I spent MLK weekend in New York City with friends. The climate shock coming from Atlanta was great, and the fact that it rained all Sunday didn’t help, but we toughed it out, tramping all over the city, seeing a few key sights in our limited time. We decided the need for sleep would not have its reign over us and for the first time I went to the top of the Empire State Building after dark, arriving around 1am, just an hour before closing. It was nice to be on top of the famous building after dark and take in the blanket of lights, but zipping wind made it nearly intolerable to be outside up there. At least when we made it back down 1,050 feet from the 86th floor, it felt about ten degrees warmer and we had something to be thankful for. Never the less, we saw other great things, here’s some of the nerdiest:
Nintendo World
New York is home to Nintendo World, a great place to go if you’re a Nintendo fan. The bottom level to this gamer attraction is a store, which includes all the Nintendo paraphernalia you could want. Want a Zelda action figure? You can buy it at Nintendo World. Want a plush Mario World mug? This is the place for you. The top level holds a small museum featuring rare items, as well as Wii U and DS stations set up for game play. Nintendo Worlds also caries amiibo figures.
American Museum of Natural History and Hayden Planetarium’s Dark Universe
The American Museum of Natural History is a staple for all New York visitors… and a place for Ben Stiller to interact with random objects that come to life. I’ve been to the museum before and intend to go again because it’s freakin’ massive. This trip, however, my focus was on space and the Hayden Planetarium Space Show Dark Universe exhibit. Here, the great planetarium brings to life the expansiveness of the Universe and illustrates what we know today about space in a nutshell. Oh yeah, and did I mention it’s narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson?
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is basically a castle for nerds of the literary and writing variety, like myself. Part of me (a big part) wants to move to NYC just to go to this library to write everyday. The architecture is amazing with its high ceilings, arch ways, and columns. Walking through the corridors of this historical sight, I feel like I’ve been dropped in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Lego Land
This little shop off Rockefeller Plaza brings fun Lego structures and sells many Lego kits, though they can get pretty pricey. This is not the only Lego store in New York, two other locations on Queens Center and 5th Avenue also sell the child (and adult, really) toy favorite. My own home city of Atlanta recently opened a Legoland Discovery Center at Phipps Plaza, if you’re in the area.
Neptune Your Dial 