New York, New York!

New World Trade Center Building being rebuilt at "Ground Zero"

On a recent Friday (Oct 11th) we met our friends, Connie and Addison, at the Newark Airport... they'd flown in from Eugene the night before, while we had just relocated to Quakertown, PA, which put us a lot closer to the major metropolitan areas of New York and Pennsylvania.  The occasion was a 3 day weekend trip into the "Big Apple", New York City, in part to celebrate Connie's birthday on Saturday, also to just mutually explore the City and take in some of its well known attractions.

Our collective previous experience with the big city was minimal; Connie had a friend that lived/lives in NYC, and had been here before;  this was a first visit ever for Addison; Elaine had driven through on the freeways a decade ago during a college visitation trip with our youngest daughter, Emily; and my one and only previous visit was for just a day with my family when I was a high school kid; that was, well, a "few" (dozen) years back.

Even though we were all relative "newbies" from the "sticks", we knew enough about the Big City to NOT try to drive any personal vehicle into Manhattan, much less the big Chevy diesel of ours.  So it remained in long-term parking at Newark International while the four of us purchased tickets for the NJ Transit line that had an express train right into Penn Station in Mid-Town Manhattan.  The train ride was routine, and fast; and the fun was just beginning, starting with a mad dash in a yellow cab to our hotel further uptown, through busy traffic that, we noted then, consisted mostly of other yellow cabs, delivery vehicles and city and tour buses.

When cabbies, truck and bus drivers get in too frequent traffic jams in Manhattan, they automatically go to the horn, so the whole experience, whether in the cab dodging other vehicles, or walking on the sidewalk watching it all, was an adrenaline rush of honking horns, scurrying vehicles and general mayhem;, and pedestrian beware!  For that matter, the many New Yorkers on foot generally just cross the busy streets when there's the slightest opening, cross-walk signals be damned!  All such fun (?)!  It seems like not too many New Yorkers are foolish enough to drive on their own in this City.

Anyhow, we'd reserved rooms in a nice little boutique style hotel just four blocks from Central Park and a dozen or so short blocks to Times Square, the Theater District, all that Good Stuff. And right away, after checking in, we headed on foot to Central Park.  The Park, or at least the very southern part that we briefly explored, was as good as advertised, a peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of Midtown Manhattan.

We dined at a nearby small Italian restaurant that first afternoon, then headed down to Times Square in the evening to soak in the vibes and ambiance of this dynamic big city. I can honestly say it was a totally different environment than... say Portland... for us Oregonians, an electric, high energy atmosphere unlike anything I'd ever experienced before.

Next day, Saturday, was mostly spent on a prepaid double decker bus tour of Lower, Midtown, and Uptown Manhattan, plus a jaunt out to the Bronx and Yankee stadium.  I had to lower my usual high standards to spend much time in "YankeeVille", as I really am a "damnYank" hater; not vicious hate, mind you, just extreme distaste for the team and franchise; but I compromised my principles to pay a cursory visit.  Hey, it's baseball after all, and even "damnYank" baseball is better than no baseball at all.  Besides, Connie is a big Derek Jeter fan; so she, at least, got a kick out of "YankeeVille!"  Better, for me, than Yankee Stadium was a brief view of the Apollo Theater in Harlem, where many noted black singers over the years got their start.  Our tour guide mentioned, for instance, Ella Fitzgerald and the Jackson Five.   And I remember a scene from the "Buddy Holly Story", where 50's rocker, Buddy, and his band, from Texas, appeared at the Apollo as well! 

We saved some of the grander adventures for our last full day in the Big Apple, Sunday (Oct 13), namely riding the subways in order to visit the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. Oh YES, the SUBWAYS!  We found our way down to a nearby subway station in Midtown Manhattan that morning easily enough... on FOOT.... four "big city rubes" diligently perusing the schedules and subway routes, our GOAL Battery Park at the South End of Manhattan, the pushing off point for Lady Liberty tours.  Addison talked to what looked like a couple "locals", two young men also heading to Battery Park, as to how to get there.  They said something like "take this train... it should put you within a few blocks of Battery Park".  Sounded good enough for us.  We boarded, NOT with the two other gentlemen anywhere in sight, mind you... I'm sure they were just in another car... and off we went, "Battery Park or Bust!"

As we dashed through the dark underground of Manhattan, I kept looking for our ultimate destination to pop up on the electronic reader board flashing across the side of the car as to upcoming stations; only mild alarm occurred when the expected stops were replaced by other, totally unfamiliar, station names.  Then suddenly we popped out of the underground and were racing across water on a bridge!  Turns out we weren't heading for Lower Manhattan, but rather Brooklyn, across the East River!  Nothing against Brooklyn, but it wasn't on our current itinerary.  We hurriedly looked at subway maps to see where we went wrong in our diligent planning;  ultimately decided to get out at the first Brooklyn station, walk up and across to the tracks going the other way (ie back to Manhattan)... all of this underground, mind you, and headed back; transferred to another train, which route ended abruptly still short of our intended destination; then on to Train #4... would we ever see the light of day again, short of another quick trip over the water to Brooklyn? 

 YES, we would, finally emerging, staring bleary-eyed at the the unfamiliar sunlight;  and we were relatively close to Battery Park!

We'd survived the great Subway mis-adventure!  And we were soon off on our next adventure out to Lady Liberty.  By a stroke of good fortune, the State of New York had agreed, just the day before, to pick up the daily operating costs of the National Statue of Liberty Site, recently closed due to the Federal shutdown; and Lady Liberty tours were on again.  So there we were with a whole bunch of other tourists crowded on to a "Liberty Ferry" and heading to the small Island on which Lady Liberty rests.

I'd been there years before ... during that teenaged visit with family a "few dozen" years ago, actually climbing the equivalent of twenty some "building stories" to the crown then.  This time, we couldn't get tickets to go inside.... perhaps saving this old guy a heart attack on the way up... but marveled at the monument from just outside, with stunning views as well over the Hudson to Ellis Island, where many 19th century and early 20th century immigrants, including one of my grandfathers, first stepped foot in the US; and then there was the magnificent Manhattan skyline back across the Hudson.

 

Soon it was back to lower Manhattan on the return ferry, and another subway trip... no unplanned detours to other boroughs this time; HEY, we were seasoned New York commuters by now!... to the Empire State Building.  And up, up, UP we went, 102 floors to the highest observation point available to those who aren't pigeons or other wildfowl, and/or Cell Phone or Radio/Television technicians.  The view, needless to say, was simply spectacular!  It was a great way to end our last full day in NY City!

And as far as a lasting impression of NYC for me? Reducing it to one, well two, words, VIBRANTLY ALIVE; whether it be the omnipresent Yellow Cabbies, street vendors everywhere, many of the food carts open well into the evening,  crowds of people on the sidewalks and streets, and the hustle and bustle of restaurants and shops everywhere; yes, it's a totally unique experience full of life! 

Busiest street vendor stand in Midtown Manhattan, working into the evening darkness

The "Bull" near Wall Street -  apparently, people like to flock around it for good "fortune"

I'd like to go back some day, but not to a "damnYank" game... well, okay, it's baseball after all, so maybe even a Yankee game!