Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Blue Man Group

They said it couldn't be done but Goldfish and I actually got up and out the door and on the subway in the morning, riding with folks going to work on Wall Street. We started the day in South Manhattan, taking the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty, and then Ellis Island.

We had absolutely perfect weather, but the wind was kicking up pretty good.

We had tickets for the base of the monument so we did the 190 steps to the narrow observation platform surrounding the base.

A view of the inside construction - simply amazing! They only allow 25 people per day to visit the crown observation area, so those tickets are pretty much impossible to get - we were pleasantly surprised we could get into the monument base as those passes can be hard to get later in the day or during the busy season. What was interesting was the level of security required to get into the Statue of Liberty - well beyond any security encountered on the trip, even exceeding the screening to get into the White House. There was basic airport-type screening to get on the ferry, then another much more thorough screening - including an air puffer blowing in all directions to test for explosive residue - to get into the base of the statue.

They did a great job with the Ellis Island Museum, the displays were very well put together. Goldfish and I both loved the old photos. One thing I was struck by was that we were the outsiders, in some ways, as many folks were coming to Ellis Island to trace their lineage and arrival in America whereas both of our families came over long before Ellis Island was screening immigrants, my ancestor arriving not long after the Mayflower. English was definitely not the most common language heard throughout the morning - lots of French and German.

This just kills me - don't get me wrong, the Ellis Cafe had great food and we had a wonderful lunch there, but Fisherman's Delight and Fish N' Chips made with - POLLOCK?? No cod, no haddock? Pollock - really?? In New York?

This is the World War II Memorial in Battery Park - loved the eagle!

This ultra-modern building next to a small traditional church made for a great image.

We had a great time at the Blue Man Group performance tonight - unfortunately we only have the one photo with Goldfish's eyes closed. I got pulled out of the audience and made to dance - now that was interesting . . . . .

I've got to get to bed, there are rumors of another early start tomorrow as we revisit Southern Manhattan for the walking tour and then hit the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the afternoon / evening as we try to squeeze the last bit of juicy goodness from New York before we head to Boston.

I've got lots of thoughts but by the time I get the pictures selected and posted it's past my bedtime and my brain is empty. I know we are having an absolute blast, every day has been great, especially time with family. The cities have been great but that is balanced by the fact they are - well - cities. There was a shootout just a block or two from where I'm sitting yesterday that could have ended much worse if the suspect's MAC-10 pistol hadn't jammed after 2 rounds, leaving 28 rounds in the magazine. While we were in DC there was that horrible multiple police officer slaying just across the river from the apartment, the scene visible from the balcony. All reminders we are a loooooong ways from Unalaska Island . . . . . .

Christmas Shopping and Wicked on Broadway

Today we kept it simple, we headed up over to The Pond to check out all the little shops around the skating rink, then we had a great Italian meal at Rino Trattoria. After that, we freshened up and went out to the Gershwin Theater to watch Wicked.

This was the opening set for Wicked - they have pretty extreme warnings against photography of any kind so I just put the camera away, relaxed, and enjoyed the show. Great performance and both those witches have some real pipes. After the show we stopped at Gristedes for a few essentials and got home as soon as we could - we're trying for an early start tomorrow to explore south Manhattan and still get back in time for a Blue Man Group performance. Nite!

Top of the Rock and Sting Concert

This afternoon (you have to remember our "crack of noon" style of vacationing - in our defense, we are usually still on the go until well after midnight) we headed over to Rockefeller Tower to ride the elevator, escalator and finally stairs to the "Top of the Rock", what many consider to be the best place to get an overview of Manhattan Island. Still so strange without the twin towers . . . .

View of the Times Square ball . . . .

Looking north towards Central Park . . . .

The lower observation deck . . . .

Goldfish looking pretty . . . .

Just outside the Banana Republic entrance to Rockefeller Center. . . .

Rockefeller Center with the tree and skating rink at the base . . . .

Ahhh yes, let's not forget Elmo and Spongebob . . . .

Tonight we went to a Sting concert at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. We had just been wandering around a couple blocks from the apartment until now so it was time to get down into the subways and get an unlimited 7 day pass for a bargain price of $27 - now that is nicely priced public transportation!

Had to snap a photo of a NYC fire truck for my fire/EMS buddies back on the island . . . .

