Post by jptheprofessor on Aug 15, 2008 2:23:46 GMT -5
Originally, I had Thursday, July 17 marked on my calendar as a vacation day, so I could travel to Hershey to see the Rush concert. But when cohort “Big Jim” Ricotta presented me with an opportunity to travel to the Big Apple for my first time ever, I couldn’t refuse! Big Jim, yours truly and former area radio broadcaster Gerry Gamber were taking on New York City!
The Big Jim-mobile departed the ‘Toona shortly after 7 AM, and we arrived at our initial destination of Weehawken, New Jersey shortly after noon; a five-hour trip. We had been told that it was less expensive if we parked our car in New Jersey and either took the subway or ferry boat across the bay to Manhattan. So we did the latter, riding the NYC Waterway ferry from Port Imperial over to Manhattan ($16 round trip, $8 one way). Before boarding the boat, we took in the sight across the bay of the Manhattan skyline and all its skyscrapers; I had seen this image in books, newspapers, movies and television, but it’s all the more impressive and huge when you see it in person! I also noticed the number of aircraft in the sky around Manhattan at any given moment, from various helicopters to passenger jets and more. It was quite a sight for a first-time visitor like me!
The Manhattan skyline as viewed from Port Imperial. Impressive!
Another view of the Manhattan skyline.
Gerry and Jim, with the Manhattan skyline in the background.
Again, Manhattan as seen from Port Imperial.
We did the boat ride over to Manhattan, and our exploration began. The initial game plan was to hop a bus and ride to several destinations in Manhattan, including Ground Zero. But as we started walking, we continued walking, and ended up doing our own foot tour of Manhattan! Near the port, we passed the NYPD mounted patrol stable, and observed an officer hosing off one of the horses on this warm day. We walked past a fleet of street sweepers and New York sanitation trucks as we made our way further into downtown. Ready to do lunch, we did some pizza at 10th Avenue Pizza, a corner pizza shop on the corner of 10th Avenue and 25th Street. I had finally eaten New York pizza in New York!
One of the first things we observed in our trek through Manhattan, an equestrian member of the NYPD mounted patrol gets a bath.
From there, our exploration of Manhattan continued. Using a map from the ferry boat dock, we made our way to several of the famous landmarks in this part of the world, first heading to Madison Square Garden. On the opposite side of 8th Avenue, we entered and walked through the Manhattan post office – huge! We checked out Pennsylvania Station, before continuing our trek towards the next destination we wanted to see, Times Square. I’ve seen Times Square on television many times, and was curious to see the stretch always shown during The Late Show with David Letterman. Again, television doesn’t compare with the real thing, experiencing the traffic, the colors, lights and sights of Times Square in mid-afternoon! We stopped and sipped a few drinks on the third floor of ESPN Sportszone, while observing the constant flood of people and traffic passing through the intersection below. We also noted the armies of yellow taxi cabs constantly moving about the streets. And having read about how much of a melting pot this place was, again I was impressed to witness it firsthand, all the various types of people we were passing and sharing the sidewalks with.
We browsed around the Times Square area for a little while. We passed a number of familiar landmarks, including Macy’s department store, We found that walking through Manhattan was fairly easy, as there were pedestrian crossing lights at every intersection. And actually, as afternoon rush hour approached, we noted that it was probably easier traversing this part of the world on foot rather than car; we could step around the automotive gridlock! We also noted the numbers of little food stands and vendor booths on many of the street corners; this place was indeed a bustling marketplace!
Pennsylvania Station.
Madison Square Garden.
Arriving at Times Square.
ESPN Sportszone on Times Square.
Looking out on Times Square from the 3rd floor of ESPN Sportszone.
More of Times Square…What an insanely busy place!
Yet more Times Square.
And more.
An M&M watches pedestrians on Times Square.
More of the sights on Times Square.
Another view of Times Square.
Gerry and Big Jim on Times Square.
Big Jim, acting like a big tourist.
A NYPD substation on Times Square.
