Museum of Illusions and Little Island in New York City
This weekend, we FINALLY made it back into New York City for the first time in 16 months! We’re lucky enough to be able to drive 65 minutes and end up in the heart of Manhattan, or, in this case, the Chelsea/ Meat Packing District west side of the island. We’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about some outdoor experiences, including Little Island which just opened last month, and wanted to check them out. When we saw that the Museum of Illusions was less than a half mile walk from Little Island, we had our morning set.
10 Galleries Kids Will Love at the Cloisters in New York City
The term “cloister” refers to an open courtyard, usually found in the center of a religious monastery or convent. Located in Fort Tryon Park in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, the Met Cloisters are an extension of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that showcases European medieval art and architecture. There are a dozen distinct areas that include 20 galleries and gardens spread throughout the four acre space. The museum was built by architect Charles Collens and opened in 1938. Many of the artifacts and structures, which date back to the 12th through 15th centuries, were saved from various churches, monasteries, and abbeys throughout Europe and recreated throughout the museum complex. There are several stone and wood sculptures, panel paintings and tapestries on display throughout galleries that are meant to recreate the feeling of being in a medieval European monastery. The four cloisters were originally created in France, bought by art dealer and sculpture George Barnard in the early 1900s, and later bought by John D. Rockefeller and donated to the museum.
Year in Review: 35 Highlights of 2020
2020 may have not been the year everyone was expecting, but we were fortunate enough to still have a lot of fun and explore a lot of very cool places. While we stuck closer to home, mainly the Tri State area and New England, we racked up 12,000 miles on our Equinox (and that’s with only driving 200 miles in 3.5 months!) and visited a lot of spots that have been on our bucket list for a while. (Read more about our just-summer bucket list here).
15 Places to See Boats on the East Coast
Growing up near the water, I have spent many a day both IN and ON the water in a boat. Over the years, my family has enjoyed learning about the sailing and the boating industries. There are many ways, and places, to explore all types of boats throughout the Northeast. Here are 11 spots we love and 4 more we’re hoping to visit in 2021:
10 Behinds the Scenes Tours Kids Will Love
I’m “back” from all of our virtual tours from the past month- we figured it was safer to stay home and explore places online than in person. If you missed them, here are the links to our curated lists of virtual tours for National Parks; art museums; children’s museums, zoos, and aquariums; and Disney related activities.
While my family is still staying home as the country slowly starts to reopen, we’ve been reminiscing about past trips and many themes have emerged. We’re written themed posts before, like our posts on Indoor Fun in New England, East Coast Cities with Nearby Neighbors, Private Homes We’ve Toured, Sports Halls of Fame, and Free Things to Do in New England. Some new themes have recently emerged and today we’re sharing a post on “inside scoops” of famous locations and companies. We love learning about how a place works and seeing the behind the scenes stuff that most people don’t get a chance to see. It has recently become more popular for places to share behind the scenes access, even if guests cannot physically go inside the manufacturing plant or production studio.
10 Art Museums With Virtual Activities for Kids
You might be surprised to learn that my family, children included, like visiting art museums. Art museums have come a long way from just “silently standing and looking at paintings some old guy or girl made a million years ago.” Today, so many art museums are finding new ways to engage children and welcome families into their galleries. We wrote about the many benefits of taking children to art museums last year in this post featuring the Guggenheim in New York City. A huge bonus? Most of these museums, and other art museums, offer FREE admission for children, usually ages 16 and under.