This is a time lapse photo I took of the exterior of the cathedral from across the street. It gives some idea of the width and height (232 feet) of the building but not the length - almost exactly two football fields at 601 feet. You can see more details of this amazing structure here - it is the largest cathedral in the world, and the 4th largest Christian church of any kind in the world.

Looking up . . . .

Looking back towards the Rose Window over the entrance. . . .

Our seats were about halfway back, but actually perfectly positioned - if we were in the next section forward, we would still be 150 feet from the stage but would not be able to see the twin projection screens hung on either side. We sat where we could afford - the pricing get VERY nasty, the closer you got, for this sold out event of only two performances.

A wonderful, wonderful concert - the subject material of the concert, the little stories Sting told about each song, the amazing venue, the great acoustics - what a treat. On the subway back downtown after the performance we rode with a performer in the symphony backing up Sting that night and she had nothing but good stories about him, a true gentleman. You can read a bit about the This Winters Night project here.

After we got back in our now-familar neighborhood we made the only mis-step of the night - maybe the whole vacation to date - and ducked into what was supposed to be a NYC landmark - Lindy's - and had an overpriced, uninspired meal. Ridiculous pricing - more expensive than Dutch Harbor / Unalaska by far - and the food just wasn't that great. Overall we have found it very easy to eat quite affordably in NYC - not sure how this place stays in business, but Goldfish will probably not let me chose the restaurant from now on!

Okay, gotta get to bed, it's 3 AM and noon comes early in these parts . . . . cheers!

Tree at Rockefeller Plaza

I forgot to upload this photo on the previous post - Goldfish liked this tree much more than the White House tree, and we were both a bit incredulous we stood in front of both trees less than 24 hours apart.

Recon of the New Neighborhood

It was with mixed feelings that we rode the subway and boarded the train for New York City this morning. We had a great week in DC, we loved the location of our apartment - across the street from the subway and a Safeway, 5 minutes from our doorstep to the National Mall, able to see the Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials from our balcony. We had been enjoying the laid back pace in DC and wondered if we would be able to relax as much in New York with the events we had scheduled, we wondered if the people would be as friendly, we wondered if the apartment would be okay.

Pennsylvania Station was a bit overwhelming after the relatively calm and orderly DC subway system. After a few false starts we found our way to the street and grabbed a cab to the apartment. Cabs are dirt cheap in New York compared to many cities and a credit card swipe right in the passenger compartment makes it easy.

We're very happy with the apartment - right in the middle of the action, you walk out the door and look left and all the lights leading to Times Square are right there.

We are right over the Ed Sullivan Theater - the lighter colored building on the left, 5th floor, the window that is lit up is our apartment. Yes, it is a bit noisy as they work the live audience into a frenzy on the sidewalk below before bringing them in for the Late Show taping.

We grabbed a bite to eat at Cosi before checking out the area around the apartment.

All I brought with me tonight was a point-and-shoot camera tucked in a pocket so there is a good chance I'll be posting similar photos taken with the "big boy" camera on another night. We spent about three hours exploring the neighborhood, Rockefeller Plaza is about two blocks away, Times Square is around two blocks away, and all the street are lined with great little shops that we ducked into if they looked interesting.

We have tickets for Wicked at the Gershwin Theater on Wednesday - the theater is a five minute walk from the apartment.

This was The Pond at Bryant Park - the skating rink was surrounded by all these little unique shops - one shop, for example, carried nothing but metal sculptures of Star Wars characters, from tiny Darth Vaders to full sized R2D2 and 3CPO robots.
Radio City Music Hall is right by Rockefeller Plaza.

This is taken in Rockefeller Plaza - it looks like I forgot to upload a picture of the Christmas Tree, so I'll post that separately.

On the way back to the apartment we stopped at a grocery store and stocked up on essentials for the week. This is the entrance to the apartment - when the cab dropped us off from the bus station, he had to park across the street because of the limos lined up in front delivering guests for the Late Show - crazy, crazy city but a lot of fun so far!

Oh Yeah . . . .

Somehow I forgot to post this picture on my last post, it should come right before the National Christmas Tree pictures as we walked past on the way to the tree. It's really the only decent picture of the White House I have from the trip, we were never close to it with a camera until today, too much else to do. Cheers!