Magnolia Preparatory Academy

                                     
                                                    
                                                                            Image Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi
HITCHIN' A RIDE: The stalwart Soyuz lifted off right on time from Russia this afternoon, at 1:58 our time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOJpf-fn_NY


The Expedition 37 crew, Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineers Mike Hopkins and Sergey Ryazanskiy, made one of those rabbit runs to the ISS, chasing it down in just hours (rather than a couple of days, which has historically been the norm).

Each and every time I watch a Souyz launch, I can't help but wonder if/when the U.S. will get back in the astronaut launching business. ...

NEW YORK MARATHON: I'm still working on recounting highlights of our trip. Our Sept. 11 was a very busy day there. We spent a couple of hours in the morning watching televised programming from the 9/11 Memorial we'd visited the day before. There was a pall over the city that day, to be sure, and lots of NYPD on the subways.

It was scorchingly hot, about 95 degrees, with over 90 percent humidity. Not the best weather for walking all over the city, but we wanted to make the most of our last full day in the city, and that we did.

Our first stop was The High Line, a unique park made on an elevated, abandoned freight rail line on Manhattan's west side. It runs from Chelsea to the Meatpacking District.

Since it was so hot out, the in-the-ground water feature was popular that day.

There were some neat art installations along The High Line, including a billboard-sized pop art piece, "Waking," by Gilbert & George.  (photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/horsepunchkid/)

The kids liked the bronze statue ("Jessie," by Frank Benson) that looked like a real live person striking a pose. (photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/horsepunchkid/)
                             
There are a number of open air restaurants along The High Line. We spent about 20 minutes sitting at Terroir at the Porch, where the kids had a locally made soda and we tried a local beer.

Across the street, I spied a restaurant with Colicchio & Sons lightly stenciled on its front windows. I figured it *had* to be owned by Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio. When we researched it later, we found out that was, in fact, the case. It's part of his Craft Restaurants group.

There was also a nice street-level park right below us, a nice view of the Hudson River, and Hoboken, New Jersey, across the way.

After recharging, we struck out in the heat again. Next stop? None other than Hook & Ladder 8, home of the Ghostbusters!

I have seen this building on celluloid too many times to count. Rick wore his Ghostbusters costume for about two years straight and we had to watch the movie darn near daily when he was about 5 years old. 

Nearly 30 years after the movie was released, the firehouse is still a popular spot with tourists. Several were around when we visited.

This emblem on the sidewalk, with the "no ghost" logo in the middle, could use a little sprucing up.

It's a working fire station. See the truck? Often, the firefighters visit with tourists, but they were sealed up tight during our visit (perhaps because it was 9/11). I took this crappy shot through the window.              

                                     
Firefighters from this station, at 14 North Moore Street, in the TriBeCa neighborhood, were some of the first responders during 9/11.

In the spring of 2011, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg put Hook and Ladder Company No. 8 on his list of 20 fire houses to be closed.  There was great public outcry, but it sounds like the place is still on the chopping block.  Speaking of chopping the place, interestingly enough, this building is HALF of what it used to be!  

The original structure dated back to around 1904. However, about 10 years later, the city undertook a project of widening Varick Street, which borders the station. The dept. looked at relocating, but ultimately, it was decided to literally cut the building in half. You'd never guess it by looking at the place today. But it does help explain why it's tall and narrow!

Back to the subway we went, this time headed for the Lower East Side for a mid afternoon lunch at the one, the only... Katz's Delicatessen.

Founded in 1888, the iconic restaurant is a favorite of locals and tourists alike. There was a good mix of both on the day we visited. 

The place was standing room only, which is the norm.

You're issued a ticket on the way in, and you take it  to a long, crowded, kind of confusing counter to order. 

(You get different foods at various stations - sandwiches, hot dogs, soft drinks, beer, etc. - and employees compute a running total of the pre-tax bill. You pay a cashier as you leave. Should you somehow lose your ticket between Point A and Point B, there's a mandatory $50 penalty.)