We eventually headed to Radio City Music Hall, where we happened upon an international news story! Unbeknownst to us, the Dalai Lama was in New York this day, and gave a speech about two hours earlier at Radio City Music Hall. As we arrived, a large protest rally was taking place across the street from the building, with people holding signs protesting for religious freedom, and telling the Dalai Lama not to lie. It was a peaceful protest, with people waving their signs and cheering. We stood and took in this incredible sight for a few minutes, observing as the NYPD mounted police maintained order, and a police helicopter kept watch from above. And I shot some video…
Here is some video footage from the protest:
www.rockpage.net/users/jprice/video/MOV01786.MPG
A poster promoting the person all the fuss was about, the Dalai Lama.
The protest across the street from Radio City Music Hall.
Another look at the protest.
At this point, it was late in the afternoon, and we decided that we would make our way back to the boat dock area and see about catching a bus to Ground Zero. We again passed through the Times Square area during rush hour (again making steady progress while the automobile traffic was bumper to bumper). Although we didn’t get lost, we found that it was a little tougher finding our way out of Manhattan than making our way in; only a few of the streets actually go all the way to the dock area. At one point, we accidentally wandered into what must have been the bus exit ramps from the Lincoln Tunnel, and found ourselves surrounded by buses in a no-pedestrian area. After backtracking out of there, we found ourselves at another dead end near the Jacob Javits Convention Center. But we did eventually find our way back to the dock area we started out from. Then, in our only disappointment of the afternoon, we found out that the buses didn’t go past Ground Zero, and only came within 5 or 6 blocks of it. We had already done a ton of walking already, and thus decided to bypass Ground Zero for this trip, and save it for a future visit.
We boarded the ferry boat and headed back across the bay, did supper at the Port Imperial Fuddruckers, and then began the drive back home. We arrived back in the ‘Toona at around 1 AM. Our New York adventure had reached its conclusion.
As I said before, you have to experience this place firsthand to really appreciate how grandiose it is, as well as the number and variety of people you encounter, and the colors and sights of this city! Books, movies and television really don’t do it justice.
And there may be a sequel to this adventure, as we are discussing a return assault on the Big Apple for sometime this fall.
The intersection of 8th Avenue and 30th Street in Manhattan, close to Madison Square Garden.
An army of taxis proceeds down 8th Avenue.
The Fox News headquarters.
The New York Times Building.
A look up at some Manhattan skyscrapers.
Here’s a unique parking “garage” we happened upon in Manhattan. Tough luck if the owner of one of the cars in the top row has to go someplace in a hurry…
Another view of a Manhattan skyscraper.
Manhattan skyscrapers even make Big Jim look small!
The Big Jim-mobile departed the ‘Toona shortly after 7 AM, and we arrived at our initial destination of Weehawken, New Jersey shortly after noon; a five-hour trip. We had been told that it was less expensive if we parked our car in New Jersey and either took the subway or ferry boat across the bay to Manhattan. So we did the latter, riding the NYC Waterway ferry from Port Imperial over to Manhattan ($16 round trip, $8 one way). Before boarding the boat, we took in the sight across the bay of the Manhattan skyline and all its skyscrapers; I had seen this image in books, newspapers, movies and television, but it’s all the more impressive and huge when you see it in person! I also noticed the number of aircraft in the sky around Manhattan at any given moment, from various helicopters to passenger jets and more. It was quite a sight for a first-time visitor like me!
The Manhattan skyline as viewed from Port Imperial. Impressive!
Another view of the Manhattan skyline.
Gerry and Jim, with the Manhattan skyline in the background.
Again, Manhattan as seen from Port Imperial.
We did the boat ride over to Manhattan, and our exploration began. The initial game plan was to hop a bus and ride to several destinations in Manhattan, including Ground Zero. But as we started walking, we continued walking, and ended up doing our own foot tour of Manhattan! Near the port, we passed the NYPD mounted patrol stable, and observed an officer hosing off one of the horses on this warm day. We walked past a fleet of street sweepers and New York sanitation trucks as we made our way further into downtown. Ready to do lunch, we did some pizza at 10th Avenue Pizza, a corner pizza shop on the corner of 10th Avenue and 25th Street. I had finally eaten New York pizza in New York!
One of the first things we observed in our trek through Manhattan, an equestrian member of the NYPD mounted patrol gets a bath.
