Mike & Kris - Enjoying The Ride

Well, we are here to tell you, you can bring a 35 ft. 5th Wheel into the city and live to tell about it.  This was the one drive we really anticipated as being a challenge.  One wrong move or turn could end up being quite a disaster.  We checked our GPS, read blogs by other RVers, checked it against Google Maps, discussed it at length, and then rechecked everything just to be sure.  Happy to report, the drive went without a hitch and we reached the Liberty Harbor RV park without incident.  It is at a marina just across the Hudson River from the World Trade Center.  Our site is very narrow but we can see the Statue of Liberty from our window (at least you can when there is not another RV parked next to us!)  Now, the next thing to tackle is public transit.

If you read our last blog you noted that we were quite proud of our public transit abilities, and we would be tested now with the biggie:  taking the subway in NYC.  Again, we used the internet to help us before we headed out.  Mike told me about a teacher from NYC who blogs about travel and has a lot of posts on New York.  So, of course, I find her blog and start reading about all the different day trips she recommends.  Then I see a post called, What Not To Do In NYC, and I can’t resist-I start reading.  Not sure this was my best move.  She talking about the subway a lot and saying things like:  keep moving, stay to the side on the stairs or escalators, don’t stop in front of an entrance, and don’t touch the rails on the stairs–you’re sharing germs with hundreds of thousands of people!  Of course now every move I make has all these rules running through my head- got to keep moving, stay to the side, whatever you do -don’t stop, and don’t touch the rails.  Oh crap, I’ve been touching the rails! Now my nose starts itching!  Now I’m sure I’m about to get every cold germ out there because I touched the darn railing! And so it goes. But all joking aside, the subway has worked great for us.  We take a PATH train from our park and then use subways to get wherever we need to go.  Seven full days in NYC seeing Uptown, Downtown, Midtown, Brooklyn, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Wall Street, 5th Ave, Central Park, the Bronx, and everything in between.

We started closest to home at the World Trade Center Memorial and Museum.

What a meaningful tribute to all those lost in the terrorist attack.  As hard as it was for us to go through the exhibits, it was even harder to see survivors or those who had lost family and friends going through.  You can listen as they announce everyones name and hear their families speak about them while family photos flash on the wall.

You see parts of the building, parts of fire trucks, and parts of the stairs called Survivors Staircase.  These stairs survived the destruction of the twin towers and remained the only above-ground remnant of the Trade Center complex.  You can even hear the phone messages of people in the towers before they fell.  It is all so well done, personal and moving.

Also on this first trip over the Hudson, we rode to the top of the new Freedom Tower- 104 floors altogether.

The elevator ride only takes 42 seconds–amazing.  We got to see the sunset from up top and it really does feel like it is the top of the world.

Up early the next day, we head back in the same area but this time we walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Other than being very crowded, it is so beautiful with the city in the background and the beautiful structure of the bridge.  On the other side we explore a bit of the waterfront area and found the famous pizza joint called Grimaldi’s.  Our server was from the Bronx and he told us what to order and bragged a lot about the Yankees!  Must of been because Mike was wearing his SF Giants hat.  We finished off by walking through Brooklyn Heights neighborhood before heading back on the subway to get the Staten Island ferry.  We rode the ferry to get unbelievable views of the city and the Statue of Liberty and then turned around and rode it back again.

 

It is now day three and time for a Broadway show and Times Square.  We went to the TKTS area to stand in a long line for same day theater tickets.  The line actually only took about 30 minutes.  We chose School of Rock and were not disappointed.  The children performers were so talented and it was a lot of fun.  After the show, we headed towards Rockefeller Center because it was the night of the Tony awards.  It was raining but we were right at the start of the red carpet.  It was a fun way to end our day–watching all the glamorous people all dressed up for their big night.

Our next day started with a trip to Washington Square Park and a walk through Greenwich Village.

Yes, we found and took a picture of the Friends apartment building, then found our way to the Highline Park.  They used an old, abandoned railroad track which was elevated, and turned it into a walking park high above the streets.  After this we headed back to Rockefeller Center and walked around the Today Show studios and covered all these sights including St Patrick’s Cathedral.  Back to the trailer a bit earlier so that Mike can head back out again to get night shots in Brooklyn.

Yikes, these days were full.

Day five and next up on the agenda:  a bike ride through Central Park.  Full disclosure-this wasn’t my favorite event.  The bike path doesn’t get you into all the sights and sounds of the park.  In order to do that, you must get off and walk your bike on the interior trails.  Even so, it was still pretty cool and we did make a few stops.  We saw the famous Bow Bridge, Strawberry Fields, and Columbus Circle.  Now onto the Bronx.  We turned back in our bikes and headed up to Yankees Stadium.  We watched CC Sabathia pitch which was a treat–another stadium off our list.

It’s hard to believe but it is already day six.  Back to Times Square for shopping at the HUGE Macy’s, and then dinner and a show.  We chose Hello Dolly this time and were blown away.  Bernadette Peters starred in it and we were in the front row.  We saw every detail and the singing and dancing was phenomenal.  This was why people come to Broadway–its magical!  We all emptied out of every theater about the same time and Times Square was wall to wall people and as light as day.

The definition of the town that never sleeps.

Our last full day involved a trip back to Wall Street.  We wanted to see the Charging Bull statue along with thousands of other it seems.  We also got a quick shot of the Fearless Girl which I loved.  We explored Battery Park and walked along the river front until we reached the ferry terminal.  We were able to hop on a commuter ferry back to our side of the river and were able to give our legs a rest too.  Wow–what an adventure.  We loved New York City and would come back in a heartbeat to the city that never sleeps.  The concrete juggle where dreams are made.