Sky Line & The Staten Island Ferry

So after the massive day I had yesterday I kind of backed off the pace with the big things. I decided I would walk the Sky Line. This is 4.8 kilometres of disused railway line that has been turned into a raised public park. I also thought I'd ride the Staten Island Ferry because its free and they tell me it is the cheapskates way to see the Statue of Liberty.

The Sky Line dates back to the 1840's when trains used to run at street level. Due to the massive number of accidents that occurred it became known as Death Avenue. To try and combat this they hired guys on horseback, who became known as the West Side Cowboys, to ride in front of the trains to get people off the tracks. In the 1930's the elevated railway was built. However from the 60's through to the early 80's, as the area became more residential and had less manufacturing, its use diminished and it eventually ceased operating altogether.

You can see that New Yorkers love it. In such a dense city any urban space is appreciated. Many of the parks have little or no greenery, some are locked so no one can enter and the ones that you can enter are often jammed to the brim with people. I saw construction workers taking their lunch there, along with shop girls and office workers. The Sky Line gets almost 5,000,000 visitors a year and it's obviously a little haven that locals have taken to their heart. It starts at 34th Street in the north and meanders its way to Ganservoot St, three blocks below 14th Street, part of the meat packing district, in the south. 

From there I decided to check out some of the famous neighbourhoods. I walked through the aforementioned Meat Packing District, East Village, Greenwich Village, touched on East Village and had a good look through NoHo and SoHo (they basically translate to mean north of Houston and south of Houston). By the way unlike the Texas city Houston in New York is pronounced Howston, go figure. There I picked up Broadway again and went back to Wall Street (I am drawn there I know) where I had a great late lunch then jumped the Staten Island Ferry.

Its kind of cool. It has a massive two storey glass and chrome terminal. Ferries run every 20 to 30 minutes in both directions 24 hours a day 365 days a year. The trip takes 25 minutes in each direction. I kind of feel sorry for the locals. They're just trying to get home or to work and they are surrounded by over excited tourists all jostling them to get the best view of the Statue. 

The freakiest thing about taking the ferry is threat alert signs and the fact that you are escorted by an armed US Coast Guard vessel for much of the journey. I didn't mention it before but when I went to One World Tower we had to go through security screening. It was the empty all your pockets, take off your watch, take off your belt, then walk through the metal detector while your goods and chattels are scanned. It's got to be a target I assume but there are plenty of signs all over New York that the city is wary of another terrorist attack.

As you can see it is another beautifully clear day here, top temperature 10 degrees. Tomorrow I am going to visit the UN. I think I may actually head out to Ellis Island and Liberty Island. Then I have a ticket to two shows. Wednesday is "The Book of Mormon" and Thursday is "Something Rotten". My plan is to do the Empire State Building after dark on the Wednesday night, it doesn't close until 2.00am. I would have done it sooner, it is literally two blocks from the hotel, but I thought I'd wait until the temperature rises a bit (three days in the 20's Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). Friday has nothing pencilled in at this stage but I want to go check out Central Park and maybe a museum or two. There is plenty to do and my time is running out. 

World Trade Centre

New York, specifically Manhattan, is an easy city to get around. There is the Subway, there are buses, there are ferries and of course you can walk. I took the Subway. I grabbed myself a seven day pass that gives me unlimited rides. I figured I don't know how much I will use it but for $32 it will save me lining up every time I do to get a ticket. It is $3 each ride so I only have to use it eleven times to get my money's worth. 

After my adventures in the theatre district I thought I would try the other end of town. I caught the subway to Brooklyn Bridge and walked the bridge to Brooklyn and back. You get a pretty spectacular view of the city skyline from there.

It was a clear day with a little wind and I think the top temperature reached 11 degrees. I ambled down to Battery Park and checked out Castle Clinton, mainly because it played a small role in one of my favourite computer games Deus Ex. It has nothing to do with the current Clintons and is named after I think the fifth governor of the state. 

From there I wandered along Wall St, just to say I could. It was nothing special but then again it was Sunday so it wasn't full of masters of the universe wearing their power suits and sending investors bankrupt. I tried to get a good shot of the famous brass bull that is nearby. It was surrounded by Asian tourists and it was almost impossible to get to.

Then I did something quite sombre. I went to the 9/11 memorial. Firstly it is a little odd to have that much open space in this city. Where the two buildings stood has not been built upon. They have outlined their edges of the former World Trade Center buildings with a oak lined walkway and an eternity fountain. Even with the hundreds of people that were there it was quite powerful. You can touch the water, it flows straight down polished black granite into a centre well and then disappears from sight. It was incredibly evocative. Around the edge of each of the two fountains they have eteched the names of the victims.

