First stop was the Empire State Building. This must be the slow season. We had purchased our tickets online, but there were no lines to get up to the top. We had a beautiful, clear, blue sky day. While there was haze in the sky to the south, my pictures of the north end of Manhattan seemed to have turned out pretty well. We stopped back by the room.
We headed to the South Street Seaport for lunch. This area has a great maritime museum with several great ships to visit. There is also a mall complete with seafood restaurants on the first level and a complete food court on the top floor. There are also lots of nice shops. Across the street was an exhibit -Bodies-The Exhibition. After lunch and some shopping, the rest of the crew headed over to see the human dissections. Knowing that my body was going to have limited stamina, I enjoyed watching the people pass by while I sat on one of the benches. There were a few photo opportunities I let slide by. I saw several homeless people with their dollies, big box, and belongings wrapped in old sheets pass by. I also saw a Japanese tour bus unload its tourist group -some dressed up in fancy suits, others in blue jeans.
From the seaport, we headed to the Stanton Island Ferry, one of the great free activities. While the local people use it to get to and from work, as a tourist,
it provides a great view of the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline. There are a couple of styles on these boats. The first one did not have the outdoor observation deck that I prefer, so we waiting on the Stanton Island side and rode back on a different one.
We took the subway to Central Park and walked across and took a carriage ride. PETA wants to end this tradition claiming that the tradition is cruel to the horses. Having owned a horse for a number of years, I can't agree. Horses have been bred for generations to be "working" animals. While accidents can and do happen, they can happen even in pastures and barns. The horse drawn carriages provide a taste of the past and a slow paced view of Central Park. Most of the drivers give you a short commentary about the parts of the park you are going through.
Near Central Park is FAO Schwarz. Knowing it had gone through some financial difficulties, I was pleased to find it still in business. SInce Ginny was shopping for her grandchildren, I knew she would want to go there. Once again (uncharacteristically), I found a seat by the fountain and enjoyed the growing twilight and watching the people come and go. The fountain provide a soothing backdrop.
The famous Plaza hotel is getting a facelift. It is being turned into residences. I don't know whether it will still have hotel rooms. The new residences will certainly be prime places to live situated right at Central Park and the Shopping District. In checking the web, starting prices are $1.5 million dollars. I find myself a little sad that this landmark hotel will no longer be in the hotel business.
After going back to the hotel to get my camera batteries recharged and drop off Ginny's purchases, we headed out to dinner. After much deliberation we headed for an Irish Pub that I knew about near Madison Square Garden. While I had Shepherd's Pie, the others had halibut and codd.
Last stop for the day, back to the Empire State building to view the city at night. We had learned earlier in the day that there was a higher observation deck on the 102nd floor. We added that ticket and headed up. Once again, no line!!!!!!!
When we first got to the 102 floor the clouds swirled around us. Pictures through glass are challenging, but since they don't allow tripods, holding the camera lens right against the glass helped stabilize for somewhat sharper images.
Back at the lower level, I played with the ISO and with balancing the camera lens on the fencing to get these images.
We got back to the hotel, tired, sore, but pleased with our day.
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