If you had never been there before, what would you pick to see? This is what I ended up with:
1. Statue of Liberty: definitely the most important for me. It's what makes NYC great. The gateway to America for hundreds of thousands of people that has affected everyone in our country, no matter what ethnicity.
2. Times Square: Oh, would you look at Times Square! It's jaw dropping, day or night.
3. Central Park: it's huge, but it's so central to the city...
4. A Broadway play: you can see off-Broadway plays anywhere!
5. The Empire State Building: nothing can top this night-time vista. Nothing!
... and because I had time, I also threw in the USS Intrepid Museum before I saw The Pond in the park. And I was glad I did. It was a great museum. The ship had an outstanding record in WWII since it's commission in 1943 and in the '60's it assisted with picking up astronauts.
Although I again went to sleep pretty late due to writing and posting, I got up at 5:30 (ieee... in the morning) so I would give myself time to pack and drive the hour north to Liberty State Park. It was fast moving until I got off I-95. The big bridge I took had to reduce four or five lanes down to two. :) I didn't worry too much, because I was planning on getting there an hour before the scheduled 8 am departure for Ellis Island. I didn't quite make it an hour before since I arrived at 7:30, but it didn't really matter anyway. The ferry "Miss New Jersey" didn't leave until 8:30. So I walked around the historic railroad terminal for at least a half-hour. And it was pure joy! The day couldn't have been more perfect. Clear sunshine, a few puffy white clouds and temps in the 70's without any humidity. I drank in the morning light and studied the Manhattan skyline. And looming over Ellis Island, I could see the Lady... and I was thrilled.
There were only a few of us on the very first ferry. I think only a dozen or so. So we all sat up on top on the blue wooden benches and waited expectantly. I watched the darting sparrows as we sat waiting to depart. The ferries first drop off at Ellis Island and then continue on to Liberty Island. So I got off at Ellis. I'm very glad I took the time to look this over. As I wandered the museum galleries, I was entranced looking at all the old photos of people, especially girls my age, and thought about what it must have been like. What incredible guts to do what they did! My favorite exhibit there was a wall of pictures of faces from one angle that changed into an American flag if you walked across the room in front of it. Neat idea! I bought the postcard! :) For brunch I bought a yogurt cup with lots of whole raspberries and blueberries. It was exactly what I wanted!
By the time I finished it, the ferry for Liberty Island had just finished unloading a passel of people that looked like they had filled all three decks! Goodness! It was 10:30 and folks were just starting! I'm very glad I got the early tour. It was very exciting (pardon the phrase) to see the statue so close. (for those of you interested, it didn't really matter which side of the ferry you were on - all the seats were good on top!) Once disembarked, I checked in immediately for my trip to the crown. It was imperative that I ordered tickets as early as I did... they only allow a few over 400 people a day to climb to the top. This is wonderful, because it makes it much less crowded up there :) I think they said it was 351 steps... including going up the pedestal. I took the steps in the pedestal two at a time, so I was already warm when I started the hot part... over a hundred steps in a double-layered (one going up, one for coming down), and therefore tiny-spaced staircase in a metal enclosure in the unabating sunshine. For a bit there, especially near the top, I was pulling myself up by the handrails! :)
Nothing can beat the top! Gracious! It's tall! And I could see everywhere! I especially enjoyed looking up at the uplifted arm and see the spikes from her head. On the right hand windows you can just catch a glimpse of the tablet. It was so neat! And on the way down I noticed the inside of the face... for some reason I didn't catch it when going up... maybe it was the panting.
I stopped at the top of the pedestal for a walk around the circumference. Most people just do this part. And it is rather high up by itself! What I loved was being able to see just a bit of the statue peering over the edge above. Made for some great pictures. (on that note, how will I ever be able to decide which to post? lol). Once back at the ground, I had a bit of trouble retrieving my fishy bag from the locker I was required to rent (not too bad, just a dollar for two hours... except it was a nuisance). Mine had a small problem: the door wouldn't open. When the guy got the manager there, she tried a couple times and then confirmed that it didn't work. They had to drop a cord with a hook and physically wrench it open. At least that worked!
I had a bit of time before the next ferry back to New Jersey arrived. There was next to nothing of a line waiting for it, unlike the Manhattan Battery Park line (which was very long), so I decided to walk around the statue at the water level. I just barely made it back in time for the ferry (I think they had it coming roughly every half-hour to forty minutes). So that was incredibly good timing, and I didn't have to wait a bit! I think it was right around 1:30 pm when we landed.
Since the day was a little full, I jogged the half-mile or so back to my car, once we had landed. My plan called me to drive back south to near the Newark Airport in order to park my car where it could be kept late (very late) at night and let me not have to drive in Manhattan again. It took me a while to find the shuttle service I found so easily on the Internet... I took at least three wrong turns trying to find it (with GPS) and where their company (park2go) is a well ordered lot in Seattle, it's a bit haphazard in New Jersey. They had hand-written signs for their gravel parking lot... and I was rather surprised. They gave me good service though and everything did work according to plan. They shuttled me to the airport where I quickly caught the AirTrain. I hadn't realized that I would have to make a transfer to a real train outside the airport that would take me to Penn Station at the Madison Square Garden in NY. But I just rolled with it and there were lots of people working there to answer questions.
