It was a beautiful Sunday and my wife and I planned to spend a day in New York with our two-year old grandson Reid. We planned to visit the American Museum of Natural History and a visit the Children’s Museum of Manhattan on E. 83rd Street and then over to the Green Market on 78th Street. Then a short visit to the Central Park Zoo.
We found an on street parking spot close to the Children’s Museum and as we entered the door we could see this was not a good day for me to get some photos and find our more about the museum. I introduced myself at the ticket counter and asked to see one of the managers to get permission to shoot some images and find out more about the museum, but unfortunately their was no one with authority there. I did meet with a one of their staff, but she had to refuse my request since she didn’t have the authority to allow me to take photos of their facility with all the children there.
It is quite rare that I get turned down when writing an article for our publications, but I can understand that on a busy Sunday with lots of children running around that their might be some privacy or other concerns. I did have a chance to look around and take some photos, which you can see in my gallery and maybe in the future we can revisit them for a more complete review.
Next Stop The 79th Street Green Market
We live in a world eating processed foods that are full of harmful chemicals and harmful ingredients. Our vegetables and fruits are being sprayed with pesticides that can kill humans. Many crops are grown in poisoned arsenic laden land. Our meats, poultry and fish are also in danger and many are full of hormones, antibiotics, super bacteria and our fish are swimming in polluted waters full of mercury or other toxic chemicals. So it is no wonder that people are fearful of eating many food products being sold in our supermarkets and restaurants.
Organic foods have become a multi-billion dollar business as people realize the government and the FDA can no longer protect us from these risks to our health. Each week we read another story about imports from China being tainted or poisoned and here in our own country many foods have been taken off the shelves due to other FDA recalls. Even my dogs favorite chicken jerky has been pulled because of high toxins from the chicken used in the manufacture of this product in China.
So most of us have been flooding to local Green Markets as a safe alternative when shopping for these foods. At a Green Market, as the name implies, you can buy all sorts of products including, but not limited to: grass-fed beef, goat cheese, fresh flowers, eggs, honey, baked goods, apple cider, and a large variety of fruit and vegetables. You can find foraged greens like ramps in the spring, and an abundance of corn and berries in the summer. In the winter the markets farmers offer potatoes, preserves, and storage crops until the summer’s crops start to come in.
We have been to a number of Green Markets in Florida, New York and in other states and countries we visit. In New York alone there are 16 Green Markets where farmers and consumers meet on Sundays to do their business. There are of course other Green Markets in the other boroughs too, so this is a growing trend and we applaud it. We love to visit all of our Green Market vendors who represent the New York State farming community at the show and continue to see this market growing each year as we cover this show.
It was a beautiful, sunny, but cold day and I had to cover this important trend in the markets toward organic foods. My assignment was to write an article about New York’s the Green markets. I decided to combine business with pleasure and take grandson Reid to the 79th Street Green Market on the beautiful tree-lined Columbus Avenue between 78th & 81st Streets.
It is a great location that draws thousands of shoppers every Sunday and is opened from 8 AM to 5 PM. The market is just behind the American Museum of Natural History, and the Hayden Planetarium and across the street from a wonderful Flea Market, which we intend on visiting on our next trip to that neighborhood.
I was asked to visit the Market by a number of their vendors who asked me to write this article and I jumped at the opportunity. It turned out to be a great way to spend our day with our grandson and get him some healthy, wholesome goodies too.
American Museum of Natural History
It was cold and our original plan was to go to the Central Park Zoo. Since we were at the museum it was a logical choice to go there. I knew I could write an article about our day in New York and it all seemed to work well together. I also remembered all the wonderful dioramas they had in the museum showing wildlife, fossils, sea life and recalled how much I loved to visit as a child. I knew that Reid would love it as well.
He would be able to see this wonderful museum and their fantastic exhibits for the very first time. As a boy growing up in Coney Island back in the 1950’s, I would take the subway by myself many times to this museum. It was a different time back then and it was not unusual for a 11 year old boy to travel on the subways alone. Today it would be unheard of and a parent could lose custody of their children for letting them travel alone this way. What a wonderful world it was back then.
This would be his first visit to the Museum of Natural History in New York City. As you can see from some of these photos, Reid loved the exhibits.
He couldn’t get enough and looked in wonder at the huge animals, close up and very personal. As you can see from the expression on his face, the size and look of the tiger, well, took him a bit off guard.
We all had a wonderful time visiting the many exhibits that haven’t really changed in over 60 years. After all, millions of people visit the museum each year and keep coming back to see all the animals that they have only seen in books, television or in the movies. As we passed the African Mammals exhibits Reid would roar like the Lions, growl like the Bears and even squeal like the monkey’s. As you can see in the photos and this short video, he loved it.
You can see our updated 2016 photo gallery on Flickr now…Click Here To See Updated Gallery
I Love New York
We had a wonderful day and will be sure to return on another day when we have more time.
As we were ready to leave the space at around 5:30 PM, other cars were trying to pull in behind us in other empty spots. Another driver pulled up so see if we were leaving so he could take our spot. I showed them the summons and pointed to the parking sign and explained that these prime parking spaces were not legal. The market was now closed and all the vendors had gone, but parking was still not legal until after 7 PM that day.
New York is a wonderful place to visit. Green Markets, no matter what city you are in are a must for anyone interested in keeping healthy and enjoying freshly picked fruits and vegetables. So I will continue to travel around New York and report about some of the other exciting and interesting places you should visit.
It still amazes me when I speak to people I know in New Jersey that very rarely visit New York City. I suppose many people never really appreciate the wonderful places they live in and the many things available for them to see and do. We tend to take things for granted and yet, we will spend thousands of dollars and travel thousands of miles to another destination to see places and things that are not available in our own backyards.
I have lived in New York and New Jersey for 73 years now and still love to go into the Big Apple and visit some of the places I did as a child. Now I have to pass the baton to my grandson and hope he will remember when his grandparents used to take him to the city and maybe remember the first time he visited the American Museum of Natural History. At least he will have the photos and videos and maybe my articles to see when he gets older and will show them to his children.
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