early a.m. arrival in NYC - where to kill time?

I%26#39;m traveling tonight with my family (kids 8 %26amp; 11) and arriving at JFK at 6:30 a.m. We can drop our luggage at our rental apt. in Greenwich Village but can%26#39;t check in till noon. Does anyone have any ideas about where we can hang out for about 4 hours? Breakfast will kill about an hour. We%26#39;ll all be on West Coast time, and the weather is coooold. Thanks for your ideas!

early a.m. arrival in NYC - where to kill time?

If you are landing @6:30 after breakfast just walk around and explore The Village - - shops will be open and people watching there is second to none.

The time will fly and it%26#39;ll be noon before you know it.

In rare instances - lodgings may be available earlier than advertised - make sure you ask if yours will be,

Poppa

early a.m. arrival in NYC - where to kill time?

What about taking a bus tour? Kingofnyc.com has a 4 hr. tour starting at 9 am (midtown/downtown) that covers a lot. Enclosed bus.

Other idea is go to Central Park and then the Mus. of Natural History.

Ess-A-Bagel for breakfast.

Seriously....best bagels I%26#39;ve ever had.

Our farmer%26#39;s market doesnt compare with yours, but it is on tomorrow at Union Square... Saturday gets more farmers, but there should be a decent amount there tomorrow.

There are also a bunch of independent or chain movie theatres in the village. I dont know if any of them would have a show much before 11am, but if the weather is bad, its an option.

How do you feel about bowling? Bowlmor lanes on University Place is open 24 hrs I think.

Just down Broadway from the farmers market (or up in you%26#39;re coming from the Village) is Forbidden Broadway - a comics store. Broadway, 8th Street, St Marks place have lots of stores that appeal to teenagers (not sure about 8%26amp;11 y.o. kids, but my 7 y.o. nephew is already fashion conscious, so maybe?)

Another option is to take the subway down to South Street Seaport and walk around for awhile.

Take a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge for great views of NYC! Take your camera!

If you and your family have energy to do ANYTHING after a red-eye flight from SFO, then I give you credit! Personally, I wouldn%26#39;t be able to do more than find a local coffee shop and hang out for a bit.

Enjoy your trip!

In my experience, very few shops in the Village, other than 24 hour delis, coffee shops, etc. will be open before 9 or 10, so you should keep that in mind. Some small shops down there may not open before 11 or 12.

I was going to recommend the Merchants House Museum (merchantshouse.org), which is in the East Village, but it doesn%26#39;t open until noon. Another option is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (tenement.org), but its visitor center doesn%26#39;t open until 11, with tours starting at 11:15.

I think the tour idea is a good one, whether a bus or a boat. If there%26#39;s one you can connect with without much hassle, you can just sit and enjoy the sights -- or sleep.

I think Bettina has it right... all we%26#39;re going to do is want to put our heads down. One idea I had is to take a train to the nearest Borders - it opens at 7 a.m. and we can just lay around looking at books. Even tho my kids won%26#39;t know they%26#39;re in NY (rather, Anywhere, USA), but we%26#39;ll make up for it later. Thanks for all the ideas!

There%26#39;s always the local LIBRARIES!

Very quiet, indoors, decent surroundings, and bathrooms!!! Most seem to open at 10 AM on Fridays

Take the F or V subway to the biggie on 42nd and Fifth Ave - the Humanitites and Social Sciences Branch - the famous one with the lions in front.

www.nypl.org/research/chss/visit/index.html

The Donnell Branch on 53rd Street and Fifth Ave has a premier children%26#39;s books and toy collection, including original Winnie the Pooh toys from the real, true life Christopher Robin!

http://www.nypl.org/branch/central/dlc/dch/

The beautiful Jefferson Market Branch in Greenwich Village only opens at 1 pm on Fridays.

http://www.nypl.org/branch/local/man/jmr.cfm

Oops - I meant ';most smaller libraries open at 1 pm on Fridays, but the major branches open at 10 AM.'; I didn%26#39;t finish editing that thought.