I told my mom I was not really interested in seeing New York. Okay, in fact I flat out said "Mom, do we have to go there?". Yes, we did. She wanted me to ride the subway and experience a really big city with a lot of different kinds of people that was the total opposite of Buckley, WA. Boy, was she right...it was really big and really different. But, I'm glad I went.
9/11 Memorial: One of my favorite parts of NY was the memorial. We had to get timed tickets at 11am after making a donation and so we came back at 6:30 p.m. for our viewing. It took 30 minutes to wait in line and go through security just like at the airport. Finally, we emerged on to the plaza where the two pools/fountains were located that took the place of the towers that fell. The pools were black and very large, square fountains with an almost perfectly smooth waterfall off all the sides to a square pool in the middle where water falls again. The names of those who had died were etched on all sides of the fountains above the still smooth pool that collects at the top. It really showed me how many people lost their lives on 9/11. I had no idea how many until I saw that. It was their tombstone like a graveyard but it was the most beautiful one I'd ever seen. The water shimmered like silver threads as it fell. The lihgts that lit it up glinted off the water and made everything sparkle and glow. Some nights they light up two giant lights that reach into the sky like the towers that used to sit on the skyline. We saw the survivor's tree that withstood the whole thing and learned they remove the leaves from it in Fall and dip them in silver and gold and make ornaments from them. I thought it was strange to have a gift shop but it had a great movie explaining things and artifacts from that day like firefighter helmets and pieces of building that melted. It was really moving and connected us to that place, these people and what happened that we should never forget as it was the second time terrorists attacked our country, the first being 200 years earlier when the British invaded and burned our capitol, books and buildings.
Commotion: The streets of NY were the 2nd busiest and most chaotic and insane place I'd ever been in, only falling short of the NY underground subway. Walking is very difficult, like Disneyland on Spring Break where you can barely move and get around and get bumped by everyone. To look at or take a picture of a building you have to walk to the far edge of the sidewalk or risk annoying the city people around you who walk very fast. Everyone walks in Manhattan and they are used to getting there fast. They don't like slow tourists looking up at buildings. You cannot walk more than two people across/wie or you block the business people and frustrate them. Seems like the only way to not anger the locals is to stay home or tread carefully. I'm just happy I'm not old enough to drive because forget trying to drive on these crazy streets. Cabbies are whizzing by almost hitting people every block and the honking... EVERYONE HONKS AT EVERYTHING! It would make me insane. I could talk for a long time, but Central park makes the streets and subways worth it all...
Central Park: CP is HUGE! To be exact it is 863 acres big! The massive park is my favorite part of NYC. We set out on a mission to find my Mom's favorite, Alice in Wonderland, as there was a statue we'd heard about somewhere in the park. We soon found out that there were many hidden treasures and statues throughout the park. I had my picture taken there and as we walked around we found ponds with boats racing, trees with countless squirrels just barely off the peaceful path. Along more main trails we found countless stands selling candied peanuts, almonds and cashews. While the squirrels found the acorns we nibbled on warm almonds and made our way past the ice rink Trump impatiently built when the city couldn't get it done, horse carriages carrying tourists and statues of literary giants and explorers. The sun was setting through the trees lighting up the leaves in gold and orange. I liked climbing the rocks and ducking under bridges. We saw red cardinals and lots of fat finches who live off everyone's snacks. People seemed relaxed and happy here not like Times Square which was like walking into a television commercial theme park with traffic and protesters. We could have spent days in the park but it got dark and we had to catch three subway trains back to New Jersey where our RV park was. It had a view of Statue of Liberty that's how close we were. It was expensive, the most expensive place we've stayed the whole trip. Out of 47 days we have spent only 15 in paid places and out of those we mostly stay at National Parks for $8 a night so to pay almost $70 a night...we only stayed two nights. We were all ready to leave subway behind us but did like some of the cool things we encountered. If the goal was to see a big city different than my own...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Statue of Liberty: Lady Liberty was amazing! I knew she would be cool and big, just not how cool and how big. On the cruise over to Liberty Island where she stands across from Mahattan they stopped at Ellis Island which used to be the Gateway to America for immigrants. They would come over in big ships and sit for hours only to go through a series of tests and searches to make sure they were healthy, safe, sane, and could support themselves with a job and place to go. Any people who didn't meet these rigid requirements were sent right back home on the same ship! Here on Ellis Island I learned about the Junior Ranger program through the National Parks Service. Most Nat'l Parks participate nd you can even do them via mail in a lot of cases if you cannot visit the actual park. Check them out online. You ask the ranger at most parks and they will give you a packet full of questions, activities and "quests" to fulfill. You go through the exhibits, park and watch films and talk with rangers on duty to get acts about the park and history. Ellis Island's packet was very difficult, the most difficult I'd say although National Mall in Washington D.C. was pretty huge and hard too. Some of the questions are facts in hidden places, others you have to write your own perceptions or ideas, then you take your completed packet back to the rangers and they check it. Some give you oral tests to see how much you learned and what you thought. Then when you pass, you get it stamped and you receive your oath about protecting the parks, doing your part to educate others about it (my blog) and get your badge to show you completed it! I did.
The Statue of Liberty cruise was spectacular because it was a really nice sunny day and the cruise home was at sunset with a bright orange sky (mom's favorite). The statue was awe-inspiring. Did you know she was a gift from France and she was shipped here in over 300 pieces in 216 crates! WOW! She was originally copper like a penny but over time the elements have made a patina effect and turned her finish green. She was closed so we could not go up inside her. It was really neat to see all the families from other countries adore her and get so excited to see her and get her picture...it was probably like that when the first immigrants came here and feasted their eyes on the new country and the land of new opportunities and freedoms. The movie they showed us was really moving because it explained how many people escaped their countries and never wanted to go back to places like Russia and they said if they had been rejected by the USA they would have jumped off the ship on the return trip to kill themselves because they hated their old governments. It was sad but also showed me how much America means to people. As we sailed away the sunset rays were facing the same way.pattern as the crown Lady Liberty wears (the spikes coming of her headdress) so we took a photo of that and the full moon that was shining over the NYC skyline of Manhattan.
Overall New York was awesome like eating our homemade lunches on the sunny pier of the market overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge that was so big and old as it was built in 1883! But, big cities are not my taste (Vermont's small town where Ben & Jerry's is made is though).
Misc: We ate cannoli twice and I decided it was cool to try but also not my thing. The Chrysler building was cool with the metal gargoyles. The Museum of Natural History was incredible and had so many impressive things we had never seen anywhere else and we've seen a lot of museums so far!! They had a whole room full of meteorites that have fallen to Earth. A whole room! Mom's favorite was the sparkly orange one that looked like gems. They had plants and animals we;d never seen, the biggest dino bones we've ever encountered and the giant life-size Blue Whale model. It was the most expensive thing we've done so far but we felt like it was worth it for the planetarium show alone. It was narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and if it ever comes to town by you...see it! Journey to the Stars. WOW! It made so many things clear and effects were awesome. My cousin Jimmy would have LOVED this place. All the animals and creatures all hung together on walls. They had the biggest lobster I've ever seen and a crab the size of a car. They even had their own stop underground on the subway so you didn't have to even go outside.
We wished we could have seen Wicked or the Lion King but tickets were over $100 each. I'd like to see those someday though. I know Boo wants to visit New York someday so maybe we will get to see one with her some day. Just no street vendor dirty water hot dogs for me!
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