Levi participated in the 6th Annual Battery Park City Dogs Halloween Parade today. He and his friends from the dog run suited up in their jerseys and went as the New York Giants football team (Levi was Plaxico Burress). They all met up at the South Cove and paraded through Battery Park along the Hudson River up to the Sirius Dog Run where they were judged on their costumes and given prizes.

Some of the costumes included the Wizard of Oz characters, tuxedo, giraffe, bumble bees, lobster, skunk, super dog, dogasaurus, tarantula, pineapple, cowboy, chef, Dracula, and pumpkin.

The categories for prizes included best costume for large/small dogs, best owner and dog combo, best dog team costume, and best large/small dog tail-wagging. The Giants were runner-up in the best dog team costume category.

We rewarded the dogs by bringing them all back to their own dog run and letting them play for a while. Levi wore himself out and crashed hard when we got home. He's still out as we speak! Levi had a lot of fun and it was a great day for him!

We went up to the top of the Rockefeller Center (aka "Top of the Rock") for an amazing view of New York City. The observation deck is outside and offers a 360 degree view of the city. The best view of Central Park comes from the Top of the Rock as you can see it in its entirety. It’s an awesome sight to see such a large green park surrounded by the huge buildings of New York City.

The Rock also offers an incredible view of the Empire State Building, which you obviously can't see from its own observation deck. It looks much taller when you’re on the top of the Rock as it clearly towers over every other building in NYC.

It was a beautiful day and we could see all the way downtown when looking south. We couldn’t make out our building, but we could see the Statue of Liberty. Other views included Times Square, the Hudson River, East River, and the Chrysler Building.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria is a franchise in the New York City area. The original restaurant is in Brooklyn under the Brooklyn Bridge on old Fulton Street. You can only buy full pies here - no individual slices.

This place is in the top of the rating charts from many different sources. Zagat even rated it the number one pizzeria in New York. It was named one of the top 10 value restaurants in New York by “Let's do New York City”. Think about this - there are so many restaurants (and pizza) in NYC and this one was rated the best! You will likely find this in any NYC guide book as well. A popular thing to do is walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, go to Grimaldi's, and then have ice cream at the nearby parlor. We walked across the Manhattan Bridge, walked around DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) by the river, went to Grimaldi's and the ice cream shop, and then walked back across the Brooklyn Bridge.

There is always a line outside of Grimaldi's, and it's usually long. However, it moves faster than you think and it's worth it (it only took us about 20 minutes, so we must have gone at the right time). Some people in front of us frequent the place and have even stood in line in the snow. So what makes this pizza so good? It's cooked in a coal brick oven, and they say that this gives it the taste that gas and electric ovens cannot reproduce.

Jill and I split a large pepperoni pie, a bottle of red wine, and a cannoli for dessert, and they were all delicious (and surprisingly cheap). The place is jam-packed, small, and only has one bathroom for both men and women to share. I met the owner (Frank) and talked to him for a bit. Later while I stood in line for the bathroom, he pulled me out and took me to the employee bathroom in the back. I guess Frank and I are like this now.