New York City - The Rest of the Story & More Pictures

New York City is not too bad once you get to know the routine and the city.  The hardest part is trying to figure out which subway to take to get you from Point A to Point B. With the help of Chris, who has lived in NYC for almost six months, we were able to accomplish this fairly quickly.  Taxis are another story.  We took a cab from the airport to Chris' apartment when we arrived in NYC, back to the airport when we left to come back home and a couple of other times during our visit. All taxi drivers are different in their attitudes, friendliness, and driving abilities. You constantly hear horns honking and breaks squealing as you are riding in a cab.  One incidence, that gave us a good laugh, was when we were catching a cab to take us from Ground Zero to Greenwich Village.  Chris always sat in the front seat and Julie, Wade and I always sat in the back seat.  Chris, Julie and Wade had already gotten in the cab, so I handed Wade my cane and proceeded to get in the cab.  I had one foot on the floorboard, one foot on the street, one hand on the top of the cab, the other on the open door.  For a second I thought I felt the cab move, but the next second the cab was leaving the curbside without me.  My hands slipped off the door and roof of the cab, and my foot slipped out of the cab as the cab drove away.  As the cab pulled away, I yelled "hey you're leaving me".  I could hear Julie and Wade yelling at the cab driver "wait you forgot mama/mawmaw.  The cab driver stopped the cab. Luckily, I only had to walk about 10 steps to get in the cab.  We were all laughing except for the cab driver who continuously was saying "you alright mama, so sorry mama, hope you alright mama." I told him I was alright and that we needed a good laugh and he had sure given us that! We chuckled all the way to Greenwich Village and the cabbie turned off the meter once we got to Greenwich and drove us around so we could see Greenwich Village and decide which place we wanted him to drop us off.  In addition to mama being alright, I guess he wanted to make sure mama was happy too!

Another funny story happened in Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum. At the very end when people are exiting the museum there is a hallway where wax figures of the  band NSYNC are on one wall and a girl was standing on the opposite side taking a picture of the band.  Everyone that came through including me waited the longest time for this girl to take a picture.  The gestures and faces of the people waiting for this girl to take her picture were priceless. Chris and I had already slipped by the girl taking the picture and was waiting for Julie and Wade.  Finally Julie and Wade show up and like the rest of the people stop because this girl is still taking pictures of NSYNC.  They wait at least a couple of minutes before Julie makes a facial expression indicating "what's taking this girl so long to take a picture?"  A few seconds later she makes a motion with her hands indicating "take the picture!"  Finally, Chris and myself could no longer contain ourselves so we finally told them she was a wax figure.  Everyone exiting the museum (including myself) was fooled by this and did as everyone else: stop and wonder after a minute or two "What's taking so long to take a picture lady?" Almost everyone had to be told that the picture taking lady was wax. Finding out made people laugh at themselves and wait and watch as others were tricked the same way they had been tricked.  To me that was the best display in the wax museum.  I wonder if security cameras are focused on that spot and how many laughs security must get everyday watching that security camera.

There are other stories but these were the best two that I wanted to share with you.  I'm not sure where my next trip will be but as soon as I know I'll post another blog so you can keep up with me and my travels. In the meantime, here are some new pictures of New York City.




How they park cars in NYC




Ceiling in wax museum



Julie's friend in wax museum (not wax)

The closest we got to going into lady liberty's crown

Wax Museum tribute to 9/11

Julie trying out for the Rockettes

Me and my Fab Four (Beatles)



We followed the Yellow Brick Road



Run, run, the Hulk is after you

Ferris Wheel inside Toys R Us store

Subway station mural

Apple Store

What Ground Zero will look like when completed

New York - Day 4 (continued) Ground Zero

September 11, 2001, the day that changed the United States forever. You can ask anyone where they were at on that day when the United States was attacked and the twin towers fell and they remember exactly where they were at and what they were doing. . I was at Disney World: Animal Kingdom to be exact when they announced over the sound system that the park was closing and everyone needed to follow the instructions of the cast members in exiting the park.  At the time we didn't know that a plane had flown into the Twin Towers. Our worst fear at that moment was that maybe one of the animals had escaped. It wasn't until we got back to the resort that we learned the truth. A plane had flown into one of the twin towers and minutes later a second plane flew into the other tower.  By the time the towers fell the whole world knew and was watching!  More than 3,000 innocent people lost their lives on that day.  The site of the former World Trade Center towers, now called Ground Zero, has become one of the United States' most revered memorials.  Plans are underway to build two reflecting pools with granite stones listing the names of everyone that died on that day. The city is hoping to have this complete in time for the 10th anniversary in 2011.  Visiting the site it is hard to imagine that this memorial will be finished in time for the 10th anniversary later this year.  I guess we will have to wait and see what transpires over the next 5 months. God bless those that lost their lives and the ones that carry on.

