Thursday, October 20
Woke up before 4:00 am, left the house at 4:45 and made it
to the airport terminal by 6:15.
Flight left on time and seemed long because of a very loud
baby almost the entire way who, when she finally fell asleep, was supplanted by
a complete toddler meltdown for the last half hour a few rows behind us.
Taxi ride to Washington Heights was longer than expected
because of an accident along the preferred route which required detours through
Harlem and slower streets.
After making it to our apartment on Broadway, we rested
briefly before having dinner at a Salvadoran restaurant a few blocks away. Food
was good, not great.
Took the 1 Train from 191st St. to Columbus
Circle – all lit up at night, with some very large elephant sculptures in the
circle monument.
Then we walked up Broadway to Lincoln Center. After years of
construction, it was mostly finished and beautiful with lights, chandeliers,
and artwork. The most interesting was an exhibit made up of a huge board of
lights that changed according to data on topics such as particulate matter in
the atmosphere, traffic patterns in the area, water waste from pipe leakage,
sunlight on roofs that could be collected for energy, and other graphics.
After some time there, we walked up to 75th
Street where we bought a few items at the Fairway market then headed home on
the train.
Friday, October 21
After breakfast in our apartment, we walked through the
neighborhood, mostly on Nagle Road., and caught the BX12 bus to the Bronx. We
walked a few blocks to Ira’s home and took a quick tour before heading back to
the subway station on Fordham Road.
We took the D Train and the A Train down to Chambers Street.
and made our way through heavy crowds to the WTC Visitor’s Center where we
picked up entry tickets for the 9/11 Memorial Jacki had ordered on her iPhone
that morning. The entrance was several blocks downtown and on the way we
circled around Zuccotti Park, site of the Occupy Wall Street protest that has
been active for the past month or so. It was a crazy place with all kinds of
people, signs, and activities. There were probably way more tourists, media,
and police than there were actual protesters. While we were there we saw a
chamber music group playing, a Muslim speaker surrounded by listeners, tables
with literature, signs being printed by screen prints and spray paint, food
stands, flyers being handed out, peace shrines, drummers, guitarists, huge
piles of sleeping bags, and a few tents. There were adults and children.
We made our way to the 9/11 Memorial site entry, and went
through security (not as bad as at the airport, but enough), and walked several
blocks, showing our passes at probably 5-10 different spots along the way. The
Memorial itself was impressive, though after experiencing the crush of people,
the noise of the protest, and the construction noise going on all around, it
was difficult to appreciate the gravity of the site.
After leaving the Memorial we walked around the Wall Street
area for 20 or 30 minutes until we found a restaurant to eat at on Stone
Street. Then we made our way by foot and train to the 14th Street
entrance to the High Line Park, where we walked the length up to 30th
Street. The new section of the park is beautifully landscaped, as is the older
section, and we all enjoyed the relative serenity after our earlier experience.
This was Ira’s first time on the High Line.
We found a Starbucks for coffee and hot chocolate, then bid
Ira farewell as he left for the Bronx. Kurt and I continued over to 5th
Street and spent an hour and a half at the Morgan Library, which was open to
the public on Friday night. Then we walked back to 34th and 8th
Streets and caught the 2 Train back to Washington Heights.
Saturday, October 22
We had breakfast in our apartment, then took the A Train
down to the Times Square area. We walked across town on 42nd Street,
pulling in at Bryant Park for a quick look to see the ice skating rink being
set up with a viewing platform above. It will remain in place into February.
We made our way to Park Avenue, going downtown to Reid’s new
apartment near 34th Street, not far from the Empire State Building.
After a nice reunion, an apartment once-over, and a meeting with Buddy, Reid’s
roommate’s dog who came from China (a Chow Chow), we left for Grand Central
Station and the train along the Hudson River.
Reid’s girlfriend, Kate, joined us for the day. We were
hoping to see lots of colorful trees, but found we were about two weeks early
for the best color. The hour and a quarter train ride was, nevertheless, very
pretty. It was much nicer than the time we had gone to Beacon in early spring
when none of the trees had filled out at all.
The town of Cold Spring had a small town atmosphere, with
the main street filled with shops, mostly antique stores. We had lunch at a bar
and grill-type restaurant, walked around town some more, then headed back to
Manhattan on the afternoon train. It was fun seeing Reid and Kate; they seemed
very happy together.
We exited the train at the Harlem station and walked across
town on 125th Street, the heart of Harlem. The street was alive with
activity on a Saturday afternoon, with tables set up all along the way selling
jewelry, soaps, music, books, and African art among other things. We caught the
A Train uptown to our apartment.
After resting for about an hour, we hopped back on the train
down to Greenwich Village where we were to meet Reid and Kate, and Ira for
dinner at a popular restaurant called Tartine. It was a very tiny place and we
waited about an hour for a table. Reid and Kate had a hard time getting there
because of traffic and the maze-like streets in the Village. The French style
dinner was delicious; our appetizers included Brussels sprouts and escargot.
Reid and Kate had brought wine, which was the norm for this restaurant.
The young people took off to check out some clubs while Kurt
and Jacki walked over to Washington Square to see the view uptown and the watch
the people. Then we made our way back to the train and headed home.
Sunday, October 23
We decided to explore the Washington Heights neighborhood,
walking down to about 180th Street, then over to view the Hudson
River. We passed some very nice apartment buildings, with lovely landscaping
and private garden and playground areas. These buildings were up on the rock
heights above most of the Washington Heights area.
We walked all the way to the Cloisters, passing through Fort
Tryon and staking out a spot for a picnic later in the day. After a quick stop
at our apartment, we walked down Broadway to 175th Street where we
picked up a couple of roasted chickens and side dishes at the Malecon
Restaurant in this heavily Dominican area.
We took the train back to our apartment, then put together a
nice picnic using some soft bags provided by the apartment owners. Ira and Reid
came and we all walked back up the hill to a nice sunny spot on the grass where
we enjoyed the meal and talked. It was
wonderful to see the boys and have a chance to talk in a quiet, relaxed place.
The view of the Hudson River and New Jersey on the other side was beautiful in
the late afternoon light.
We made our way back to the apartment and the boys took
their leave, a hard goodbye for Kurt.
For our last night in New York, Kurt and I took the train
down to lower Broadway where we spent an hour or so at the Strand bookstore, an
amazing place that advertises it has 18 miles of books. We had a leisurely
stroll through Union Square and across town, catching a train up the West Side
to 72nd Street. From there we walked up Broadway and had a piece of
delicious carrot cake at the European Bakery we often frequent when in the
city. We caught the 1 Train at 86th Street and headed back to our
neighborhood, getting off at 191st Street. This station has a very
long pedestrian tunnel, filled with graffiti and a little spooky. We made it
home safely and prepared for our departure early the next morning.
Monday, October 24
We got up early for a 6:30 car pickup, swung by the
landlord’s place on Cabrini (got a little lost) to drop off the keys, then
drove to the airport. Our flight left on time and was a quiet one for a change.
All in all, we had a great, long-weekend trip.
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