New York on the Cheap

I'm a cabbie, and whenever I can, I try to take a day off from work to do something fun and not expensive with my kids, ages 10 and 14. In nice weather, our favorite thing to do is walk around South Street Seaport and see the old ships, then take the Staten Island Ferry (it's free) from lower Manhattan.

We walk around Staten Island and look at the old homes near the ferry terminal, then come back. On rainy days I take them to Criminal Court (646/386-4511) at 100 Centre Street, where the public can watch arraignment proceedings. It's just like television to the kids, and you can hear some pretty wild cases! Of course, not all of them might be appropriate for kids.

After a couple of hours, we walk up to Chinatown and look for a great meal. At Lin's Dumpling House we can have a feast of dumplings and noodles and soup for a few bucks each! Recently we discovered a new Vietnamese place that's even closer in bad weather -- Nha Trang Centre at 148 Centre Street.  
  
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