NYC Trip 2021 - Day 2 - American Museum Of Natural History/Part 2

The American Museum Of Natural History is huge. SO huge. Like five floors huge. We went through as many halls/exhibits as we could, but we couldn't hit them all. We couldn't look at every single thing in each exhibit either because we would have been there for days and days. We needed to try to move along and hit the highlights. We did the very best we could.

We started in the Bernard Family Hall...

Seeing all the animals was really cool in these exhibits  - though it was slightly bothersome knowing just how much taxidermy was filling these rooms. But, we wouldn't be able to see so many of these amazing animals otherwise unless we visited certain parts of the world - so that is what we reminded ourselves of and really enjoyed the experience... 

Then we saw the giant sequoia in the Forest Hall...

Next we checked out the biodiversity hall...

We then moved on to the ocean exhibit. It was so impressive seeing the model of the ginormous whale when we walked in...

Next, we moved on to the human origins hall...

Next we wanted to see some gems...

We got to see the "Star of India" in person. One of the largest gems in the world...

Then, we spent quite a bit of time in the Asian Peoples exhibit...

Then we saw the Asian mammals exhibit...

Next was the African mammals exhibit...

We moved on to the reptile exhibit (not my favorite)...

Next, we checked out the primates...

These particular guys inspired the monkey in "Night at the Museum"...

We moved on to the Eastern Woodland Indians exhibit...

Then on to the Pacific Peoples hall...

Of course, this was another inspiration for the film, "Night at the Museum"...

"Dum Dum give me some Gum Gum."

The last exhibit we stopped at was the dinosaur fossils. And to be honest, by the time we hit that - we were feeling DONE. Simply exhausted. We looked a few fossils and knew we needed to head out...

It was really cool seeing the T-Rex though - it was an actual fossil and not just reproduction.

What an amazing place. So glad we were able to finally visit. One day, we will go back and see the things we didn't get to see this visit.

So, I am going to stop here for now and talk about our departure from the museum next.

 Thanks for following our visit!

NYC Trip 2021 - Day 2 - American Museum Of Natural History/Part 1

 Our tickets for "Hamilton" weren't until Sunday afternoon, so Saturday, we decided to visit the American Museum of Natural History. We had been to NYC twice already but had failed to make it there. So off to the museum we went. 

 

We knew the museum would be huge in size - we just didn't realize how huge. We saw most of it (and we were there for hours), but not all of it. That would have been impossible! 

Day 2 of our trip was beautiful. Perfect weather...

Before heading to the museum, we stopped to have some breakfast at a restaurant attached to the hotel - Dos Caminos...

The restaurant was short-staffed, like pretty much everywhere nowadays, but they were friendly and worked as fast as they could. We ordered some basic breakfast, but it was really good...

Waiting for our Uber to the museum...

We made it...

Entering the lobby...

Like I mentioned earlier, the museum was so large and filled with so many amazing things to look at. We definitely wanted to see the exhibits that inspired the movie "Night at the Museum." The museum offers an app that helps visitors navigate - it was well worth the download. I took like a gazillion pictures while there. We were completely exhausted after navigating such a huge place and after a number of hours of walking around. But, it was so cool to see and I am definitely glad we visited.

 The museum was super informative and at times, addressed some controversies that plague our American history...

Before we really got started walking around the museum, we watched a cute Imax movie about sea lions...

I think this is a good time for me to break. I will start posting about the exhibits we visited in the museum next.

NYC Trip 2021 - Day 1 - Times Square

 There's just something really fun and exciting about Times Square in NYC. Especially at night. There is an energetic buzz all around that can't be explained. I was feeling a bit nervous about the number of people around me (it was quite crowded) - but honestly, I don't believe it was as crowded as it could have been on a regular Friday night (pre-Covid days). Doug and I were both vaccine boosted before going on the trip, so we were feeling protected enough.

Times Square...

The Times Square "Ball"...

We spent some time on the red glass bleacher seats...

Times Square Selfies...

More Times Square Sights...

All things Broadway...

  These testing sites were everywhere...

Doug and I wore a mask even outside at times when we felt like we were surrounded by too many people. A number of people were wearing masks outside but not everyone - which was fine.

But...

Every store required a mask for entrance. To get into any sort of venue, bar, restaurant, theater, museum - you had to have an ID and proof of vaccination. If you weren't vaccinated, you just weren't getting in anywhere in NYC. Seriously. We showed our proof of vaccination every - single - time we went in somewhere (except for stores). NYC was seriously crushed by Covid in 2020 (and getting hit with another wave now even with its strict Covid rules), so I could understand why they were super serious/diligent about vaccine status.

  After Doug and I spent quite a while walking around Times Square and soaking in the atmosphere, we decided to head back to the hotel.

Before heading back to the room, we stopped at the hotel bar for a drink (which required proof of vaccination as well)...

After a nice drink, it was time to settle in and get some sleep. The next day was going to a busy, fun day - we were taking a trip to the American Museum of Natural History.