The drive to New York City felt rather short, and we arrived at about 9:30am. I had my eyes closed most of the time we were driving in Manhattan as driving in large cities scares me just a little.
Our first destination was The American Girl doll store. I think I was more excited than Maggie to shop there. Yes, I want my own doll, as ridiculous as that sounds. We bought three outfits plus a school backpack for Hannah/Rita. Looking back, I regret not having any tea there.
We took a cab back to our car to drop off the doll stuff and hopped on the subway to the southern part of Manhattan. When we surfaced, we were right at the new World Trade Center under construction. Vendors were pushing booklets of photos of the destruction for the tragedy of 9/11. Being there brought me back in time when our nation was in great pain. I could feel the heaviness of sorrow there still. Someday I would like to come back to the memorial.
We walked through Wall Street and the heart of the financial district. Nothing is exciting about this area unless you consider the huge impact this place has on our country.Next we arrived in Battery Park to board a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. This is an impressive statue, but the pedestal was closed for remodeling. It seemed that a lot of places in NYC were under construction. We stayed for less than an hour and boarded the ferry back to the city.
Another subway ride took us up to the upper west side and sat down for a slice of genuine New York pizza. As I sat looking out the window, suddenly I spot who I am quite sure was Penny Marshall! After I did some digging on the internet of where she lives, I found that we weren't too far from the neighborhood that she lives in. After our awesome thin pizza, we went to the bakery next door for us to purchase cupcakes for dessert. The Red Velvet cupcake was amazing.
Central Park wasn't too far, but walking didn't seem like fun, so why not take a pedicab? Our driver was polite and informative of the various spots in the park that were featured in various movies. He even offered to take our family picture in the park. Personally, I could have spent a couple of hours just roaming this park, but Mark was eager to show Maggie Times Square.
This was about the time I had had enough of the big city. As we stopped to purchase overpriced bottles of water, Maggie complains about something that hit here. Next thing I know, a giant splatter of bird crap was on the top of her hair. I was the least amused by this, but apparently this is good luck. So those $2 bottles of water went to rinsing out bird poop. At least Maggie kept her sense of humor about it all.
Times Square was very close to us, and the crowds began to annoy me. The smell of vomit, tar, and various foods linger in the air in New York. I actually found myself missing the yuppiness of Portland, but only for a minute.
At this point, the only thing that could lift my spirits was a beer. We found the Celtic Pub close by, and found it necessary to sit and sip. After this goodness, we stopped at a tourist shop and purchased souvenirs to prove we were in New York.
I like New York, but got my fill of it for awhile. It was time to head back to the slowness of Dutch Country.
No comments:
Post a Comment