From there, our exploration of Manhattan continued. Using a map from the ferry boat dock, we made our way to several of the famous landmarks in this part of the world, first heading to Madison Square Garden. On the opposite side of 8th Avenue, we entered and walked through the Manhattan post office – huge! We checked out Pennsylvania Station, before continuing our trek towards the next destination we wanted to see, Times Square. I’ve seen Times Square on television many times, and was curious to see the stretch always shown during The Late Show with David Letterman. Again, television doesn’t compare with the real thing, experiencing the traffic, the colors, lights and sights of Times Square in mid-afternoon! We stopped and sipped a few drinks on the third floor of ESPN Sportszone, while observing the constant flood of people and traffic passing through the intersection below. We also noted the armies of yellow taxi cabs constantly moving about the streets. And having read about how much of a melting pot this place was, again I was impressed to witness it firsthand, all the various types of people we were passing and sharing the sidewalks with.
We browsed around the Times Square area for a little while. We passed a number of familiar landmarks, including Macy’s department store, We found that walking through Manhattan was fairly easy, as there were pedestrian crossing lights at every intersection. And actually, as afternoon rush hour approached, we noted that it was probably easier traversing this part of the world on foot rather than car; we could step around the automotive gridlock! We also noted the numbers of little food stands and vendor booths on many of the street corners; this place was indeed a bustling marketplace!
Pennsylvania Station.
Madison Square Garden.
Arriving at Times Square.
ESPN Sportszone on Times Square.
Looking out on Times Square from the 3rd floor of ESPN Sportszone.
More of Times Square…What an insanely busy place!
Yet more Times Square.
And more.
An M&M watches pedestrians on Times Square.
More of the sights on Times Square.
Another view of Times Square.
Gerry and Big Jim on Times Square.
Big Jim, acting like a big tourist.
A NYPD substation on Times Square.
We eventually headed to Radio City Music Hall, where we happened upon an international news story! Unbeknownst to us, the Dalai Lama was in New York this day, and gave a speech about two hours earlier at Radio City Music Hall. As we arrived, a large protest rally was taking place across the street from the building, with people holding signs protesting for religious freedom, and telling the Dalai Lama not to lie. It was a peaceful protest, with people waving their signs and cheering. We stood and took in this incredible sight for a few minutes, observing as the NYPD mounted police maintained order, and a police helicopter kept watch from above. And I shot some video…
Here is some video footage from the protest:
www.rockpage.net/users/jprice/video/MOV01786.MPG
A poster promoting the person all the fuss was about, the Dalai Lama.
The protest across the street from Radio City Music Hall.
Another look at the protest.
At this point, it was late in the afternoon, and we decided that we would make our way back to the boat dock area and see about catching a bus to Ground Zero. We again passed through the Times Square area during rush hour (again making steady progress while the automobile traffic was bumper to bumper). Although we didn’t get lost, we found that it was a little tougher finding our way out of Manhattan than making our way in; only a few of the streets actually go all the way to the dock area. At one point, we accidentally wandered into what must have been the bus exit ramps from the Lincoln Tunnel, and found ourselves surrounded by buses in a no-pedestrian area. After backtracking out of there, we found ourselves at another dead end near the Jacob Javits Convention Center. But we did eventually find our way back to the dock area we started out from. Then, in our only disappointment of the afternoon, we found out that the buses didn’t go past Ground Zero, and only came within 5 or 6 blocks of it. We had already done a ton of walking already, and thus decided to bypass Ground Zero for this trip, and save it for a future visit.
We boarded the ferry boat and headed back across the bay, did supper at the Port Imperial Fuddruckers, and then began the drive back home. We arrived back in the ‘Toona at around 1 AM. Our New York adventure had reached its conclusion.
As I said before, you have to experience this place firsthand to really appreciate how grandiose it is, as well as the number and variety of people you encounter, and the colors and sights of this city! Books, movies and television really don’t do it justice.
And there may be a sequel to this adventure, as we are discussing a return assault on the Big Apple for sometime this fall.
The intersection of 8th Avenue and 30th Street in Manhattan, close to Madison Square Garden.
An army of taxis proceeds down 8th Avenue.
The Fox News headquarters.
The New York Times Building.
A look up at some Manhattan skyscrapers.
Here’s a unique parking “garage” we happened upon in Manhattan. Tough luck if the owner of one of the cars in the top row has to go someplace in a hurry…
Another view of a Manhattan skyscraper.
Manhattan skyscrapers even make Big Jim look small!