There is a new building nearby called the One World Trade Centre that has an observation deck on the top three floors (100 - 102). It was a surreal mix of the cheesy, tasteless and the breathtaking. You ride an elevator (they are not called lifts here) to the 102 floor. It takes 60 seconds to go up the 417 metres to the top and it is like no other elevator I have been in my entire life. The three walls are an LCD display. When you start out it shows where you are in high resolution, the bedrock of the building. Then starting at the year 1500 you see New York as it was. As you rise New York gets built around you. You see the harbour filled in, the colonial buildings going up and then you hit the 20th century and all the skyscapers start to appear. Ultimately you see 2008 and watch the construction of the final floors of the building itself as you tower over everything and arrive at the 102nd floor in 2015. On the way down it is even more impressive. It gives a birds eye view of you swirling around the the outside of the tower looking out on modern day New York. I could see it made one lady ill as she had her head down and hands covering her face.

The fun doesn't end there. You exit to a 2 minute theatre experience. I used to dread these things but I have seen so many that are well done here that I am going to have reevaluate my opinion. There were 28 projectors throwing their images on to a 3D rendering of the New York skyline. You are given a potted history of the city using archival footage and current imagery. Then they lift the 3D rendering to reveal the view and what a view it is.

They had a few other funky things inside that were fun but it is hard to beat the view. They have a sky portal where you supposedly see the ground below you (you can't it is a camera display giving you the images). There is also a thing called the city pulse which is an attempt to get you to spend a further $15 on a ipad that tells you what you're looking at. I had a very late lunch before I left. You wouldn't go there for the food. I got talking to a few locals and didn't end up leaving until 5.30pm. It only opened on 28th May 2015 so it is still a novelty to many New Yorkers. I wandered down to the end of Wall Street again and caught the East River ferry up to 34th Street. I just wanted to do the New York Skyline by night. I think it was worth it.

It was hard to top the experience. I grabbed a quick Turkish doner for dinner and had a reasonably early night (11.00pm). Tomorrow is another day.

Welcome To The Big Apple

I am finally rid of the cursed rental car, for that I am entirely grateful. I hadn't even pulled the thing into the rental return at JFK than a crowd of Hertz staff gathered around me in amazement that I had driven it all the way from Dallas. I gave them the keys and my credit card and was it was no longer my problem. Then it was the ride into New York City.

I booked a town car because for the ride I am taking they are cheaper than a cab and far quicker then Uber. My ride into the Big Apple was everything I hoped it could be. For my driver English was his eleventh language. In one final insult the car was a Chevy Suburban. Basically it was the four wheel drive station wagon version of the Chevy Silverado that had taunted me the entire drive. While dodging in and out of lanes, no wait that's not right, he was never in a lane, taking calls on his cell phone in a language spoken by only two other people from a province near Kathmandu we made our way into the city. The most critical piece of driving equipment was the horn and the hand gesture, normally employed simultaneously. It was great. I had a sensational view of the skyline. My heart rate was pumping. I had a arrived. I was in New York City.

I checked into my room at The Hotel Chandler and was pleasantly surprised to find that I could not touch all four walls from the middle of the bed (the hotel rooms in New York are notorious for being tiny). Mine has a desk, a couple of arm chairs and even a king size bed. So now its 3.00pm and what do you do? Well you hit the streets. So having only had a donut and coffee for breakfast I hit some bar and had pizza and a glass of wine. Back to the hotel now and its time to go exploring. I'm in New York so where do you start?

The hotel is on 31st Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue so it couldn't be more central. I asked for a few dinner recommendations and was given three. The first one was on 47th Street and overlooked Rockefeller Plaza, or as they like to call it here "The Rock". 

It had a cast of thousands so I decided that as Broadway was a few blocks over I would walk down the theatre district, through Times Square and try the second place which was on 41st Street. It was Saturday night in New York and everyone was out. The theatre district was pumping.

I the tried to find the second place and must have got my directions crossed and gave up and headed for the third. It was on 28th and 5th where I had an excellent steak. I finished the meal with a 16 year old Lagavulin on the rocks. My heart raced when he brought it out. My club manager self was going this will mess with the stocktake. My tourist self said this single nip was extremely good value. In the photo below I have already taken a sip. There are three nips in here at least. As a side note the guys sitting next me ordered Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac at $285 a glass (I saw them get three). They were not quite as generous with their measuring for that particular drink.

So tomorrow is another day with absolutely nothing planned. I may try to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. 