New World Trade Centerr under construction

New York - Day 4

Tuesday, with drizzling rain and cold weather, we headed for Battery Park to catch the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  The water in the harbor was very rough which made for an even rougher ferry ride.  At times the ferry seemed to be rocking back and forth much more than it should have been, but we made it to Liberty Island and saw the Statue of Liberty.  We were not able to go inside the statue because tickets to go inside the statue are sold out well in advance so you have to purchase tickets well in advance of your visit.  This is something else you should keep in mind if you plan to visit New York and want to go inside the pedestal and the statue.   You may not know that "Liberty Enlightening the World" (the statue's real name) was originally meant to be a lighthouse.  After experiencing several electrical problems and the torch light being too dim the sculpture was declared a national monument and turned over to the Department of the Interior.  From the ground to tip of torch the statue measures 305 feet 1 inch.  For years she was the tallest structure in New York City. The Statue of Liberty is a must see for anyone visiting New York.

From Liberty Island we took another ferry to Ellis Island.  I can't begin to describe how it felt to be walking on the same ground that most likely some of my ancestors walked when they first came to America.  The immigration station at Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892.  Five years later the wooden structure burned, along with many immigration records.  On December 17, 1900, a new fireproof French Renaissance-style building welcomed 2,251 new arrivals.  Ferries and barges brought steerage passengers out to Ellis from steamships.  Doctors watched as immigrants entered the building and climbed the stairs (those stairs are still there): a limp, labored breathing, or other suspected troubles warranted further medical exams.  In the Registry Room, inspectors questioned each individual.  Included among the 29 questions were name, home town, occupation, destination, and amount of money they carried.  In 1954 Ellis Island closed completely.  Today at Ellis Island you can retrace the steps of those who chose a future as Americans.  Ellis Island is a must see when visiting New York.  To see both the Statue of Liberty and visit Ellis Island in the same day you should start early and allow a minimum of two hours for each. The ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty and then to Ellis Island takes about 1 hour one way. 

After leaving Ellis Island we rode the ferry back to Battery Park and headed toward Ground Zero about 5 blocks away.  Ground Zero deserves it's own blog for Day 4 so I will write about it next so be sure to read the next blog dedicated specifically to Ground Zero.

 

Ellis Island

New York City - Day 3

Monday the weather was a lot nicer with sunshine and temps in the upper 50's.  We headed out early because we had to get to WABC Channel 7 studios for Live with Regis and Kelly.  When we pulled up at 7:15am there were two lines (one long one short) already forming around the building. Luckily we had tickets so we was directed to go stand in the shorter line.  The taping of Regis and Kelly was interesting to see up close and personal.   During commercial breaks Kelly talks to the audience and answers questions from the audience.  There is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes during commercial breaks such as rearranging the set, changing props, wardrobe changes etc etc.  Before the show went on live TV the executive producer Michael Gellman asked the audience to stay an additional 30 minutes after the show to participate in a special taping that would be airing on Tuesday. So we actually got to participate in two shows which was an added benefit.

Next, we went to Rockefeller Plaza and took the express elevator to the observation deck known as Top of the Rock. The express elevator takes you from floor level to the 67 floor observation deck in a matter of seconds. Once the elevator starts going up (or down) the lights dim and the ceiling of the elevator becomes transparent and you see the elevator shaft as you are racing up or down.  The views from the observation deck are spectacular and some of the things you can see are the Empire State Bldg, Hudson and East Rivers, Times Square and New Jersey.  When we left Rockefeller Plaza we walked around town and visited some of the more famous stores such as FAO Schwartz, Apple Store, American Girl Store, and of course Macy's. All the stores were full of people (elbow to elbow) and several stores we passed had lines standing outside waiting to get in, so we didn't even attempt to go in those stores.

St. Patrick's Cathedral is one of the largest churches in the United States with a seating capacity of 2,400. The pipe organ has more than 7,380 pipes. Twin spires 330 feet high grace the 14th century Gothic style structure.  The foundation of the church was laid before the Civil War, but the church was not open until 14 years after the war ended. The public can go inside the church and walk around as long as they are considerate of others inside.  St. Patrick's Cathedral is a must see for anyone visiting and I highly recommend that you see this Cathedral if you are ever in New York City. 

New York City - Day 2

The day started out nice with sunshine and temps in the 50's when we walked to a restaurant and ate breakfast before heading on to Times Square via the subway.  You would never know there is a whole other world beneath the streets and shops of Manhatten but there is and I have seen it up close and personal.  This other world or city beneath the city has lots of shops, restaurants, walls with inlaid mosaics and murals,  musicians, and of course the subway system. My first subway ride was not too bad as the subway cars were empty so we had no problem finding a seat.  The subway travels fast and sort of wobbles as you are riding along the tracks.  It took us from Chelsea to Times Square in 10 minutes.  Times Square was interesting to say the least.  There were lots of people no matter which way you looked.  Lots of skyscrapers and stores all decked out with brightly lit advertisements of the newest fashions, automobiles, news and other items that are of interest to the touring public.as only New York City can do.  Before leaving Times Square we ate at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company made famous by Forest Gump.  One sighting in Times Square was of the famous Naked Cowboy.  However, we was unable to get a picture of him because he was surrounded by so many people that snapping a picture was not possible.  As Day 2 comes to an end we are looking forward to Day 3.  We have tickets to Live with Regis and Kelly at 9:00am on Monday.  After that we are going to Rockefeller Plaza and St. Patrick's Cathedral.  I only have one more thing to say before I close tonight. I LIKE CALLING NORTH CAROLINA HOME! AND CAN'T WAIT TO GET BACK THERE!!!!!!!