Day 6 NYC

 

 

Oh my…what a day.  Enjoyed a long visit to NYC and the neatest part was finding that our nephew, Brian Boyer, a FEDEX pilot from Collierville, TN was on a 2 day layover there.  We met up and, as he’s been there a few times, was a huge help in getting us to all the places we wanted to see…..I think we wore him out.

 

Inside the commuter train

We left the RV at 7:20 a.m.  (early for us) and drove about 20 minutes to the Harriman, NY commuter train station which left at 8:25.  It was about a 50 minute ride and was very relaxing and enjoyable.  Hard to believe we were that close to NYC and we went thru woods/rock cliffs/streams.  We went through several small towns and stopped for others.  The train was never crowded at all.  We stopped at the Seacaucus NJ Transfer station and had to change trains into Penn Station.  Now that train was full.  Many other trains from all over the area had connected there and now all those folks wanted to go into NYC.  We had to stand up on that train, but it was less than a 10 minute ride.

 

THEN, we got to Penn Station.  Huge underground station where the NJ Transit trains, the PATH trains, the Long Island trains and all the subway trains meet.  It’s located under several big buildings (including Madison Square Garden).  It was a monster to find your way around.

 

Freedom Tower

Our plan was to get off the train and then get on the subway and go straight to Lower Manhattan to the World Trade Center.  After looking at dozens of signs to dozens of trains, subways, and walking down stairs, through corridors, upstairs, we found the E Train to the WTC.  Whew.  The plan worked.  But I was beginning to feel like a mole.  We got on the subway and rode for about 10 minutes, got off, walked up to street level and there it was.  The Freedom Tower….just right there!  Beautiful.  It took your breath away to stand there in awe of all that happened there.  They are building  5 towers and are in various stages of completion, but Freedom Tower is just something to see.  The entire area is fenced because of all the massive construction going on so we weren’t able to see much on the ground.  The memorial now requires tickets and they were booked up until December, so we didn’t get to see that.  When they get finished with it all, I’m sure it will all be more accessible to the public.  We walked for several blocks around it  while we waited on Brian to meet us there.

 

Services inside St. Paul's 9/9/12

St. Paul’s Chapel is immediately across the street from the WTC.    They were having church services there, so we went inside for a bit.  It was a very interesting and very informal service.  There were people from all over the US and Great Britain.  One couple was mentioned (I think their name was Clark) by the Priest as having come to the church fairly often and we saw later that they were the parents of a young man killed in the towers.

 

St. Paul’s was used extensively for rest and support for the workers of 9/11 recovery.  It was a haven for them.  There were many memorials around the perimeter of the sanctuary….pictures, a cot like they brought in for the workers to rest on instead of the pews, some of the boots/jackets that the firemen wore.  Then there were pictures….of the dead, missing….just like what we saw on TV of the huge wall of photos when so many were looking for their missing loved ones.  I am assuming that these particular pictures are of people who have St Paul connections.

 

The Chapel is so full of history…George Washington prayed there.  We saw pictures of the cemetery at the back of the church (which is the side that is across the street from the WTC) after the towers fell and was a foot deep in ash and debris.  There were sculptures that were made from some of the steel from the towers.   It was almost overwhelming.  I never expected to see such reminders of it.  I can’t begin to imagine how the people of NY felt that day and days after.  It’s hard to believe it’s been 11 years.  They will never forget; nor will anyone who sees these things.  There was a Pre 9/11 Museum on the corner that supposedly contained other mementos from the Towers, but I just couldn’t handle any more.  The Chapel held so much.

 

Ronnie and Brian near WTC

We are watching a Fox News special on that day tonight.  It’s been interesting to see it now that we’ve walked the area.  The people were running down Church Street…right where we walked today.

 

After Brian met us, we walked down to Wall Street, had my picture made by the Bull, saw the NY Stock Exchange.  The Financial District is guarded pretty good.  Police were noticably around and some of the streets have huge barriers preventing cars from driving through.  Thin ribbons of blue sky were visible between the tall tall buildings.  Then we walked back up to the subway and went up to Midtown, exiting at 7^th avenue and 53^rd street right beside the Sheraton Hotel where Brian is staying.

 

It was so different from Lower Manhattan…bustling businesses, cafes, hotels.  Busy, busy.  We looked for a place to eat and sat down at an outside café, looked at the menu and the $22 roast beef sandwich and decided we could do better.  We were expecting high prices in NY, but that was a little over the top.  Walked a few doors down and found a nice deli with flatbread paninis for a lot less...  Including a bottle of water and chips.  Good deal and they were very, very good.  Sat at a bar facing the street and ate while we people watched.

 

Times Square

Then we walked down Broadway looking at the theaters, hotels, people.  Proceeded on to Times Square.  My goodness, it was alive.  Lots of people, lots of colorful signs, stores of every kind.  Saw where the ball drops on NYE every year.  As many people as were there today….can’t imagine being there on NYE. 

 

 Fifth Avenue….had to go into Saks.  Brian found a beautiful sweater for me (Made in Germany), but Ronnie didn’t seem inclined to buy it for me ($1800)….it

was pretty.  LOL. 

 

 

 



Stopped by and went inside St. Patrick’s Cathredral…wow.  So beautiful.  Many, many dignataries have been in there.  Awesome.

 



Fox News

On to Rockefeller Center, found Fox News, NBC News, Jewelry Row (blocks of jewelry stores (mostly diamonds)…amazing.  It was blocks and blocks of walking, seeing the sights, hearing the sounds, smelling the aromas, the diversity of the people….I’d bet 99.9 percent of all we saw were visitors from ALL over. 

Feet and legs were beginning to feel it so we went back to the Sheraton and sat in the bar area with some $5 cokes and visited a bit, up to Brian’s room for a bathroom break, then Ronnie and I took off walking to Penn Station to find our train back “home”.  We elected to walk so we could see more sights but had forgotten we had to walk back through Times Square.  More people, more noises…thick with people, but it was okay.  Everyone was nice, polite and not pushy.

Train from SEC to Harriman NY

Empire State Bldg

We got back to the Penn Station area/Madison Square Gardens and looked to the left and there was the Empire State Building in all its old glory.  Found our train station, bought our tickets and sat to wait for 30-40 minutes on the train back.  None were crowded and it was a pleasant trip back.  Got to Harriman at 7:20 p.m.   Showered, had a BLT and many glasses of lemonade for dinner…almost ready to hit the bed and I’ve already warned that it’s a sleep in day tomorrow!!

 

The only other thing we had on the list was a Staten Island Ferry ride to see the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.  But we were warned of long lines on weekends and we only had the one day.  So that means we have to come back.  I’d love to come back, stay a week and see more sights (Central Park, Upper East Side, Brooklyn, a Broadway show, etc)

 

It was a great day.  For two hillbillies from Arkansas, the sights of Manhattan were amazing.  The city is so ALIVE.