Last Day On The Road

So tonight is my last with the mighty Chevy Cruze (*cough*). Look it hasn't broken down, run out of fuel or done anything catastrophic. It has kept giving me tyre (sorry I mean tire) pressure warnings. The first one came on just as I was leaving Charleston, South Carolina. This was while I was being pelted with rain from the tail of a hurricane. So I found somewhere to pull up, covered myself in a jacket and checked the tire pressure, but according to the guage the tires were fine. I persistently got the same warning no matter how many times I reset it so I checked again with another gauge. Same result, tire pressure was a little more than it should have been but is still told me to add air. I gave up. Then two days ago I got an oil warning light telling me its time for an oil change. Well that's not my problem so Hertz can have the car back tomorrow and fix it all for themselves. 

I needed to get some laundry done so I have pulled into a little place in Waterford, Connecticut for the night that has a guest laundry. That should leave me with ample clothes for my last week in the Big Apple. With expectations so high I am wary that I may be dissappointed. Time will tell.

Anyway it is a sleepy little town close to a place called Old Lyme (you would be hard pressed to find a town's name that is less attractive). Its recent claim to fame being it's where Lyme disease was discovered doesn't help much either. What it does have is The Florence Griswold Museum based on an arts colony founded in 1899 that pioneered American impressionism. I didn't even know American impressionism was a thing. It is focused around an old mansion built in 1817. As the family fortunes declined it became a ladies finishing school and then a boarding house. It was during the boarding house phase that the artist colony started. 

From 1899 to 1937, when the owner Florence Griswold died, artists would come through during the summer and autumn months to share ideas and criticism, paint the local scenery and exhibit and sell their work. Many of the artists struggled to pay their way so much of the house is actually covered in artwork either gifted to Florence or painted directly on to the walls and the doors. There is also an attached museum featuring other periods of Connecticut art and a cafe that looks over the Lieutenant River.

All very pleasant, with two notable exceptions. Firstly there were lots of crotchedy old art snobs there when I was visiting. They were aghast that I knew nothing of American impressionism. I asked one of them what she knew about the Heidelberg School (an Australian art movement with impressionist leanings) and she quickly shut up. I consoled myself by thinking they would all be dead soon and that helped drown out their inane banter. The second things was all the prebuscent girls running round dressed as faeries (apparently they aren't fairys anymore). In an obvious attempt to cash in on their location the entire month of October saw the grounds converted into a faerie garden complete with castles and other accountrement. All very cute but I did not feel particulalrly comfortable wandering around the estate as a single middle aged male.

I take on New York, New York tomorrow. Unlike those Australian towns that were so good they named them twice, this is both a city and a state. Its exactly 120 miles and the sat nav says I can do it in 2 hours and 13 minutes, which is absolute crap. I have to have the car back by 4.00pm, I am aiming for 2.00pm. That way I should be in the hotel by 4.00pm and then its Saturday night.

Providence

I have been singing "The Last Resort" all day just because I am staying in Providence, Rhode Island. Those of you who are fans of the Eagles will get it. But before I arrived in Providence I thought I would check out Newport. Many of you who are old enough will remember back in 1983 when Alan Bond, before he was a controversial businessman, won the America's Cup on his fourth attempt. His first attempt was back in 1974. I was still at boarding school when he finally won. I clearly remember breaking into the science labs to steal a TV set so we could watch in our dormitory. The fact that we got away with it and had teachers sitting there watching with us was testimony to how big a deal it was at the time.

I distinctly remember our prime minister who had supposedly sworn off the drink so he could run for office, wearing a ridiculous jacket and showing signs of inebriation declaring that "any boss who sacks a worker for not turning up today is a bum". It made me proud to be an Aussie.

So I wandered down America's Cup Avenue. Newport is a gorgeous little town. There is a massive array of colonial era homes and of course there are the infamous mansions. You can do a thing called the cliff walk where you essentially wander along the top of the cliff looking into the front yards of people who have waterfront properties. The ocean view isn't half bad either. 

These originally began to be constructed in the 1840's but they really took off at the turn of last century when the Astor's and the Vanderbilt's constructed "cottages" here for their brief but elaborate summer season. 

The Kennedy's were married here where Jackie grew up and it became the summer white house during JFK's Presidency as he spent his vacation time here. I can't seem to get away from the guy. 

I was having such a nice time snooping around Newport that it was 5.00pm by the time I got the Providence. I don't think I'll get to see much. I only have the car for all of tomorrow and she goes back to Hertz the following day. I have had my suitcase open in the trunk (boot) for the past five weeks so now I have the figure out a way to bundle up all the things I have bought and get them to the Hotel in New York. Tomorrow will be spent doing laundry and packing me thinks. 

