane was admittedly skeptical about the orchid show but it dramatically won her over instantly. The entire conservatory was decorated with complex orchid blossoms throughout the rainforest plant exhibit. We delighted in them all and Jane is committed to Orchid gardening. I’ll burden you now with too many orchid pics. We learned that vanilla plants are orchids! The theme of the show was fashi...

We woke up today to perfect New York weather, with clear sunny skies and cool weather that didn’t require jackets. But let’s back up a minute: A couple of days ago, we bought cookies from a well-reviewed bakery nearby, Schmackery’s. Last night, I ate one of those cookies while we watched the Hobbit. We all went to bed but I soon discovered that dark chocolate cookie had been made with espresso. Ugh!  After staying up way too late, I slept in and we got a late start.  But let’s back up further still: Over the last 3 prior days, we logged over 30 miles of walking, and both Joel and I had gone running in the morning before we started our day. In the course of that mileage, one of us developed a pretty significant blister on a big toe. Though we had all of the proper bandages for it, we scrapped our walking-intensive itinerary for today to allow a little recuperation.  Back to this morning, we woke up later and skipped runs. Instead, we headed out to SOHO, our favorite NYC lo...

 Well we promised our tiny readership updates and we fell down on the job. Let us make up for it with a mega update.  Sunday started with a bang and a trip to Brooklyn. We shopped, ate and strolled for miles.  After miles of exploring, we headed back to the apartment before long naps before our first musical, Kim Akimbo, a musical about a teenager who prematurely ages. Monday brought intense wind storms, making walking at street level challenging at times and shutting down airports in the area.  It didn’t stop us from having an action-packed day  we started at the USS Intrepid   The sailors painted all over the ship when it was in use. We w joyed the samples of the art that had been preserved.  Kamikaze pilots caused devastating damage and death aboard the USS Intrepid. The pilots ready room was near the top deck, threatened in combat. They relocated their ready room deeper into the ship so it took a long time for pilots to get from the room to their p...