Christian navigated that counter/ticket scene while the kids and I scored a table (no small feat). As we sat at the table, a woman about 20 years my senior sitting at the table next to us leaned over and said, "Are you tourists?"

Gee, how could she tell? ;)

I said yes, and she said, "Well then you'll want to order hot dogs for the kids and pastrami on rye for you and your husband. On RYE," she reiterated, for emphasis.

Without hesitation, I dispatched CJ to find Christian to relay or order. To say it was a good call would be an understatement. ...

Photos can't possible do that sandwich justice, but this one comes close ...

When I say it was the best sandwich in history, what I mean is in the history of all sandwiches, anywhere in the world. EVER.  Seriously.  I cannot really even describe the way the layer upon layer of pastrami melted in your mouth like butter, perfectly complimented by a zesty mustard and the just-right rye. 2 DIE 4. If we had done nothing but go to Katz's for 4 days straight, the NY trip would have been worth it.

Oh, and the kids like their hot dogs, too.

BTW, remember "When Harry Met Sally"? The famous restaurant scene with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal? The one where an elderly diner says, "I'll have what she's having?" That was shot at Katz's - just over CJ's right shoulder, barely out of frame. 

If you haven't had a chance to eat at Katz's I'm truly sorry. However, there is a bit of good news - they ship all over the world! Here's a link to their online orders page: http://katzsdelicatessen.com/order-online/

We left Katz's full and happy, and we were only getting started! Still on tap for the afternoon - a visit to the New York Hall of Science and a New York Mets game! But those will have to wait until tomorrow.

BACK TO SCHOOL:  Because of our trip, we missed the first two weekly sessions of the kids' Shoreline school.  Their schedule this year is like last year - science and math class on Wednesdays.

Last year the schedule was 1 p.m. for science, 2 p.m. for math. For whatever stupid reason, I was assuming it would be the same this year. However, for some reason, at 10:55 this a.m. it occurred to me to log onto the center's Web site and check the times. Uh oh. Math class starts at 11 this year! DOH!

We were in the car within five minutes and in Shoreline by 11:23.  So they did manage more than half the math class, and all of science. This back-to-school thing takes some getting used to, I guess. \

In science, they started a unit on sound, so today, they got to make lots of noise. :)  Here, CJ raps on some bottles filled with water to varying levels.

OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD:  I almost forgot to mention, on Monday, we watched "The Wizard of Oz," which isn't a remarkable thing in and of itself - we've all seen it multiple times before on TV and/or VHS or DVD. But Monday was different. It was on the Big Screen! In IMAX 3-D.  A horse of a different color, indeed.

It was so darn interesting experiencing the movie that way.  It magnified both strengths and weaknesses. For instance, I marveled at how they managed some of the special effects, like the tornado, Glinda's bubble, and more.  But I also noticed (for the first time) how cheesy the Munchkins' costume bald skullcaps looked.

There were a number of other 'new-to-us' observations.  I had the kids write about the experience. Here's CJ's take.

On September 23rd, we went to see the film, The Wizard of Oz in 3D. The film was very great, (although you can say that on just about any version of it) and it showed how the film is great, even 75 years after its original release. You could also see many things you would not see in the other versions, such as the Scarecrow having a textured face (and a silver revolver, too.) It was great in IMAX 3D, and unfortunately, the best 3D was the MGM lion (Jackie, at the time) roaring. Overall, it was a great presentation.

(Note: to the right of us, there was a woman who kept "laughing" for the entire presentation. even at the saddest parts, she kept "laughing.")

He's not making the part about the heat-packing Scarecrow up, BTW. I noticed that for the first time on Monday, too! Out of nowhere, Scarecrow has a silver gun as the friends are making their way to the witch's castle, to try to get her broomstick.

Another thing we all noticed for the first time was in the scene where Dorothy and Scarecrow first encounter Tin Man, there is a big ol' goose or something flapping around, blurry in the background.  We were talking about it on the way out and CJ said that one urban legend is that it's one of the Munchkins committing suicide!

Regarding the laughing woman, we had a talk about Tourette's and other neurological disorders, and how one of those might have been prompting the what-sounded-like-involuntary laughter.