Tomorrow is the big day. It’s the last day of school for many Albany kids before the Presidents’ Week Vacation, AND it’s the opening night of the hotly anticipated Lightning Thief movie.
As the story is mostly set in New York, and since kids will be on break anyway, why not use The Lightning Thief to launch some staycation adventures?
1. Visit a Boarding School
My name is Percy Jackson. I’m twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.
You could try to visit a school for troubled kids, but it might be more fun to explore one of the local boarding schools that are NOT for troubled kids:
- Emma Willard School – Visit just to see the historic gothic architecture, or schedule a campus tour. Attendance is just for high school girls, but anyone can admire the beautiful gardens in the heart of Troy.
- Hoosac School – Another school with historic gothic architecture campus, Hoosac School is situated on the former Tibbits family estate. You can schedule a campus tour, but I can’t guarantee that you’ll get to see the friendly ghost that haunts the Tibbits Mansion.
2. Check Out a Nursery
Early in the quest, Percy enters a Garden Gnome Emporium that turns out to be Medusa’s lair. Usually, statuary has more mundane origins, but a visit to a Capital Region garden center will reward children with whimsical garden art. And, while they’re at it, they can pick up seeds and soil to start seedlings for spring gardens.
- Olsen’s Nursery, Slingerlands, NY
- Hewitt’s, various locations
- Faddegon’s Nursery, Inc., 1140 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham
- Troy’s Landscape Supply, 1266 Loudon Road (Route 9), Cohoes
- Becker’s Farm, East Greenbush, NY
3. Take a Train Trip
Percy and his buddies encounter a series of misadventures attempting to travel between New York City and Los Angeles by bus, train, truck, and plane. For humans, it can still be an adventure to travel commercially.
All Over Albany recently ran a cost comparison on the best ways to travel between Albany and NYC, but when it comes to wowing kids, nothing beats riding the rails. One option is to take a short train trip between the Amtrack stations in Schenectady and Rensselaer. However, it’s not that cheap, and if you’re going to spend the money for a train trip you might as well go all the way to Manhattan where you can visit the other Lightning Thief landmarks.
4. Day Trip to New York City
You can easily do the Lightning Thief NYC Tour in one day. Start where the book opens in the Greek and Roman Art collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and look for the “Marble Capital and Finial In The Form of a Sphinx” which was mentioned in the book. The kids will also get a kick out of the statue of “Perseus With The Head of Medusa.” While you’re there, take them to see two other crowd pleasers: the Egyptian Art and the Arms and Armor collections.
Since Percy’s mom worked in a candy store, a Lightning Thief NYC Tour would not be complete without a stop at the biggest and best candy store in the world, Dylan’s Candy Bar. I suggest stocking up at the candy store before heading to the Empire State Building, as the lines can be wickedly long.
I’ve been up to the top of the Empire State Building more times than I care to count, but I’ve never been given access to Mount Olympus on the 600th floor. Now, I’m not saying that you won’t be luckier than I, but you may want to warn the kids that it’s unlikely. Still, with the wind blowing, the Observatory on the 102nd Floor can be exciting enough.
Getting Around – Personally, for this tour, I’d take a cab from the train station to the Met because it’s such a hassle to get there by subway or bus. Dylan’s is just 20 blocks from the Met, but that can seem like an unbearably long walk with little kids or in frigid weather. Again, I’d take a cab.
Once you’re finished shopping at Dylan’s, you can get on the subway at 59th and Lexington to travel to the 34th Street/Penn Station stop near the Empire State Building. After going to the Observatory, I’d recommend dinner at one of the Korean restaurants on 32nd Street before heading taking the train from Penn Station to Grand Central where you’ll catch the Amtrack train home. The table-top hibachis are way cool, even if there is no Lightning Thief connection.
- Metropolitan Museum – 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street
- Dylan’s Candy Bar – 1011 3rd Avenue at 60th Street New York, NY
- Empire State Building – 350 Fifth Avenue, between 33rd and 34th Streets
- Restaurants Near Empire State Building
5. Summer Camp
Next summer, enroll the kids at one of the many upstate NY camps so that they have their own Camp Half Blood experience. We’re usually traveling during the summer, so I’ve never signed up my children for summer camp. However, I’ve heard great things about the camps offered by the Girl Scout Council of Northeastern NY and by local Boy Scouts. Another popular camp in the Capital Region is Camp Chingagkook.
What did I miss? How else would you extend the Lightning Thief experience in New York?
{ 6 trackbacks }