Back in June, we took a trip to NYC to meet up with my family for Father’s Day. I’m no stranger to Manhattan–I worked there for many years before moving away. I was born and raised in Brooklyn.
But my family are not as familiar, and to be honest I’ve been gone for a long time and don’t remember my way around like I used to. The traffic has grown worse, and new laws regarding speed limits only make driving through Manhattan more stressful. Parking and hotels and very expensive. So we found another option that works around all of the above.
Enter, NY Waterway ferry from Weehawken, NJ. We stayed at a nice hotel at a very reasonable price, walked to the ferry terminal, and enjoyed a ten minute ride across the Hudson River to the 39th street Manhattan pier. From there NY Waterway has three different bus lines going uptown, downtown, or across town, and the ride is included with your fare.
On the first day we visited the Museum of Modern Art, or MOMA. As an author, I had to share this wonderful “vintage” typewriter first. This is how we did it back in the day. Well, not me. I started off writing on paper, then thank the heavens computers became available. I had to type up school reports in high school and was terrible at it. I also used an old word processor back in college and after. Does Kaypro ring any bells? There was also an Amiga in there somewhere. My first actual computer was a Commodore Vic 20, but I digress 🙂
“Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh was on display, and was the highlight of my visit. It was breathtaking seeing this hanging on a wall in front of me, knowing that Van Gogh once actually stood before this same square of canvas around 1889 while it was still blank.
There were many other wonderful works of art as well and we enjoyed seeing most of them.
One World Trade Center and the 911 Museum. I have wanted to visit for a long time and was glad we were able to on this trip. The new building is beautiful and the museum heart-wrenching. September 11th, 2001 will always be etched in my memory as I worked in Manhattan that day, fortunately in Midtown. First there was great sadness that a plane accidentally hit one of the towers, but then after the second plane hit we knew something more was going on.
There was fear, anger, frustration, and anxiety as the details came along. I was unable to leave Manhattan until the next day. As I walked the streets of midtown that evening a sense of surrealness overcame me. People were walking around laughing and having fun as though a horrific tragedy had not just occurred a relatively short distance south of us. It was difficult to process.
We also visited the Nintendo Store, Central Park, and walked quite a bit around midtown.
On Father’s Day we met my family in a restaurant in Chinatown and had a delicious meal. It was a wonderful finale to a very satisfying trip!
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