A Muppet Fan's Guide to New York!

 Yesterday, I took a little drive out to New York. Why, you ask? TO VISIT A BUNCH OF MUPPET-RELATED PLACES, OF COURSE!! Now, before, we begin on this little tour, I have to tell you 1 thing: Yes, I will go to New York again soon and make a part 2. So, let's get started!

 I got into my car at around 6:30. We didn't run into that much traffic so we got there around 9:30. And, well, our first stop was a great one:

1. Kaufman Astoria Studios, the home of Sesame Street! So, yeah, I went to the place where they've been filming Sesame Street ever since 1992. Although I couldn't go inside of it, I got to see the outside of it. I didn't know how big it was! It took up nearly a whole street! I was happy to see that the place was declared a " National Landmark." In a lot of places you'll see a sign that says " Kaufman". I saw a person going inside there. I don't know if he was a worker. ( If he was, I can say I met a person that works for Sesame Street!) Anyways, it's a great place to go if you're a mega Muppet fan like me. The address is: 34-12 36th Street, Astoria, NY!

After this, we tried to get into The Museum of the Moving Image ( they're a minute away from each other, and they have 2 Muppet things on display) but it was closed. Anyhow, moving right along, our 2nd place we went was:

2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art! I know what you're thinking: " This has nothing to do with Muppets! BOO!" But, it does, actually. They filmed the Sesame Street special " Don't Eat the Pictures!" in that building. While we didn't pay to get into the museum, we saw the entrance.. and a statue in the center of when you get in. Well, it's better than nothing! If you guys want to go here, the address is: 6 East 82nd Street, New York, NY!

Then, we took a walk over to Central Park to visit:

3. Jim Henson's Bench! In Central Park, there's a whole lot of benches. Most of them are dedicated to people. What do you know? I just happened to find a bench dedicated to Jim Henson! It read, " To Jim Henson who always enjoyed this joyful walk in the park." So, I was going to a place that Jim Henson always loved to visit? I could barely contain my excitement! I'm guessing that Jim Henson sat on this bench at one time or another. Right next to his bench was a bench dedicated to Jon Stone, a writer and director for Sesame Street. It was a two-in-one! This was probably the highlight of the tour, and while I don't quite know the full address, it's in Literary Park at Central Park.

We also found another cool Henson-Muppet-related thingy to go to! It was..

4. Jim Henson's Old House!! This was a pretty neat thing to go to, because Jim Henson lived in it for most of his fame. He called it One Seventeen! While I'm not sure you can go inside of it ( someone could live there) you can still stand outside of it and take a picture. It looks very fancy, and you really can't miss it if you look for it. There is a spiral staircase inside, and that's usually where he and the Muppet performers would sit and talk. There is a picture of it in Jim Henson: The Biography. In case you won't to visit it, the address is: 117 East 69th Street, New York, NY.

Our first stop on this trip ( I'm writing all these things out of order in the way we went to them) and our last in this article was:

5. FAO Schwarz! This is really a must-have if you're going to New York. It's a giant toy store and you can build your own Muppet in there! There's a video of Kermit introducing you to the build-your-own-Muppet things and a looping video highlighting some of The Muppet Show's greatest moments. You could also get a Jim Henson-related book or a Muppet puppet. When I went this time, I got a Gonzo puppet. It's also a good place if you're willing to pay 100 bucks to build your own Muppet! ( I think the prices went down to around 80 dollars, but I'm not sure..) The address is: 767 5th Avenue, New York, NY!

My only advice for you now is: Good luck finding where you parked your car! Bye! I'll see you around soon for part 2 of A Muppet Fan's Guide to New York!