Great timing, SM! I hope you enjoy your trip and get back to DC safely. Please give my regards to DW.

you would be better off paying for a garage.. the snow plows will plow you in and you will spend hours digging the car out if amounts are as predicted.

$180 for both rooms. Not that cheap. And that doesn't include the cost of the snow shovel.

It is not snowing on the east side. You should have stayed on the east side.

Unfortunately, this may be the storm of the century for Boston. For NYC this is a moderate storm (we don;t know how much yet - it now looks like 7-9" for this storm). This is NO BIG DEAL. We get storms this big or bigger, almost every winter.

The giant storm we had 2 years ago at Christmas that made such a mess was about 24" of snow - not 9". Plus there was a huge amount of blowing and the storm was not expected as far in advance or as prepared for. (I have lived through several other storms here that were 24" or more - including one when I was in high school on Long Island when we had drifts of 5' of snow in our driveway - 4 days no school.) They are generally a mess for 2/3 days (unless you live in the outer boroughs of NYC - which are the latest to be plowed). Naturally they start with main highways, then major avenues, then the streets with the most people (in Manhattan) then move to the areas with fewer people (low rise apts or private houses).

But expect the city to be operational tomorrow afternoon - and the Amtrak to be back as soon as tracks south can be cleared of any fallen trees. Heading north will take longer - depending on how much snow actually falls in New England.

This storm is a problem for people trying to fly in or out, and short-term for RRs - since Amtrak had been shut until they confirm that the storm is over and tracks are not blocked by trees. But for locals - it's more a nuisance at this point. (The local restaurants are still delivering in my neighborhood - but then they delivered through all but the worst day of Sandy, too.)

If possible move car to a garage as Maxima suggested above.
10th Ave @ 20th Street, Edison Park..not too far from your hotel.

As nytraveler says this is a Boston and New England storm notr so much NYC...although flooding expected up and down the coast.
As I type on a Friday evening we have blowing snow expected for tonight and tomorrow with perhaps over two feet in an area around Boston. Governor ordered all cars off the roads. This promises to be a real biggie.

Bill in Boston

THe snow in Manhattan disappears rather quickly. The first day is a slushy mess by the curbs but the heat of 8 million people, the subways, the buildings, and the sanitation department makes the snow dissipate quickly.

Thanks all. We just woke up and I'm headed out to bring back some coffee and see how our van did. We got back after a nice dinner last night at the spotted pig too lazy and cheap to move the car which I may very much regret. We'll see soon.

Hey parade, is there a tapas place on the east side you like especially?

Snow not too bad. Heart attack unlikely. Debating among plays. Really, Really. The Vandal. Gotta see what's at 1/2 tkts.

sm, do you have the TKTS app (if you have a smart phone)? You can see what's there before you get there. Handy!

Friends have posted pics of Riverside Park this morning. Gorgeous. You should walk the High Line and take pics for us.

Stay warm and safe!

We got about 11" of snow. Major streets and side sreets in Manhattan have been plowed and sanitation is working 12 hours on and off and it is expected all streets in the city will be plowed today.

Buses and subways are running on schedule and you can easily walk around the city to do whatever you want. (I just watched two elderly ladies from the building across the street take their grocery carts and head to the market for Sat am shopping.)

To play in snow head to Central park now - and see what activities the parks are offering - as a minimum snowball fights, snow forts and snow men - if you kids have the energy and don;t mind the cold. (We did this as kids with the family dog - who adored playing in the snow - and kept trying to catch the snowballs.)

Hey parade, is there a tapas place on the east side you like especially?

Nai. See below.


http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/tapas-restaurant-nyc.cfm

You said east side but Tia Pol on 10th Avenue is within walking distance of your hotel.

Long fun day. Checked car and thankfully not too buried. should be able to get it out for the drive home tomorrow. Breakfast at Bonbonniere recommended by a dog walker as a real New York, eggs beans and rice kind of place, which it was. Then to 1/2 price tkts at 47th and Broadway (after checking first on line like real New Yorkers). We saw The Other Place, a very good play with Lori Metcalf and Bill Pullman. Then a visit with family friends on the upper west side, then dinner at Gennaro, a good and popular Italian place.

The play was about different perspectives, delusion and reality, remembering and forgetting. After the play, on the subway, I saw a poem posted in the Poetry in Motion series that begins: the city orbits around eight million centers of the universe.

I liked the poem, I liked talking to the fashion photographer at the cafe in the Jane Hotel, I liked the guy who was walking two dogs adorned in little dog booties who told us a great breakfast place, I like the play and the poem and the people you see on the subway and the eight million centers of the universe. New York reminds you of what life is. I know that's a little puffy, but there it is.

Parade, I had an inkling you'd like Nai.

Thanks again for all your kind comments re snow, parking, and other stuff. The snow here was very pretty. I'm glad and lucky to have dodged the worst of the storm.

https://www.google.com/search?q=gennaro's+nyc&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#mldd=0.

http://m.yelp.com/biz/la-bonbonniere-new-york.

I liked the report of your day.
I liked the poem too.
I like dog walkers.
My friends like Gennaro too - and left me a $100 gift certificate to use there because it's one of their favorite places.
I left it for them as a welcome home gift.
I liked my other two home-away-from-home restaurants too much to try a new place.

Be sure to tell us about digging out the car tomorrow. Take pictures even.

I think a city under a blanket of snow is magical. Enjoy the rest of your stay.

I saw The Other Place on Friday, also...great play! When I left Manhattan this morning, I still needed my snowboots to get through the deep slush at the street crossings...what a mess!

Digging out turned out to be very easy. I tried to take some pictures on the High Line but it was closed, at least the entrances close to us were closed. I ate an early breakfast at Bonbonniere (four cops were at there, maybe end of shift; interesting shoptalk), moved the van to the hotel, loaded up suitcases, dropped DS at Penn Station, and headed home, where now we are.

Thanks again for your suggestions and comments. Tia Pol is on top of the list for our next visit. Starrs, our goal now is to go someplace you haven't. We're going to San Juan and Vieques in march. Then Timbuktu. SusieQ, that's funny, we missed each other by a day.

In the US that would be the Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. I'm saving those for my RV days.

Glad you made it out and have a great trip. Thanks for the trip report!

DakotaS

santamonica, we have been to vieques several times and love it.

dropped DS at Penn Station,

I hope he was going somewhere.