Help! Another first timer

My family (husband and I (both 43), 17 yr old son and 15 yr old daughter) will be arriving at LGA on Sept 25 for 5 nights. We want to see and do everything. We get in around 6 pm on Sun and don%26#39;t plan to do much but check in to our hotel, the Salisbury and get something to eat.

Monday morn we thought we would hit it by taking the double decker bus (48 hour pass?) and seeing as much as we can. Tuesday is wide open.

We have plans to go to the Today show early Wednesday as my daughter turns 15 that day and we hope she can get on TV. We have reservations for a 10am NBC studio tour and later we have tickets for the 2pm Spamalot. We would like to go to Serendipity later that day for frozen hot chocolate to celebrate and the evening is open.

We definitely want to see SOL and Ellis Island, ESB, Times Square, walk the Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, Ground Zero, St. Paul%26#39;s and Central Park. I don%26#39;t know which things are close together and how to schedule my days.

We are on somewhat of a budget ( but what the hell, we%26#39;ll be in New York!) and fairly adventurous (we lived in Japan and used the trains in Tokyo frequently). We aren%26#39;t that in to museums and I don%26#39;t want to spend too much time shopping. We would like to have pizza at Grimaldis and a sandwhich at Carnegie Deli but other than that have no restaurant plans.

We are taking a train out of Grand Central Station around noon on Friday to New Haven, CT. There we are renting a car and driving to Newport, RI for a couple of days and then to Portsmouth, NH for another couple of days before flying back to San Diego. I am guessing the weather should still be mild and the fall foilage should be beautiful?

Any help with our schedule would be greatly appreciated.

Help! Another first timer

Whoa!

First of all, find a good tour book and map to see where everything is.

www.mta.info/metrocard/tourism/index.html

Second, there are great ideas and posts here on what to do for five days.

Thirdly, I can%26#39;t recall seeing a glowing report here re: going to the Today show to potentially be on TV. Most of the reviews here are mediocre.

Here are some good posts (searched ';first timer'; and ';report'; in search box)

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k261954-鈥?/a>

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k270132-鈥?/a>

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k271699-鈥?/a>

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k270132-鈥?/a>

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k272415-鈥?/a> (part one)

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k270247-鈥?/a> (part two)

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k268629-鈥?/a>

http://tinyurl.com/9e8o3

http://gardkarlsen.com

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k270073-鈥?/a>

Help! Another first timer

Here%26#39;s a great website for money-saving tips:

http://www.cheapotravel.com/ny/

Also, check out New Yorkled

www.newyorkled.com

You say you%26#39;re not into museums, but what about historical sights? There%26#39;s a little bit of everything here. (early colonialism, Revolutionary war, Teddy Roosevelt, immigration/Ellis Island, Harlem Renaissance, early feminism, Franklin Roosevelt, Wall Street, military, avant garde art and poetry, hippies and Beatniks, punk rock, etc, etc?)

Thanks for the links.

We will go to Ellis Island, Wall Street etc. My husband just retired from the US Navy so we don%26#39;t need to see another aircraft carrier - he was stationed on many of them over the years! We all love rock and roll - everything from Ozzie to Green Day! Anything that we should check into that will allow our teenagers also?

I have read all the posts you recommended. I still have to check out most of the links. I have only recently found TA and love the advice. Thanks for your input, I am sure we are going to have a fabulous time!

When you%26#39;re here, buy a copy of Time Out New York

www.timeoutnewyork.com (actual paper mag is better)

Or get the free ';L magazine'; at corner orange newpaper boxes.

www.thelmagazine.com

Very good and thorough listings on music, by type and location.

You%26#39;ll have a great time!!!

Just came across this excellent article in The L.

Right up your alley (maybe?)

www.thelmagazine.com/3/16/feature/feature.cfm