Thursday, June 6, - Sunday, June 9, 2013
With Tropical Storm Andrea on our heels we closed in on New York City. We followed a Coast Guard buoy tender but they pulled away from us. I guess they didn't want to get wet either. We entered the harbor at Lower Bay, Staten Island to our port and Brooklyn to the starboard and rain from above. Skyscrapers began to distinguish themselves from the gray clouds above them. We spotted the Statue of Liberty in the distance! Entering the Hudson River is like crossing a busy street. No cars of course but ferries criss-cross at our bow and stern. Some are tours and others transport commuters from New Jersey to New York and between the boroughs. The buildings are magnificent, even this weather. It's been a long day, almost 10 hours. The rain slowed as we pumped out on the way into the Liberty Landing Marina. Our dock hand, Gavin, was from Ireland and liked our boat's name. He gets it! He took a picture of the Irish Attitude and sent it to his girlfriend. We made it to our slip just before it began to rain. Symmetry was 2 boats away. We had finally caught up to Blue Grass! Tony met us at the dock, helping us tie up. After we were settled we joined Tony, Stephanie, Margie and Tom for dinner. T/S Andrea caught up with us as we slept
safely in our slip.
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| Fort Wadsworth On Staten Island |
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| Manhattan with Ominous Clouds |
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| Who's That Lady In the Distance |
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| Gray Skies Over Manhattan |
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| The Statue of Liberty Looking Regal Even in the Rain |
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| Ellis Island |
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| Central Railroad Station of New Jersey |
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| The Freedom Tower... Towers Above All Others |
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| Liberty Landing Marina |
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| The City That Never Sleeps |
Mike had contacted his brother-in-law, Eddy about our arrival. True to the boating life style, plans changed. Eddy was out of town and we did not wish to pay to stay in the city. No problem. We would meet him up river, he could spent the night aboard and we Mike and I traveled into the city with the morning. Luckily the weather had improved!
Tour guide extraordinaire, how lucky are we?! Eddy grew up in NYC and is a retired architect. He added insight into the buildings many of which he was involved in. Our first stop was a project of Eddy's. A complex in the Bronx with multiple buildings, a park, river walk and shopping is nearby! One building is still under construction. The view across the river is prime too!
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| Amazing Complex |
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| The View Across the River The United Nations and Chrysler Buildings |
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| Up the Harlem River |
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| Looking Back from Manhattan |
From there we drove over to Manhattan and parked. Not a simple feat! Eddy was shocked to find a parking garage with a special of $9.95 a day! Now we are hoofing it. What a tourist I am. I walk with my nose up in the air trying to view the buildings while Eddy and Mike talk. Classic structures are more period styles (Gothic, Art Deco) and the modern ones vary in shape, windows and color. (Architectural Digest will not be calling me to publish an article anytime soon but you get the idea!) We rode on a double decker tour bus, a first for Eddy. I think he enjoyed being a tourist for the day.
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| Looking Up To Eddy's Office |
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| Chrysler Building in Back |
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| Elevator Doors Inside the Chrysler Building |
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| Inlaid Wood Murals |
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| Grand Central Terminal |
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| Meet Me at the Clock! |
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| Celestial Ceiling |
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| Ballroom or Train Station?! |
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| Restored Beauty |
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| Where Did She Go? (Mike and Eddy) |
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| Bryant Park |
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| Sensory Overload |
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| Hey! Robin Roberts! Time Square Structures are Required to Have Lights |
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| The Empire State Building |
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| U.S. Post Office |
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| Flat Iron Building |
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| Radio Music Hall |
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| Brooklyn Bridge |
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| Rockefeller Center |
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| Classic and Modern |
We had the
option of hopping on and off at various stops from the tour bus. We hopped off at Central Park. It is
huge but we walked enough to appreciate this gem. As prime as this real estate
is, it’s wonderful that New York had the vision to protect this land from development.
Surprisingly, it is very hilly with giant boulders. Eddy shared stories of how
he used to play here as a child. Sledding in the winter and a favorite fountain
he and his father visited.
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| Looking Up |
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| Huge Boulders |
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| We Had a Great Day!! |
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| Bethesda Terrace and Fountain |
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| A Beautiful City |
There are many other building I find interesting but cannot recall the names.
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| A Different Slant |
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| Ornamental |
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| What's Your Sign? Astrologically Speaking |
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| Your Pod or Mine? |
On the way to Grand Central Station we stopped and had dinner at one of the many NYC diners. Eddy said the menus served the similar fair but it was unique to us. Mike and I took the commuter train back to the marina that night. Upon our return we found out the train did not stop just behind the marina. We found a paved path and followed it for 2 miles until we reached the marina. Spooky! It was almost dark and I had just enough battery left to shine my phone on the gate and enter in the code.
Sunday, we
did it all again. This time we rode our bikes to the train station! It was not
creepy at all in the daylight! Our friends from Blue Grass were heading into the city as well. Stephanie and Tony were
going to an art museum. Our plan was tour one of the other 4 boroughs but Ground
Zero is a stop on the Manhattan tour. Tom and Margie joined us. Our tickets
were still good, nice! Mike grabbed a hot dog from a NYC vendor. Another item on the bucket list checked off!
A parade was taking place and that could make getting around more interesting. For us on the bus, the changes were not noticeable. A few blocked off streets filled with brightly colored native Puerto Rican costumes. The extra 80,000 people were not a problem. 250,000 people live in Manhattan but 3 MILLION visit it each day! 17,000 taxis vie for your business.
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| Parade Day |
Ground Zero/World Trade Center
Advanced
tickets to Ground Zero are recommended. It is hallowed ground and millions have
paid their respects. As we entered I felt mixed emotions. Sadness at the horror when I recalled watching the attack unfold on the TV. Imagining the terrified masses covered in white dust escaping while police, firefighters and paramedics ran in!Once we make it past
a construction zone and the area opens up, the scene is inspirational! 3000 people
from 90 nations were killed that on September 11, 2001. Their names are laser cut in the bronze that line the north and south pools. Americans, New Yorkers in this case,
pulled together in a time of crisis and would not be beaten down. Now, nearly 12 years later, is a peaceful memorial for
reflection, a museum (not yet open) and with a variety of buildings standing
guard on the perimeter. The tallest is the Freedom
Tower. Eddy also contributed to museum project (meeting the
deadline!). The museum is mostly below
ground with a glass and steel pavilion above. Two steel tridents or forked columns were recovered from the facade of
the original North Tower and are a structural focal point. There is pear tree
known as the Survivor Tree recovered
in the wreckage. It was reduced to an 8 ft. stump. Nursed to health off site the
tree survived uprooting in a 2010 spring
storm. It has since been returned to the WTC site proudly standing 30 ft. tall!
It’s an amazing site.
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| Freedom Tower - 1776 Ft |
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| Memorial Guide |
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| Names of the Fallen Border the Pools |
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| South Pool with Museum Pavilion Behind |
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| Water Cascade Over the Sides..... |
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| To the Base of the Pool |
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| Reflection from Above |
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| Nearby Structures Reflect Off the Museum |
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| Tom, Margie, Mike and Me |
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| New York's Finest Re-Group After the Parade |
