New York! New York!

We have had quite the time here in the Big Apple!   Before I tell you about our travels in the city, I must show you my latest pupil!  See one, do one, teach one!!!  Conch blowing that is!  I blew my conch from the bow at sunset and a little girl named Cindy wanted to see how I did it and give it a try.  She climbed on the boat and I gave her a demonstration, told her how to purse her lips and put the conch up to her mouth!   Well she blew that conch just as loud as if she had been doing it all her little life.  She must be all of 7!   Cindy was so excited!!!!

We visited the City of New York museum.  One of the exhibits was about the activists over the years that have championed change in the city.   One of course was about women!  In the exhibit was this attractive outfit worn by the first visiting nurses.  Having been a home care nurse myself, I enjoyed reading about the Visiting Nurses Association of New York which is still very active today!  Don’t you just love the outfit! 

We took a brief walk through Central Park, alive with families picnicking over the weekend!

We have managed to travel all over NYC navigating the PATH and the MTA subway system.  We haven’t gotten on the wrong train yet!  Pretty proud of ourselves!

We visited the Apple Store in SoHo, walked through Chinatown, had lunch in Little Italy and walked past the Empire State Building.  We had visited it the last time we were here so didn’t go up!

 

Last night we got back on the subway and headed to Times Square and the theater district.  We had a great dinner at Saju Bistro and headed over to the Shubert Theater to see “Memphis”.  What a fabulous show!!!  The music was phenomenal as well as the story!  The Shubert is a beautiful theater as you can see by the picture of the ceiling!

Today is another day!  What to do?  Well I am happy to say there is the Newport Mall right across the street from our marina!  In one week now I have had the luxury of a couple hours of wandering around a Mall by myself and also a Target!!! I am in heaven!   It is the little things in life that give me such a thrill these days.

We decided to once again get on the subway and explore West Greenwich Village!  We ate at a Italian sidewalk cafe and as you well imagine the people watching was great!  Some pictures from our walk!

  

This little guy was having a stare down with a ceramic elephant!  Poor little guy was scared to death this elephant was going to attack!  Love it!

We have been having such a great time exploring this city that is so alive! 

Tomorrow our neighbors that live aboard have invited us to join them for lunch at Sandy Hook about an hour away! 

We are anxious for our friends to arrive on Friday!  We have a packed itinerary planned while they travel with us!  The best part will be spending time with good friends!

The Captain is asleep on the couch and the sun has not even set yet!  Our days are packed and by nighttime we are tired! 

So I will sign off and go watch the sunset over the water and the lights of the city come alive! 

Good night!  Pat

Hot dogs in Hoboken!

The Newport Yacht Club we are staying at is the friendliest marina we have run into! Pat & Greg, the Marina managers, are absolutely wonderful! We were invited to their weekend cook out yesterday, and every morning there is coffee, bagels, and good conversation with the marina residents in the club room. The live a-boards next to us are constantly giving us advice as to where to go, and how to get there, and checking to see if we need anything. The other day she brought us a pan of sliced fresh watermelon!

This 1930 yacht, Justice, is docked just up from us. It is absolutely spectacular! We talked to the captain briefly, and were told that it goes to inside storage every winter, and a team of 16 people attend to every detail on the boat. Above are the specs.

Those flowers are live orchids!





Pat got this shot of the Empire State Building last night from the dock.

This morning at coffee, one of the marina residents gave us a little history of this area. We are in Jersey City, across the river is Manhattan, and up the river about a 1/2 mile on this side is Hoboken. In the early 1900‘s this side of the river was filled with train tracks, piers and warehouses. It was a heavy industrial / shipping area.  The railroad owned all the land and water front.

With the advent of the interstate freeway system, the railroads began to suffer, eventually filed bankruptcy, and just left the land and buildings to deteriorate. 

Some areas that have not yet been redeveloped still show signs of the

old piers and warehouses.

This was the section of town that Al Capone used to dispose of some of

his “friends” in cement overshoes!

Samuel Lafrak eventually bought up the land, and began a redevelopment with the help of Jersey and Hoboken cities. 

An easement was created about 1/2 a city block back from the water front, which must remain green space for walking paths and parks. This lighthouse sits on Lafrak Point, just up a block from the marina. We took a walk up the river to Hoboken, and were delighted to see what had been done!

It is an oasis of walking paths, a beach area, playgrounds for the kids, and “islands of land” created out over the water! Behind much of this are high rise condos and retail stores.

When  we got to Hoboken, the scene turned a little more urban, with the original buildings and store fronts.

It was lunch time, so what better choice than a hot dog street vendor! We waited patiently while  this guy tried to grill our dogs. I think it was his first day on the job. There were a few elder Italians around in the same “hot dog” shirts, and a lot of Italian directions were being issued!!!

We finally got ‘em, and they were delicious!!!

A little further along, and we see this dilapidated building. It was a previous ferry terminal, now closed. But right around the corner, was the original Lackawanna Railroad Depot!

The interior of this building is magnificent!

It has the original wooden benches and the shoe shine stand! This is now being used as the station for the New Jersey Transit System. 

  

It was time to turn around and head back. We decided to walk down the main street of Hoboken. Pat thought this apartment building reminded her of a scene in Pretty Woman. 

It was a great day for a walk to Hoboken and a hot dog!

Captn Ken

 

Never forget!!!

It was a foggy day yesterday when we entered New York harbor but even in the fog it was awesome to be greeted by the Statue of Liberty!  The lady stands tall in the harbor and welcomes all!  It is such a symbol of the great USA!  We felt pretty special to be seeing it from 20BUCK$. 

We are docked at Newport Yacht Harbor marina with a view of Manhattan.

The  marina is a short block walk from the PATH, the NJ subway that takes you right into Manhattan.  It seemed only fitting that during this Memorial Day weekend we visit the 9/11 Memorial - we will never forget!  The picture at the right shows you two of the four towers that are being built to memorialize those that lost their life in 9/11.  What is already completed are the pools built in the footprints where the North and South towers stood.  

The walls are 30’ waterfalls and the names of those that perished are cut in the steel walls around the pools.  The museum will be housed in the glass building below.  There are ample benches in the park for visitors to sit quietly and remember the day that changed our lives forever.

In an effort to control the crowds visiting the memorial, you have to have a pass for a specific time.  This is picked up at the 9/11 Memorial Preview building.  In this building is a dramatic timeline with pictures of the events of the day.  There are also pictures of how others remember the events of 9/11.  Here are a few examples!

A sculpture of the NY skyline with Twin Towers and statue of liberty made out of steel from the towers.

Trees wrapped with American flags!

A fire fighter that had the event tattooed on his back! 

All so...........they never forget!

We then visited St. Paul’s chapel, the old church across from the site of the Twin Towers that lost a tree on the grounds but nothing else.

Trinity Church down the street was our next stop.  What a gorgeous, ornate church!! 

 

We stopped and were entertained by street performers along the way.  They were very talented. This was their grand finale - diving over 5 people into a flip!

We headed back to the subway and back to the marina where we were invited to a barbecue put on by the marina management for all boaters.

The grounds around the marina are so lush and beautiful!  We will stay here for the week and enjoy more of New York City before our friends arrive on Friday! 

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day holiday!  Whether you are on your boat, on the golf course, picnicking with family or just enjoying a quiet long weekend, take time to remember all that lost their lives defending our country!  Also NEVER FORGET those that perished on 9/11 when the twin towers went down!

God Bless the USA!

Pat