As I arrived, I kept careful track of where I was going so I could find my way back. And as I bounded up the stairs with the advertisement for a VERY large hamburger up to street level... suddenly I was in a throng. And it was thrilling! Light from the huge advertisements glared everywhere... it was hard not to stare in every direction. I suddenly decided, given the congested traffic, that it would take much less time to walk to the Intrepid than it would to get a taxi. And I'm so glad I did anyway. Besides saving a boat-load of money, I walked along Seventh Street and suddenly found myself in Times Square. If I was thrilled at that first street, than I don't know what I was then. I think I just stood still and gaped. A pigeon landed right in front of me and looked up at me. I naturally took his picture... and laughed. It was so fun to just be there. People everywhere... even in the street. People walking blindly across crosswalks only to be jolted into reality by a honking taxi. My favorite thing was hearing all the different languages. I have no idea how many, but they sounded Middle Eastern or Eastern European. And there were many others. So fun! So many different kinds of people. They were loud and fast or slow or silent... all moving along together in one big stream. I think I blended in very well. I did what I did in China... just followed along.
In all of my wanderings this day I never did get a taxi. I think I must have walked over forty blocks... probably sixty. By the time I got to the play at 6:15 my feet were aching. Although I saved money (and time) in not getting a taxi, I had to forgo the pleasure of saying "I'm going to Madison and 52nd"... like I had planned... so I didn't go there. I had seen the intersection on Google Street View, and it looked rather generic anyway. Well, you can't win them all. :)
I zig-zagged my way north and east to Central Park, turning whichever way had a walk signal. The Pond was incredibly relaxing; especially after all that honking and shouting. As soon as I set eyes on it I raised my camera for a shot that I think is the best from all I took in the park...
I sat down soon and ate the salad I bought at the cafe at the Intrepid museum. I wanted to enjoy it where I wanted to relax anyway. Much more interesting than four dull walls in a cafe. After circling the Pond and watching all the ducks and geese and sparrows and fish and turtles (at 5:40ish) I left and walked west along the base of the park (59th street) and then turned down Broadway until I got to 48th, where A Little Night Music was playing. And I arrived pretty much right when they were opening the doors.The theater seemed taller, rather than longer. I was in the nose bleeds in the front row. At first I was pretty disappointed because I couldn't sit back in my seat and see the stage very well. The bar (hand rail) for safety would be right in the way of the actor's faces. But as the play began, it didn't really matter. It held my attention. Although wary at the beginning because of all the indiscretions going on, I fell in love with it by the end (which is what all plays should do... take you by surprise and knock you off your feet). It was silly and beautiful and everything you want in a good drama with real life hilarity. And I admit, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury were not the only reasons I selected this play. In 2007, Amanda Naughton played in this at the South Coast Rep, not 50 miles away from me while I was in Pasadena for a Husky-UCLA game. I was beside myself when I learned she was there and I was not. :) So I imagined her in the role I knew she had. :) I gave Angela a standing ovation. She was wonderful, as always.
I was worried for a moment that I had no coat with me. I was getting cold, sitting there in the theater for so long. It must have been at least 10 pm when it got out. I thought, "oh dear... I have to buy a New York sweatshirt". But I needn't have worried. When I stepped outside I felt warm air to greet me. Just the kind you like too. Not hot, not cold; not at all. So I walked down Broadway some more into Times Square again. It was unreal how strangely lighted the streets were. And people seemed happier and more boisterous than they had been at 4 pm... I wonder why... :)
Again I zig-zagged, but this time south and east. It was really easy to become familiar with how the streets worked and I barely used maps at all. It helped though that all my points of interest were easy to spot. This one was the tallest in the city. My ears popped at least three times heading up to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. That night it was lit up blue and purple. I adored the view... 360 degrees of lights practically everywhere you look. I instantly picked out the Statue of Liberty in the harbor... a tiny dot. This was the moment where I most regretted being alone. Everybody else was with somebody else... but at least I had seen "An Affair to Remember" before I got there. It made it very special. And they were playing that (and selling that) in the gift shop. LOL
So I left around 11:30ish. And I easily made my way back to Madison Square Garden and Penn Station without any trouble. I felt silly for worrying about walking the streets at night. I felt perfectly safe and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I think I have seen too many movies. In fact, I loved NYC... I was sad to leave.
Someone helped me find my train... and it was waiting for me when I got there. I boarded at 11:45 and got back to Newark a little after midnight. Unfortunately, my cell phone ran out of batteries today, so I had to keep on asking people for the time all day long. That was easy though, because there were so many people. So when I had to phone for the shuttle, I used a PAY PHONE! LOL!!! I thought, "Gee, I hope I can figure out how to use this..." Luckily, it was an 800 number, so it was free anyway.
The part that took so long was my drive to Connecticut. It was supposed to take just around an hour... except for all that traffic. :) You'd think, oh, 1 am... no problem. Except that's when they do construction and shut down all lanes except 1. :) So I got to the hotel around 2:15 and I got very scared. I couldn't see anybody at the desk and the doors were locked. And my cell phone was dead so I couldn't call... But then I thought to bang on the glass (gently, of course) and suddenly, a head popped up. And all was well. And I was asleep by 3. What a day! It felt like two.
Jp
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