Brooklyn Bridge

After the 2nd Avenue Deli, we found the subway and pointed D off in the direction of the hotel, while we headed off toward Brooklyn. We found a station at the far end of the bridge and walked back into town while the sun set.

Madison Square Park

The Shake Shack came highly recommended, and deservedly so, but apparently we were not the only ones to whom it was recommended since the line stretched through the park. But it turned out that was for shakes and burgers and if we were willing to settle for just ice cream, there was no wait at all. The ice cream was very, very good. But someday I'm going back for the whole meal.

The Flatiron Building also lived up its reputation. New York has lots of neat buildings, but this one struck me as particularly inspiring.

Having not filled up on shakes and burgers, we headed off to the 2nd Avenue Deli - which was excellent, but is not really on 2nd Avenue (it's on 33rd Street between Lexington and 3rd).

George Washington Bridge

The George Washington Bridge is the only bridge across the Hudson River into New York City (there are also two tunnels, but they are less photogenic). The GW Bridge is the on the same wide street as the Oakland Bay Bridge and the city of San Francisco, just 2910 miles away.

I had really wanted to see the riverbank below the bridge - down near the little red lighthouse - on the way into the city, but we were completely unsuccessful at figuring out how to do that. Some future trip when I have more time I'm going to explore Manhattan's shoreline a little bit more.

The East River

They're just bridges. They're just skyscrapers. It's just a big city. But it's sort of like a big candy store. It's not like I'm someone from a small town in the big city for the first time. After all, I'm equally preoccupied by windmills and rolling hills of wheat and canyons and remote beaches. I guess the problem is that I'm easily entertained. It keeps things from getting boring.

As you head up the East River - it's not really a river, but the moat that makes Long Gisland a gisland - you cross under the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges and later the Queensboro Bridge (also called the 59th Street Bridge, ala Simon and Garfunkle). Still farther north, the river curves eastward under the Robert Kennedy (Triborough) Bridge and the Hells Gate Bridge toward Long Island Sound. Our boat cruise curved northwestward to follow the Harlem River - many more bridges - out to the Hudson.

New York Harbor

It seemed pretty touristy and it ate up several hours, but we decided to try the Circle Line tour around the island. For me it was a wonderful way to check out the shoreline, to get a sense of the city and its geography, to learn some New York history, and to admire its bridges and decaying piers and spectacular buildings. I think M enjoyed it. D occasionally looked up, but probably wished he was back in the hotel room watching TV or in Washington Square playing speed chess.

In 2003, we went out to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, but this time we settled for passing views.

Central Park

There were lots of places on this trip that will stick with me, but my strongest memory (this is being written 5 days after getting back) will be of my early morning walks in Central Park. I'm always up well before the others, restless and in need of coffee. Each day I wandered a different route and kept finding new spaces and features -- and I never even made it north of 79th Street, so I never saw two thirds of the park. Every morning the roads were filled with runners and bikers and the paths had their share of dog walkers and strollers, but I could still find quiet places and lonely trails.

One of the things I liked most about the Park, compared to so much of the rest of the urban jungle, was that there remained some semblance of the original landscape. The topography has been modified, the lakes reconfigured and enhanced, and the vegetation heavily managed, but at least there were hills and valleys and trees and outcrops of glacially scoured metamorphic bedrock.

Despite my different paths, every day found me at the little bakery concession at Mineral Springs, next to Sheep Meadow. It was a pleasant place to enjoy coffee - cool and quiet, but still bustling with folks out for walks, meeting up with jogging partners, or reading their NY Times over coffee. The social scene was fascinating, particularly the canine one, as all the dogs seemed to know each other and were always excitedly greeting friends and renewing acquaintances. I'm not a dog owner, but I thought that if I were a dog owner, or if I were a dog, I would much prefer Central Park to the tyranny of Seattle's strict rules and off-leash war zones!

I took hundreds of pictures in Central Park of trees and fountains and bridges and shorelines, but most seemed to be taken of skyscrapers rising above lawns and trees and lakes. Something about the stark juxtaposition of nature and city, the dramatic architecture, and the blue skies was compelling.

Washington Square Park

This was M's second visit to the neighborhood today, since she wandered down here while D and were at the baseball game. We came back in part to check out NYU and in part so D could hustle some chess games. He played a while in the park, then tossed a disc with some other guys in the only grassy area available, then headed off to the tables on Thompson Street to play some more chess till long after dark. This is a lively neighborhood with lots of character and M&I spent an hour walking around, occasionally checking back to see if D was done.

The piano in the park was part of a special project (Play Me, I'm Yours) that placed keyboards in public places all over the city, inviting people to stop and play. I passed one in Central Park and there was one in the middle of Times Square.

The Highline

They've taken the old elevated railway line that ran through mid-town into Chelsea and turned it into a park. I guess they're still working on the northern sections, but this stretch between Gansevoort and 18th was both nicely done and heavily used. It runs right past - practically through - Chelsea Market. Which by the way, used to be the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) and where in 1912, the first OREO was hatched.

The Bronx

From D's perspective, the main point of driving 8000 miles was seeing the Yankees play the Mariners in the Bronx. We picked the one game of the series that the Mariner's did not win, which was perfect as far as D was concerned. The new stadium looked great, although my memories of the old one are hard to separate from the miserably hot and humid conditions in 2003 when we were here last. Today was absolutely perfect.

The grandstand is surrounded by flags commemorating all 27? World Series Championships the Yankees have won. The woman next to me asked me, innocently, I think, how many flags that that we had in Seattle. I wasn't sure how to answer.

We were in Chicago a week and half later when we learned that George Steinbrenner had died.

Norma's

One of our best memories of our 2003 trip to New York was breakfast at Norma's and this trip we came back not once, but twice. The two most expensive meals of our trip! Norma's is downstairs at the Parker Meridien and although the hotel was beyond our station, we had no compunctions about visiting the restaurant. Everything is good, although we did not actually try the Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata.

Times Square

Once we had settled in, we headed off in search of food, which we found at the Carnegie Deli. If you pay $15 for a hot pastrami it is only fitting that it is piled this high! Some place else we found cheesecake, and then we wandered into Times Square. Which as most people realize is not a square. Nor was it empty, quiet, or dark. Eventually Devon headed back to the room - why waste a perfectly good wall-mounted flat-screen TV - and M&I went to Promises, Promises.