New York, NY

"These vagabond shoes are longing to stray

Right through the very heart of it -
new york, new york
I wanna wake up in a city, that doesn't sleep..."

It was a Frank Sinatra kind of day.

An unusually warm day for March in NY.

A cloudy, overcast kind of day.
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We woke up in Trenton on our 24th anniversary and had no place to be until 9:05 pm when our flight would depart from the airport in Newark.

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A little coffee, warm conversation with much missed family, hearty good-byes, kind of a lazy Sunday up north.

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Catching the 12:05 out of Hamilton, we settled on a fast track to New York City. Tom tossed his arm on the back of my seat & smiled "I like hanging out with you." Not a bad way to start our 25th year hanging out together. Then he donned his noise-cancelling head phones and powered up his laptop for the 90 minute ride.

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I twittered "90 minutes of kids squealing on train isn't gonna work for me."

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I was wrong. They only squealed for 70 minutes of the journey.

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We only had 4-5 hours to spend in the city, so Tom gave me two options. I chose a narrated cruise around Manhattan on the Hudson. We've been to NY several times and have never done this. It was perfect. Our tour guide was excellent, familiar, but not pushy, funny, inviting. I learned a lot & got some great pictures.

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We started out from Pier 83 going downriver, right over the spot where the airplane landed a few weeks ago. In fact, this cruiseline helped in the rescue efforts.

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We cruised along 100 feet over the Lincoln Tunnel.

NY is tearing down all the cargo piers and putting in 13 new piers, all strictly for recreation. Improving the waterfront will drastically change the city. I really think it will alter the city's character -- it may lose some of it's integrity -- changing it's face from hardworking to recreational.

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On we motored, Greenwich village to the left, Hoboken & Jersey City to the right. The Colgate Clock with it's 50' diameter stood proudly on Jersey City shoreline. The guide told us the minute hand jumps three feet between minutes.

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We circled the Statue of Liberty, pondered over Ellis Island, groaned as we peered down Wall Street.
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We passed where Law & Order is shot.

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The Brooklyn Bridge began looming before us.
Around this area is a historic district I've never seen -- some buildings over 125 years old, some clipper ships, some historical touring area -- I'd like to check it out sometime.

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Clearly absent, still, are the twin towers.

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I thought this little cage was interesting -- people shooting golf on the river.

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I'm just going to throw some of the other pictures up here for you to glance through.

Enjoy.

Check out the support structure under these buildings --

they are built entirely upon columns.