We were up early but got out the door a little later then planned. Since the water taxi was right in the marina we didn’t have to worry about walking too far to get transportation to Manhattan. Or so we thought. We went to purchase tickets in the ticket office but much to our surprise no one was there. Another family was hoping to purchase tickets as well but no luck. After reading the signs we discovered that the water taxi does it’s last morning run to Manhattan at 9:45 am and the ticket office closes at 10 am. It was 10:15 am so we were out of luck.
We then had to walk about one mile to the next Ferry location and take that ferry to Manhattan but not until it did a loop back and forth to the same locations. We finally arrived in Battery Park around 10:45 am – a little later then we had planned.
The ride on the Ferry was really great and the Manhattan Skyline quite beautiful. It felt good to see the towers of the new World Trade Center back in the Skyline of Manhattan.
We docked at the far end of Battery Park and were amazed at the number of people in the park. It is a very pretty place and had lots of space for children to play and enjoy themselves.
We didn’t plan to spend too much time in Battery Park hoping to get back there by the end of the day.
We noticed an unusual but very pretty structure so had to check it out. It was the Irish Famine Memorial. Quite spectacular and you could walk up the path to the top and overlook the Nelson Rockefeller Park and the Hudson River .
U.S. Navy Blimp flying over Manhattan.
As we were walking through lower Manhattan to get to the Brooklyn Bridge we were amazed at how the city had transformed since the events of 9-11. We had been here one year after the attack and the city was still in a state of shock and destruction. Manhattan has been revitalized and is more beautiful then ever.
We were hoping to get a tour of City Hall but it is undergoing a huge renovation so all tours have been put on hold.
Space is at a premium so parking lots take on a new meaning.
On our way to the Brooklyn Bridge we were entertained by street dancers in the plaza outside of City Hall. These guys were excellent and very entertaining. (Watch the brief video clip that Ron took)
I’ve always wanted to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge – not sure why – but I was getting my chance. The bike and people path goes right down the middle of the bridge with the cars in the roadway below. Very interesting concept. I wasn’t the only one wanting to walk the bridge – so did thousands of other people. The bridge is undergoing a renovation as well so some areas of the bridge were not conducive to viewing the city.
I was amazed at how I felt so emotional when first setting out on the walk across the bridge. Somehow it brought back the vision of all the people trying to get away from the horror of 9-11. I was speechless (I know – hard to believe) for several moments and on the verge of tears.
I’m not sure how Ron got these pictures without the throngs of people in them. Also, all along the bridge were padlocks hanging.
From the New York Daily News:
“The Brooklyn Bridge is on love lockdown.
Scores of gym locker-sized locks hang from the railings off the pedestrian path of the famed East River crossing after love-struck tourists put them there following a romantic ritual birthed in Italy.
“You lock your heart away and throw the key into the river. So it can’t be reopened,” said Australian tourist Fern Simpson, 21, walking across the bridge eyeing the colorful clasps hooked onto the center span. “I did it in Paris.”
The symbolic gesture of everlasting infatuation popped up in Rome about five years ago as locals started copying the lustful characters in Italian author Federico Moccia’s popular novel “Ho Voglia di Te”, or “I Want You" in Italian.
The trend then spread to Paris and became noticeable on the Brooklyn border in 2010.
Moccia told England’s The Guardian newspaper in August that his self-invented fad was spreading to New York: “And that is why the padlocks are now appearing on bridges right around the world, including (the) Brooklyn Bridge.”
City Department of Transportation officials, who monitor the city’s bridges, said they were aware of the locks and “on occasion we inspect the bridge for these and remove them as necessary,” a spokesman said.
A bridge worker said the locks have become a popular attraction on the span.
“Tourists leave them behind. They write their names and the date on the them. A lot of people have been asking about them,” the worker said.
New Yorkers walking the span said they didn’t understand what the fuss was all about……”
The walk across the bridge is 2.6 miles round trip and it was great to share in the excitement of all those making the same trek.
Looking back at Manhattan and the New World Trade Center Tower through the construction.
As we walked through Manhattan we were surprised to see so many beautiful parks dedicated for public appreciation. We had toured Central Park but were also impressed with the smaller beautifully maintained parks within the city.
We stopped at Saint Paul’s Chapel that stood right under the twin towers. Amazingly, not one window was broken and the church did not suffer any damages when the towers fell. Talk about Divine Intervention. For over a year after the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, St. Paul’s Chapel served as a relief mission for recovery workers at Ground Zero. Over 14,000 volunteers worked in 12-hour shifts to provide solace, comfort and care for 2,000 workers each day. St. Paul’s Chapel became the spiritual home of Ground Zero.
The Chapel is set up as a Memorial to 9-11 and is quite impressive.
Now the new World Trade Center overlooks the Chapel.
Next we visited Trinity Church. It reminded us of the cathedrals we visited in Lisbon, Portugal. High ceilings with alcoves throughout. It was quite spectacular.
We were scheduled to meet Linda and John at 4:30 pm at the 9-11 Memorial but we had one more stop to make and time was running short. Our method of transportation around NYC was our two feet so we hot-footed it to the Staten Island Ferry for the trip over and back. Ron always wanted to ride the Staten Island Ferry like I wanted to walk the Brooklyn Bridge – no good reason – just to do it.
This young man had a goal of playing his piano in 100 different locations in NYC. Notice his dog on the piano keeping him company.
We left on the ferry at 3:00 pm and immediately soaked in the beauty of the NYC skyline from a different perspective.
Once on Staten Island we had to disembark then turn around and get back on the ferry. (Did I mention this was free) There were lots of people doing the same thing – just riding the ferry to say they did. We arrived back in NYC at 4:00pm and had to hoof back to the 9-11 Memorial. We made good time and had about 10 minutes to spare.
We began our tour of the 9-11 Memorial by going through security and passing through the same process as you would at the airport. Ron didn’t get through because the screener said he had a knife in his backpack. He emptied the back pack and could not find a knife. After three tries he did finally discover a small jackknife in where he keeps his pens. The knife has probably been in the backpack for 10 years and has been through at least 10 x-ray machines in airports. So much for the TSA!
Finally we were able to proceed to the Memorial , except that John lost his entrance pass during the screening process. He was able to get another pass. Geeze, it was quite an ordeal getting to see the Memorial.
The twin pools were spectacular, beautiful and rushing water calming. The entire memorial was well thought out with love and caring not only honoring those who lost their lives but their families as well.
We spent well over an hour reading the names on the memorials. The respect showed to the families by not rebuilding in the footprint of the twin towers and providing a place for people of all nations to visit speaks of the goodness of New Yorkers and of the people of the United States.
Later we went to dinner with Linda and John at their hotel. Ironically, they were only 3/4 of a mile from our CG in Jersey City. We had a good time, dinner and view from the restaurant.
Linda and John not looking at the camera.
Ron had calculated that we walked 11 miles around lower Manhattan but that did not exempt us from having to take Jewel for her walk. Oh,our very sore feet. Finally by 10 pm we were able to stop walking and put our feet up.
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