Plymouth

The homelessness found in other parts of America is far less noticeable in Boston. I don't know why but I am sure that some of is due to the fact that the temperature drops to below freezing for extended periods and living on the streets would not be a viable option. The reason I mention this is that I finally succumbed to a pan handler. I was walking through Boston Common and this guy was sitting on the wall behaving like a twitter feed. He was giving football scores, news headlines along with directions to tourist attractions. He was working so hard at it they I gave him some change. 

I headed out to Lexington and Concord after checking out of the hotel. I was up far earlier than planned as the housekeepers clearly had a lot of work to do because they were knocking on my door asking me what time I was checking out. I was not very happy. Anyway both Lexington and Concord are beautiful towns, in particular Concord. I went to the site where the first shots were fired in the American Revolution (Lexington Green) and then to the bridge in Concord were the shot that was heard around the world rang out. Here the colonial Americans gave the official order to their militia to fire on the Lobster Backs (British). This was an act of high treason as everyone there considered themselves to be British at the time. This was essentially the start of the American Revolution.

From there I headed to Plymouth where I am staying for the night. I have already checked out Plymouth Rock which is exactly that, a rock. I chiefly know it from the old Cole Porter song "Anything Goes" which was about the risque behaviour in these modern times (1934). Literally right accross the road is where many of the early pilgrims are interred. I think of the 104 who landed in 1620 forty five of them were to die in the first year. There is also a replica of the Mayflower floating just across the road. You can see it all in ten minutes if you're a little slow.

Don't get me wrong about the importance of this place to both British and American history but you can only get so excited about a caged rock. Tomorrow I am off the Providence, Rhode Island. Partly because it will be another state so I can add that to the list that I have visited but mainly because I always loved the line about it in the old Eagles classic "The Last Resort". Depending on how charming I find it I will either stay two days or push on to somewhere in Conneticut (either Hartford of Lyme) and then I ditch the damn car. I will bore you all with how much I have hated driving it when I get home. Then it will one last knees up with a week in New York. Followed by that 22.5 hour flight home.....ahhh!!

Now it seems that there has been news about the sarcophagus. On my way out of Plymouth I wandered around the town again. I stopped by the rock and the Mayflower and the sarcophagus where I got talking to a guy. It turns out his job is to turn up tomorrow with a crane and move the sarcophagus six feet to the south so they can build a three storey gift shop. Apparently there are five (I think he used the word) selectmen who determine such things. I suggested he remove his own name from the job and add theirs along with phone numbers. I will stay abreast of this online. I can almost guarantee there will be a stink over it.

JFK

It seems my odyssey with John F Kennedy is not yet finished. Today I visited his Presidential Library which is located on the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts. The building was apparently quite controversial in its time. Originally it was decided to build at Harvard, where he was an alumnus. By the time the funds had been raised and the site had been selected the locals were aghast about all the tourists, traffic and fast food places that would accompany it. So his library was built on an old garbage dump. I was expecting something more impressive. I think it was the concrete construction that left me a little bit flat. The architect had wanted it to be built in stone but because of delays and subsequent cost blowouts he had to use cheaper materials. 

Please notice on the Presidential seal that the eagle has an olive branch in one foot and a bunch of arrows in another. Which way the eagles head is facing is a good indication of the type of President you have. FDR, during WWII, had the eagle's head facing the arrows. JFK however had the head facing the olive branch.

You start your journey with a 20 minute film. This gives a nice summation of his life, much of it in his own words, and takes you right up until the day he was elected. In it I found a compelling quote that I think still rings true today.

For the great enemy of truth is very not often the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest - but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. 

I'd never heard this before but it left a great impression on me.

The exhibition was a mix of the key moments of his Presidency, including the civil rights movement, the space race and the Cuban missile crisis. These weighty matters were offset by the more ceremonial such as White House dinners, Jackie's clothing and gifts received and given. I had no real idea of what to expect but it seemed like it got the mix right. 

Sadly, for me anyway, they didn't seem to give much of a mention to his speechwriter, Ted Sorensen. Kennedy called him his intellectual blood bank. When he was repeatedly asked who actually wrote the famous line "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" his tongue in cheek reply was the cryptic "ask not". They did have the speech on display with many hand written changes showing, including one to that famous line.

It was kind of cool to see it all and the entire place was a diverting way to spend several hours. I am off to Lexington, Concord and then Plymouth tomorrow. They are all easy driving distance from Boston but I think a change of scenery will do my liver some good.